The trio also discusses some of the happenings at the Speedway this week, including the remarkably clean running we’ve seen, the success of Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing, the Lotus situation, and the latest on Dragon Racing.

To listen, use the player below or search for More Front Wing on iTunes.

After Graham departs, Paul and Steph look back on the Brazil event, talk about many facts of the engine situation and the resulting fallout changes to several prominent teams, review the careers of some of the older racers taking a shot at Indianapolis this year, and answer some listener-submitted questions.

To listen, use the player below or search for More Front Wing on iTunes.

To listen, use the player below or search for More Front Wing on iTunes.

To listen, use the player below or search for More Front Wing on iTunes.

Among other topics discussed are the relative performance of the three engine manufacturers, the night-and-day comparisons to be made between ABC and NBC Sports Network, and the results of the test of the new speedway aero package at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

To listen, use the player below or search for More Front Wing on iTunes.

To listen, use the player below or search for More Front Wing on iTunes.

This time around, Steph and Paul are pleased to welcome the Online Editor for RACER Magazine and RACER.com, Tony DiZinno. The trio cover all the hot-button topics leading into this weekend’s season opener, the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. They discuss how the development process has gone with the DW12, how the return of engine competition will turn the IZOD IndyCar Series on its head, and how the changes in Race Control will affect what fans watch for each weekend. They also examine each new driver and team combination to offer their predictions for who’s hot and who’s not, answer listener questions, and make their picks for the Rookie of the Year, the Indianapolis 500 winner, the winners of the Foyt and Andretti Trophies and the Series championship, and the driver who will take the win this weekend in St. Pete.

To listen, use the player below or search for More Front Wing on iTunes.

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In response to More Front Wing’s commentary on INDYCAR’s involvement in social media, INDYCAR invited us to spend some time with Kate Guerra, the sanctioning body’s new Manager of Social Media. Kate assumed the role just before the Kentucky race last season and has been working since then to develop strategies for growing INDYCAR’s social media presence.

During our discussion, Kate reveals that prior to her hiring the responsibility for social media within INDYCAR was rather transitory. “It’s kind of landed with me,” she says, “and I’m hoping to stick with it for quite a while. I feel like it’s nice and it’s actually very vital and significant to have a full-time person focusing on it that’s not going to be around for a couple of months or a couple of weeks. I’m very happy and very excited to be in that position with INDYCAR.”

Since taking on INDYCAR’s social media full-time, Kate has found it’s something on which the organization places a high emphasis. “Randy [Bernard] and Mark Koretsky, our new COO, came to me and said, look, this is a main area of concern for us — we very much want to grow our social media for 2012. Please do with it what you can, start generating some ideas — talking to our teams, our drivers, and our sponsors — and see what you can do. So, really, that’s exactly what I’ve been trying to do.”

Kate’s been approaching the task from a few different angles and is looking at how to activate on several different platforms. “With the Daytona 500, there’s been a lot of focus on Twitter specifically,” Kate says. “But at the same time, we’re also looking at our Facebook pages, we’re also trying to get better at utilizing Flickr, and though YouTube is kind of a mainstream name now, people sometimes forget that that’s also a social media platform.”

As far as Twitter is concerned, one of Kate’s top priorities is to better integrate Twitter into INDYCAR’s TV broadcasts. “Something that really struck me,” Kate shares, “was a few weeks ago during the Rolex 24 coverage on SPEED — that, to me, was the ideal Twitter integration into a race broadcast that I’ve ever seen. There are so many things that we could be doing with our TV broadcasts with INDYCAR that I feel we haven’t quite utilized yet.”

Kate has been in contact with both ABC and the NBC Sports Network to generate ideas and plan their implementation. “They also had noticed the Rolex coverage,” Kate says, “and said that they were quite impressed with it as well and asked if I could set up some meetings to start talking about it. Those meetings have already started, so that’s great news. And I can say that both NBC Sports and ABC are so eager and so excited to start making some of those things happen. They realize that social media is kind of an untapped market right now in terms of TV broadcasts and that people are delving into it as we saw with the Rolex, as we saw at Daytona. Nobody’s really figured it out yet, and while people are doing great jobs with it, there are so many more ideas as it is a developing medium through TV broadcasts.”

INDYCAR has also been working with Twitter directly to gather that organization’s thoughts on how INDYCAR could make better use of the platform. Omid Ashtari (@omid), Twitter’s sports and entertainment representative, attended the State of INDYCAR meeting to talk to drivers and teams about how to unlock some of the potential that Twitter holds.

Another underused strength of Twitter that Kate feels is important is hashtags. When multiple users include the same hashtag in their tweets, those tweets all become searchable by the same term, which makes it easier to find other users discussing the same topics. “What they do is they create communities,” Kate says. “People can use them and look at them and see what everyone else is saying. It connects people together. It creates a community — it creates a family.”

To develop some consistency, Kate worked with the event promoters to develop a full slate of hashtags for drivers, teams, and fans to use throughout the season to help people stay connected as they chat about the happenings at each event:

The hashtag for the season finale at Auto Club Speedway is being held in reserve until it’s determined whether a promotion will be run in conjunction with it that should be incorporated.

For INDYCAR tweets not specifically related to an event, Kate plans to use the hashtag #indycar2012.

On Facebook, Kate plans a somewhat different approach. “People have this driving need for photos and for videos,” she says, “and they love talking about things that they see. It’s turning into a very visual medium of social media.”

INDYCAR is also finding that Facebook is where they see the most fan discussion happening. “That’s where people really like to interact with each other about those news stories,” Kate shares. “It’s very easy to see because it’s all in one place, as opposed to Twitter where you have to search through the INDYCAR mentions and hashtags. Interaction there is very good, so we definitely want to keep driving that interaction by using our news stories and sharing those photos and videos.”

There’s another aspect to Facebook that Kate feels INDYCAR can tap into. “I feel like Facebook is a little bit more personal,” she says. “It’s about getting that out there to fans as well and making sure that they know what INDYCAR is about and have a sense of what we feel towards our fans, which is really a family feeling.”

Kate has been working with Barber Motorsports Park on a promotion model that she thinks will be valuable for INDYCAR all season long. “Our show car is at the Birmingham Airport right now, and the contest is if you go to the airport and take your picture with the car and then tag [Barber Motorsports Park] in it on Facebook then [fans] can enter to win this grand prize, which includes all of these great INDYCAR benefits that most people don’t get to have when they go to a race. They really came up with the concept, and I helped put the pieces together that they were missing.” Kate feels this sort of promotion can benefit not only INDYCAR’s sponsors and tracks but the sport as a whole. “I said, ‘I hope you don’t mind if I’m stealing that throughout the season,’” she admits, “because it’s a great idea and I think we should be using it.”

The question of whether drivers are instructed on how to conduct themselves on social media is one that’s often asked. Kate feels that one of INDYCAR’s greatest strengths is its openness to fans and that restricting drivers on social media would take away from that. “We talked to our teams and our drivers about the common sense thing,” she says, “keeping an appropriate tone and making sure you’re not sharing personal information that could danger the safety of the drivers and teams, which we feel is very important. But at the same time, we tell them, ‘we want you to have the freedom to say what you want to say on Twitter and share your ideas and share your opinions and not be hindered by that.’ It’s not something that we’d like to restrict. It’s more something we’d like to offer some guidelines and some advice on.”

On the subject of communicating Race Control decisions through social media in race time, the plan for 2012 isn’t as defined. “Usually, that information isn’t communicated to me,” Kate says. “I imagine that somebody in Race Control would email Amy Konrath, the head of our Public Relations department, or maybe even Arni [Sribhen, Media Relations Coordinator] since he’s a great contact between us and Race Control. I’ll look at Amy and I’ll say, is this public — any penalty is public; there are hardly any penalties that are confidential — and put it out and let the audience know that this is what’s happening, this is the reason why, and this is who it’s affecting.”

Now that Kate is the full-time Manager of Social Media for INDYCAR, she is solely responsible for the @INDYCAR account on Twitter and for the INDYCAR Facebook pages. She invites all fans to contact her through those platforms with any thoughts or ideas they might like to share. “I can guarantee you that I literally see every mention that @INDYCAR gets because I’m checking it every three or four seconds. Anything that [fans] send there I promise you I’m seeing. If we mutually follow each other, they can direct message me – I read all of those. But to get a hold of me directly, my personal one [@kateguerra4] or even @INDYCAR is really the place to go.”

It will take several months to see whether the plans being enacted today begin to generate growth for the sport’s fan base over the long-term. Regardless, Kate’s passion and drive are evident, and fans can unquestionably expect to see greater activity and engagement from INDYCAR’s social media channels throughout the coming season.

A transcript of their responses appears below. To hear the interview in its entirety, use this player or search for More Front Wing on iTunes.

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Oriol Servia

On having his ride determined so early: “Everybody’s been telling me, man, you’ve been so unlucky, Newman/Haas closed. But it’s probably the year I have my deal done earlier, so it’s still good for me. I’m happy, especially because I landed in a very good place. I’m very happy with Robbie Buhl and Dennis Reinbold — I think they’re great owners. And the whole team, its people, some of them I’ve worked with in the past, like my engineer. I’m pretty confident. And the shop itself, it’s the best INDYCAR shop I’ve been to. So, it’s all looking pretty good, and I’m very excited.”

On how the many changes through his career will help him adapt: “That’s the thing — it’s not just driving. When you have a new car, you’ve got to find out first which are the weakest areas of the car and try to find a solution for them. And that’s where I think having experience can help you, and I do have some experience. I really am excited to start working, and I think we’re all looking forward to a new car, a new challenge, figuring out what works, what doesn’t. And then having the engine manufacturers involved on top of that is even more fun because you can start playing with fuel maps, boost management, and all kinds of things that make the racing even more complex and more things on your hands that you can do right or wrong.”

On working with Lotus and Judd: “It’s awesome. To start with, I like how the black and gold looks. I had my first interaction with the Judd people a couple of weeks ago in the first test, and I was very impressed. They are super knowledgeable. They’ve been working very hard at it. They are very conservative, which as a racer you don’t want — but at the same time you want to finish races, so I like that approach. They’re really trying to have an engine that is solid, and we’ll see. We will not know until St. Pete. There’s no doubt that they are behind on the development because they started six months later than everybody, so we’re playing catch-up right now. It’s going to be a question of how much catch up can they do by the time we start the season. But I’m very happy with all their work and progress so far.”

JR Hildebrand

On how much of his rookie season will apply to 2012: “For me, I think a lot of it is just everything’s much more routine now. One of the biggest differences for me coming from Indy Lights to the INDYCAR was how everything works — having big sponsors, having a lot of commitments on race weekends, getting through the weekends, understanding the qualifying format, and really being able to maximize those different things. So, I think all of that stuff transfers over 100% to the new car because the car isn’t really part of that equation. I think as far as that piece of it goes, in testing so far this year we’ve seen that there’s definitely a little bit of a different driving style maybe that’s required to go fast. The turbo motors definitely create a little bit of a different thing that’s going on in the cockpit. And then because we’ve all got the engine manufacturers working a little bit more closely with us, there are a lot more things available to play with and change — throttle maps, stuff like that. So, I think in terms of the general driving style, a big part of that comes down to tires. Tires are basically going to be the same as they were. But for sure, there will be some very specific things that will be different from before.”

On what he’s looking forward to most this season: “For sure, you look forward to getting back to Indy. For me, it’ll be cool going everywhere, honestly, because it’ll be a whole different ball game. Everybody’s starting from scratch. Last year, I felt like there were a lot of us that came in for our first season that were just along for the ride with whatever your team had come up with in the past. But this year, it’s all up to us. We get to start over and start new. So, I’m looking forward to getting to St. Pete, and then after that Indy is definitely high up on the pecking order.”

On developing a rivalry with James Hinchcliffe: “I think for the rivalry really to grow, we’ve got to crash into each other a lot. (Laughter.) Obviously, the two of us, we came up together along similar paths, raced against each other at different levels on the way up, him being a young Canadian guy, myself being a young Californian guy. I think we have an opportunity to draw in some fans of our generation that maybe are interested in pop culture, younger stuff. So, I think a lot of that’s on me and him, to be honest, to do a good job on the racetrack and then do a good job promoting and getting into it with each other off the racetrack. I think what a lot of people want to see is that interaction between drivers, so whether we’re boxing it out because we’ve wrecked each other in qualifying or — which is the more actual truth currently — we’re buddies, we’ve got to do our part to make that into something that’s interesting for people.”

On reflecting on his rookie performance at Indianapolis: “The thing that always runs through my head with it is you sit there and go, s–t man, we were that close! But at the same time, we had a legit shot at it on our first go at this whole thing. So, that’s what I hang my hat on and the perspective that I take looking forward. I think in the end it gives me and it gives the team a lot of confidence in what we’re doing. For those guys to be able to stick the rookie in the car in the last year when everybody’s totally got this thing figured out with the old car and have a shot at it, I think that was quite a feat for them. Really, we just look at it as a positive thing moving forward.”

Tony Kanaan

On how his past development experience will help him this season: “I don’t know. I think it should be an advantage, but I haven’t done it in nine years, so it’s a whole different ball game. The thing is, it’s like riding a bicycle — you never forget. So, as soon as we started to develop the new chassis and the new engine, it brought back all the memories that I had back nine years ago. So, I think a little bit it would be an advantage, especially that I’ve driven turbo engines before. Some of the drivers here haven’t. So, hopefully it is an advantage.”

On the learning process of driving the turbo engine differently: “To be honest, I think we haven’t seen all the power that anybody’s got because now the competition is back, so they’re not going to show everything right away. The turbo engine has a particular power band. Obviously, because you’ve got to keep engaging the turbo, [it’s different from] a normally aspirated engine. But driveability-wise, so far with the Chevys I’m extremely happy. But I think we won’t be able to judge until we get to St. Pete and the first race, and then you’re going to see everybody showing up with everything they’ve got. There is a debate about do we have enough power or do we not. It’s so early to say that I can’t make a statement right now.”

On how much the driver impacts the performance of the DW12: “I think it’s going to show off more just because it’s a new car. Everybody had had that car for so long that we knew exactly what to do. Everybody had figured out how to drive it. [The DW12 is] still an INDYCAR. It’s still the same characteristics. Power-wise it’s pretty similar, and there’s not much difference on the driving style. I think it’s more about figuring out how the car likes to work and discovering that than anything else. As a driver, the advantage will be the experience that we’ve got on how to make things happen quicker than the other guys.”

On whether drivers are adjusting the car to them or adjusting themselves to the car: “You’re adapting to the chassis right now. Before we adapt the car to us, we need to figure out what the car likes and what it doesn’t like. From then on, you try to make changes for yourself.”

On whether the car’s reported instability might improve the racing: “People have got to understand that it doesn’t make a difference on the road and street courses, actually. It only makes a difference on the ovals. We’ve still got a couple of tests on the ovals to figure out this new car. So, obviously, with the way it was before we made the improvements — which we’re going to test next week — it was more of a handful to drive, which in a way I don’t feel that bad about. I think if it’s too easy everybody can do it, and that’s when we go back to the pack racing that we had. If it’s difficult, you’re just going to have to work harder. I think on that aspect it’s actually an advantage. It doesn’t necessarily mean it’s right or that we like it, but the harder it is to drive — the more difficult it is — the more we’re going to have to work and harder we’re going to have to work to make it right. And that’s when you’re going to create disparity between cars and teams.”

A transcript of his responses appears below. To hear the interview in its entirety, use this player or search for More Front Wing on iTunes.

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On the ascension of his career over the past several seasons: “It’s crazy to think how far the last 24 months has gone. A lot’s happened, and it’s been the most positive period of my career ever. I couldn’t be happier with how things have been going. And, obviously, last year was a huge year for us. Just to make it onto the grid in INDYCAR was such a struggle for so many years and the biggest goal that we had, and we got there. I can’t put enough credit on Newman/Haas and the job they did last year with me to prepare me for what I had to do and for helping me out. To have that year and have Rookie of the Year and then dovetail that into now driving with Andretti and GoDaddy, it’s all a bit surreal. I’m looking forward to just getting to St. Pete and having the green flag drop and getting back to normal life, which for me is driving the race car.”

Elaboration on his discussion of the formulaic nature of Newman/Haas from the fan Q&A session earlier that day: “They would do before any event — test, race, whatever — something along the lines of a 30-page report for the drivers and the engineers to go over every possible detail of what’s going to be happening. After a race, it would be a 60-page report detailing everything that did happen. It was so thorough, and it gave me such an understanding of what happens during weekends. Obviously, a lot happens that it’s easy to forget because as a driver you’re downloading so much information. When you’re out on track, each run, each setup change, some of those can get lost in the midst, and these were just such a great way of keeping everything structured and I could look back on them. I’ve never seen another team that took that level of detail in their preparations and also in their post-event reports, and I think that was a big factor in our success last year because I just felt so prepared when I showed up to the racetrack and I took as much away from the race as possible because I had all this information to go back on. So, things like that, I think there are good opportunities to inject some of that philosophy into the new environment at Andretti.”

On his new teammates in comparison to last year’s teammate, Oriol Servia: “I’m actually very impressed with those two guys — again, coming off Oriol, who’s the highest benchmark you can have for a teammate. Both these guys are race winners. And through the testing process — because we’ve all been sharing a car up to this point — it’s been cool to see how open they were. Right off the bat, the first test I went to, Marco was driving but Ryan and I were there watching. Ryan had done a lot of the manufacturer testing for Chevy, and he pulled me aside and just went through everything on the car, everything I needed to know, what to expect, what he learned, the mistakes he made. It was incredible, my first day at the track with these guys, just how open and welcoming they were. It really set a good tone for everything. Ryan and Marco have a very good relationship already, so I’ve just tried to sneak my way in there. We call ourselves the Three Musketeers. The team calls us the Three Stooges. I guess it depends what day. It’s definitely a little bit different. We’re closer in generation, if you will. But I’ve known Marco for years — we grew up karting together and Star Mazda together and stuff — so some old relationships are just rekindling there, and then obviously getting to know Ryan a bit better. It’s been really good.”

On whether only one year in the IR03 might turn out to be an advantage when getting used to the DW12: “Coming up through the junior formulas, you get a new car every year or two years as you move up to different series, so for me it’s sort of a normal thing to in March be driving a brand new car again. But there’s no doubt that the guys that have experience from back in the day when new cars were being pumped out every single year — it’s the development side of things. When you come up through the ranks as a driver you adapt to a car, but the car is usually already pretty well sorted because other people have driven it for years, whereas in this case it’s a new car for me to drive but it’s also a new car for me to develop and there’s a lot of work to do with the team on that side of things. So, that’s where the older guys have a little bit more of an edge. But it certainly does level the playing field a little bit because maybe one guy’s style really suited the old car and it’s not going to suit the new car, so it’s about being very flexible, being able to adapt your driving style, and some people are better at that than others.”

On how he’s felt about the new car through testing: “I’ve really enjoyed it. It is very different, and there’s certainly still a lot of work to do on it. But that’s to be expected, and the development side of racing is something I always really looked forward to coming up. I always wanted to get to the point where my feedback had influence over the direction of a car. So, it’s a very exciting time. And it’s fun driving with a turbo, it’s fun having carbon brakes, so there’s a lot of cool things that we’re getting to work with.”

On the difference in driving with carbon brakes: “The difference in the braking is incredible. We can brake so much later now. But there are also a lot of tricks with carbon brakes to get the same sort of feel and ability to modulate as you do with steel brakes, and because everything’s new with stock parts we don’t have all that sorted yet. So, every single driver is locking wheels left, right, and centre. We’ve spent more time in runoffs than you ever have in your career ever at a preseason test, and it’s just really trying to wrap our heads around it. And part of the issue is also that a lot of the other series that run carbon brakes don’t run on the kind of bumpy street circuits that we do, and they don’t love that kind of environment. But everybody’s in the same boat, so it’s really learning to manage it in a little bit more of a different environment on a street circuit.”

On whether 2012 will see more passing: “There are two main differences that are going to, I think, assist overtaking this year. One is the engines, and the second one is that the design of the car was such that they wanted more of the downforce to be generated through the floor, which makes it easier to follow guys. The old car was an oval car that we bolted big wings on to get enough downforce to drive on a road course, so they were very aero-sensitive on the road and street circuits. This car is designed with an intention of being a little bit easier to drive behind guys. So, I think we’re going to see a difference there, for sure. The carbon brakes are then the opposite effect because they shorten the brake zones, and whenever you shorten the brake zones it makes it a little bit more difficult. But that’s two to one for more passing, so hopefully we’re going to see a little bit more.”

On the new engine formula: “The blueprint of the engine in general — having a 2.2L V6 turbocharged engine — is very cool. It’s much lighter than the old one. It’s got just as much power when the turbo is on, not quite as much when the turbo is off, so you’re working with that and how to maximize being in the right rev range and everything. But I think it sounds pretty cool. I think having 33 of them at Indy is going to sound pretty cool and different engine notes between the Lotus and the Honda. And now you get to work with the manufacturer. It’s one more part on the car you can tune, and even driver to driver you can adjust things. So, that’s another tool you have to maximize your package for you on any given weekend, and I’m enjoying that extra relationship and that extra dynamic.”

On whether a twisty-heavy season still works to his advantage: “I think if you look at last year, I probably scored more points on ovals than I did on road courses, so this might be bad for me! In 2010, my last year in Lights, and then 2011, I developed such a love for oval racing. I’ll be honest — my first year in ’09, I was still a little hesitant, didn’t really understand it as well, and didn’t enjoy it as much. But that last year in Lights just completely changed my view on everything. I enjoyed it so much, I did a lot better at it, I had much better results on the ovals in 2010. And then to be able to adapt that in the INDYCARs and have some really strong runs on ovals was awesome for me personally because it wasn’t my forte, it wasn’t where I came from. So, it was really rewarding to put in the work and get the results on them. So, I’m happy either way. I like oval tracks as much as road courses and vice versa, so whatever track I’m driving into on Thursday is my favorite kind of track. That’s just sort of how it works.”

On feeling additional pressure after being Rookie of the Year: “I feel a lot of pressure from the fact that there’s this bizarre urban legend in racing about the sophomore slump, and that’s more what I’m worried about than anything else. Again, certainly eyes are going to be on you this year when you come off a good year and winning Rookie of the Year and now with another good team, a very high-profile sponsor, a high-profile seat. So, yeah, there’s going to be a lot more attention, I think, on our program. But as a driver, you put so much pressure on yourself no matter what the scenario, whether it’s driving four-cycle go-karts up at Goodwood Kartways or driving a Dallara Chevy for Andretti Autosport in the Indy 500. So, I think it’s more a function of there will be more attention paid and so more praise when you do well and more criticism when you make a mistake. But that’s just all part of racing at this level.”

On what it means to earn the GoDaddy seat after Dan Wheldon: “I think that the big thing for me is that I really understand and appreciate that this was Dan’s car, and for me the biggest thing is just to make sure that that’s respected. I don’t want to dwell on it, and I don’t think we need to make a point of it every weekend. But deep down I’m always going to know that, and I’ve already said that this year in a little way I’m going to drive for Dan every time I get in the car. I’ve been in contact with his sister and with Susie and everybody, and the support from them has been incredible. And it makes a big difference to someone stepping into this position because it’s not the position anybody wants to be in because you never want to lose anybody to then have to fill a seat. So, having their support meant an awful lot to me when this all happened. And I’ll always drive in Dan’s honor and his memory. He’s on my helmet now, and he will be for the rest of my career. It’s important to remember but then also just to go out and do a good job for him.”

On the INDYCAR Mobile app being available only to US-based Verizon users:
“I think that Verizon has been a remarkable partner, and I think that one of the most important things we can do besides building our fan base is being able to generate and fulfill great sponsors and Verizon is one of those.  They’ve stepped up to the plate and offered this app, they’ve spent millions of dollars on it, and it’s for Verizon users.  Hopefully, people will switch phones to Verizon.  If you’ve ever had a Verizon compared to any of the other services, I’ll guarantee you’ll like it a lot more.  I’m doing every fan a favor by getting you to switch over, trust me.  I’ve had them all.  I love Verizon.  It’s the best.”

Whether INDYCAR will offer at-track rental equipment for non-Verizon users:
“At this point, no.  Down the road, I think we just need to sit down with Verizon, our partner, and determine what is in everyone’s best interest and go from there.  But they’ve been great to work with, and they’ve invested so much into this.  It’s only fair to let their key customers use it.”

Availability of online streaming for 2012:
“It’s not going to happen.  It was something that we fought for, and it was not in the rights.  And we still have six more years left on that contract.  That’s NBC, but ABC has the same problems.”

Whether the ESPN3 stream will be for the race only or all weekend:
“That’s a good question.  I don’t have an answer to that.”

Whether Milwaukee can be successful in 2012:
“I think we need to see some success for sure this year.  I produced about 225 events with PBR, and it was not uncommon that you could take an event and produce an event with four months to go.  I think that especially in today’s world and in the past several years we see the purchasing of tickets really is in that last 60 days and even less.  So, do I believe we can be successful?  Yes.  The traditionalists and the purists really want to see this race, and I think that it’s important for us.  It has such a legendary status being one of the oldest tracks in the country.  We need to really try and make it successful.”

How the situation in Milwaukee differs from New Hampshire:
“We wanted to try again, find the right date.  We shot ourselves in the foot up there a little bit.  There was a big air show within 60 miles of there that did over 100,000 people that day.  That was an annual event.  That’s the same type of person that would go to a race.  I think the rain hurt us.  There were quite a few things.  So, I think Jerry Gappens would be interested in another race.”  (Are there discussions going forward, maybe in ’13 or ’14?)  “I think we’ll address it at a separate point.”

Relationship with SMI:
“I wouldn’t say great friends.  I’d say it’s a very business-to-business relationship.  It’s a quality relationship, but it’s business to business.  I don’t go out to dinner or drink with them or socialize.”

How the tragedy at Vegas and the aftermath impacted INDYCAR’s relationship with SMI:
“They addressed my concerns in a very responsive manner.  There were some comments that were inappropriate.  But Chris Powell — and Kevin Camper used to be my Chief Marketing Officer at PBR — I have a tremendous amount of respect for them.  And when you have a tragedy like that you can never prepare for it, and I think that everyone’s stress levels were straight through the roof.  But it was, again, business to business.”

Relationship with ISC:
“Again, business to business.  I am friends with John Saunders and some of them.  I think that if scheduling permits and if they can provide deals that make sense, I think you’ll see some additional ISC tracks on the schedule for 2013.  We never had any negativity — let me rephrase that — we never walked away and said we’ll never have another event with ISC.  It was just a matter of making sure that it made sense for both of us.”

Starting the IZOD IndyCar Series season earlier in 2013:
“Possibly — again, if it makes sense.  I think the most important thing we can do is really be strategic on our long-term planning of our events and make sure that they are well thought out.”

*

Key points:

- Hinchcliffe’s opinion is that the greatest difference in the new car is not the chassis or the engine but the switch to carbon brakes. “At Sebring, with slower engines and a balance that’s not quite there, we’re already a second faster. I guarantee you, eight-tenths of that is coming in brake zones.”

- The shift in where the new car gets its downforce is creating better-handling cars at faster tracks. “At places like Mid-Ohio and Sonoma I think you’re going to see significant improvements in lap time, and a lot of that’s all going to be done in the high-speed corners because of the downforce.”

-  The design of the head rest in the DW12 is a major safety concern that must be addressed before it will be race-ready. “It’s a standard system in terms of getting the pins out to get the head rest off, but unfortunately the way they’ve designed it, the drivers can’t actually reach it. … There will be changes because I don’t think you can actually race the car in its current configuration safely.”

- Hinchcliffe’s engineer will be Tino Belli, and his chief mechanic will be Dave Sharpley. There have been some personnel changes, but the team is largely the same as that of Danica Patrick.

*

Key quotes:

On how he landed with GoDaddy and Andretti Autosport: “Michael called me probably at the end of October, and that’s when things started moving. At that point, Newman/Haas was still around and I was still in a way signed with them, contractually tied to them, but you always take the call. It’s always worth having the conversation because as of December 1st things moved fairly quickly with Andretti and trying to get everything together. On a program like this, especially with a sponsor like GoDaddy and the way they do it, normally those deals are done months in advance. It’s not often it comes together so late, so it’s still a little bit rushed. But at the end of the day, for the first time in my career, I was able to go to sleep on Christmas Eve and know what I was going to be racing in 2012. It’s not a bad Christmas present at all.”

On how he can capitalize on Andretti success: “It’s very cool because Michael was still racing as recently as 2007 I think was his last Indy 500, so it’s still very relevant knowledge that he’s got. And Mario’s experience is a little more general, but with what he’s been through and what he knows, the guy’s forgotten more about racing than I’ll ever know. So, to have a resource like that is incredible, and when the team itself has been around in different iterations and it’s had different names over the years, but they’ve been very successful. They’ve won championships, they’ve won 500s, and I’ve got two teammates that are both race winners, and it’s a very strong organization right now. They’re very hungry to do even better than they did last year, and I think that all the ingredients are there for that to happen.”

On replacing Danica as INDYCAR’s GoDaddy representative: “Big heels to fill, right? I think I got an email from them the other day saying that I should start practicing shaving my legs for an upcoming commercial, so we’ll see how that all plays out. I apologize in advance.”

On his impressions of the DW12 and testing: “It’s a very different-looking car. I think it just took everybody a by little bit of surprise. We’ve had the same car for almost 10 years now. And I was the same way, but after spending five, six, seven days watching it on a racetrack, now it looks like an INDYCAR to me. So, I think once everybody sees them, especially with all the teams’ liveries and everything, you’ll get used to the look. It’ll be what you perceive an INDYCAR to be pretty soon. As far as driving it goes, it’s very different from the old car. Even right down to where you sit in the car, the seating position’s different. The car’s got more downforce on the road courses, so it corners a lot faster. The engines are pretty different with 2.2L V6 turbocharged engines this year, and there’s a lot of work being done now by manufacturers to try and improve that and maximize that package. And then probably the biggest difference is actually the carbon brakes. Moving from steel brakes to carbon brakes is an incredible change, and that’s something we’re all trying to wrap our heads around right now because it’s very different. The car stops on a dime and gives change. It’s unbelievable how quickly this thing’s stopping. At Sebring, with slower engines and a balance that’s not quite there, we’re already a second faster. I guarantee you, eight-tenths of that is coming in brake zones.”

On the difference in downforce between the IR03 and the DW12: “There certainly is more downforce in this car, and that was one of the design goals. What was important was to try and generate as much from the floor as possible so that when you’re running behind another car on the track you’re not quite as affected as if you’re relying solely on the wings for the downforce. At Sebring, when we were there it was hot and greasy and gross and dirty, and in some of those quicker corners you could really feel how much better this thing’s going to be on fast tracks. So, at places like Mid-Ohio and Sonoma I think you’re going to see significant improvements in lap time, and a lot of that’s all going to be done in the high-speed corners because of the downforce. I’m looking forward to getting in the car on a quick road track and giving it a whirl.”

On a suggestion of doing car-escape safety drills on testing days: “For a long time, there was a five-second test and to get your licence you had to be able to undo your seatbelt, remove your steering wheel, and get yourself out of the car in under five seconds. Why that stopped, I don’t know. I’ve never had to do it in my career at any level of the sport and I haven’t had to do that test, and I don’t see why we shouldn’t have to do it. One of the big differences in INDYCAR is when we were on the ovals the head pads we wore on the head rests really restricted our ability to get out of the car, so especially on oval tracks it’s certainly something that we should practice and have some sort of system in place with all of the connections we have. With the radio, the water tube, the black box to your ear pieces, there’s three different connections, and that’s once you’ve got the head rest out or if you just try to force yourself out of the head rest because sometimes you can’t do it on ovals with the head pads that are in there. So, they really need to look at the system with the new car. The drivers complained last year that everybody had a different way of connecting the head rest to the car, and so the marshals in an emergency situation didn’t necessarily know what kind of setup you had and maybe weren’t able to react as quickly. In the new car, it’s a standard system in terms of getting the pins out to get the head rest off, but unfortunately the way they’ve designed it, the drivers can’t actually reach it. It’s been brought to the attention of the Series. We have a nice, big meeting in Indianapolis tomorrow morning at 8:30 with all the drivers in our association, and this is one of the topics that’s come up. And there will be changes because I don’t think you can actually race the car in its current configuration safely.”

On closed cockpits: “After Las Vegas, that was a hot topic of conversation. The problem is that’s such a big, fundamental shift in the design of our cars. I’m not saying it’s not the way to go, but that’s not something you do overnight. And the guys that sit there saying it’s outrageous you don’t have those, they don’t get it. It’s a very ignorant thing to say. I know there are now people doing these investigations, doing these studies, but if — and it’s a big if because having a closed cockpit brings up a whole other list of challenges and safety concerns — but if that’s the way forward, it’s not going to be for five years. It’s staying on top of safety, never being complacent, investigating those new ideas and opportunities. Even if at the end of the day they end up not being the right way to go, you’ve got to put in the time to see if that might be the right avenue. It’s definitely come up a lot, and I think you’re going to hear a lot about it over the next couple of years until a decisive position can be taken.”

On the new engines and turbo lag: “It’s been a big change for us, for sure. If you go back as far as the last open-wheel car that had a turbocharger, it was the Champ Cars, and the big difference that we have right now is that Champ Car turbo engines were V8s and a V8 engine has a lot of torque on its own. You take a turbo off a V8, it’s still going to be a torque-y motor. We had our naturally aspirated V8 last year, so we’re used to a lot of torque. With the new engine, it’s a 2.2L six-cylinder engine, which doesn’t have a lot of torque. So, when it’s off the turbo, it’s quite slow. So, there is a little bit of turbo lag right now that we’re trying to play with. It’s different than in years past because in years past you could use the torque of the V8 to get you up to when the turbo kicks in and then the thing takes off. So, for right now, there’s a lot of playing around with the engine manufacturers. We’re working with different parameters in the engine to try and reduce the lag. There are all sorts of complicated systems and tricks to try and take care of it, and it’s all a natural progression right now with the new engine. We have big fish to fry, medium fish to fry, and then little things — turbo lag is somewhere in the little to medium range. We’ve got to make sure that things like pistons don’t go through the block. So, once we get some of the bigger issues sorted, then we’ll start chipping away at taking care of that. For sure, it changes the way you approach the exit of a corner, how you get to power, when you get to power, and you do some adjustment as to how the boost ramps up. If it’s too aggressive on a street circuit, for example, I can hit a button on the steering wheel and it’ll rev up more progressively. So, there are some really cool things with working with a turbo engine that we’re going to play with over the year.”

On who his team principals will be: “I’m going to be engineered by a gentlemen called Tino Belli, who’s been with Andretti for a long time. And my chief mechanic is a guy called Dave Sharpley — again, a guy that’s been around for a very long time. A lot of this crew was Danica’s crew last year. There’s been a few substitutions, but it’s a good group of guys. I don’t think it’s any secret that it wasn’t necessarily the happiest environment the last few races of last year, and they’re all very looking forward to a new season, new challenge, new car, new driver. It’s like a first date. Everyone’s really excited. It’s like puppy love right now.”

On different ways of doing things between Newman/Haas and Andretti: “I think every team is different from Newman/Haas. I think they operate in a very unique way. When I got there, it was my first experience in INDYCAR, so I thought this is how an INDYCAR team operates. That’s not necessarily true. They were so formulaic. They were so precise and scientific. They were a very well-structured, well-oiled machine. Not that Andretti isn’t, but Andretti operates more like race teams that I’ve worked at in the past. It’s been interesting because obviously Newman/Haas had a lot of success with that sort of structure, so there’s actually been a couple of elements of the Newman/Haas way of doing things that I’m trying to inject into the Andretti way of doing things, and there’s been a couple of Andretti ways of doing things that I’m trying to beat into myself and get rid of the Newman/Haas way of doing things. We’re trying to find the best of both worlds right now, and it’s good.”

On returning to the days of running 240 MPH at Fontana: “I’d like to return to the days when cars did 240 at the Speedway. Maybe not Fontana. I have nothing wrong with going 240 miles an hour, but I think you’ve got to be specific about which tracks you do it on.”

*

Hinchcliffe went into great detail on many other topics not listed above, including the level of fitness required to drive INDYCARs, what young drivers need to know to make it through the ranks, his experience at the Rolex 24 and other races that are on his career bucket list, who the rookie to beat will be this season, his thoughts heading into St. Petersburg with no experience at the track, and much more.

To listen to the Q&A session in its entirety, use the player below or search for More Front Wing on iTunes.

(Apologies for the conference hall audio quality. Many thanks to the Canadian Motorsports Expo for their permission to repost this audio.)

More Front Wing also recorded a one-on-one interview with Hinchcliffe at the CME in which he elaborated on many of these topics. Watch for it later this week here at MoreFrontWing.com.

Full audio of the interview can be accessed using the player at the bottom of this page. A selection of key quotes appears below.

On his career background: “At the end of my driving career as it was sort of petering out and I didn’t have the means to continue financially, I found my way into — as many of these guys do — teaching racing schools, coaching drivers, to keep myself at racetracks. I happened upon a fellow by the name of Chris Kniefel, who ended up soon thereafter becoming the Champ Car Race Director. He and I worked really well together at schools and just had a great time. The first year that my former team owner obtained the Formula Ford 2000 series, he hired me out of the blue to be the Race Director with absolutely zero officiating experience. Kneifel told me to go for it — he thought it would be a good experience and I would do well at it. And with a year of officiating experience, Kneifel hired me to work alongside him as a steward at Champ Car. And, basically, the rest of my officiating career is history from there. But it was good experience working alongside him for a couple of years and then a couple of years with Tony Cotman as a steward at Champ Car, where I also served as Race Director for different support series such as Atlantic and Trans-Am and was fortunate enough to land on my feet with the American Le Mans Series when Champ Car essentially got absorbed into INDYCAR.”

On discussion of his lack of experience officiating oval races: “I can certainly appreciate people’s concern with their perception of my lack of experience on ovals. But my response to that is that I’ve driven on ovals, I’ve won races on ovals, and I’ve officiated on ovals. The five years in Champ Car, I went through a similar evolution of ovals falling off the schedule for various reasons. At the end of it, we still had at least a couple of oval races per year there, so I’ve been a decision-maker in Race Control during oval races. It’s certainly something that I’ve got to get reacclimated and familiar with but something that is definitely within my realm of experience.”

On double-file restarts: “I know that the drivers tended to be very vocal about it in the beginning. It seemed like the best drivers decided this is the way we’re moving forward and this is what we want to do to improve our product, and they dealt with it and they moved forward with it. In that regard, a lot of my officiating philosophy applies, which is putting a lot of responsibility on the drivers on the track. It’s difficult for me to accept any blame or a lot of responsibility for drivers running into each other on the track when they’re the ones doing the running into each other. So, ultimately, it’s up to those guys to figure out how to get through the first turn and coexist peacefully to run their race and get through it. It’s something that we as a race series have decided to go forward with that we think adds excitement and improves our product, and I certainly support that.”

On the use of discretion: “I think discretion is certainly a word that I use less, and precedent and consistency are words that I use much more. The clearer we try to make rules as officials, the more it tends to paint us in a box and really put us in a worse-off position than having a little bit of grey, so really, like anything else, there’s a balance. The evolution of my officiating: the very first year in Champ Car we called no blocking, for example, and we got totally hammered for it. The second year, we called every single little move as a block, and we got hammered for it. Either concept was easy to move forward with from an officiating standpoint — it was very easy to never make a call, and it was very easy to make a call off of any little twitch that a driver made. So, what I really learned from that in developing an officiating career is that the easy way out is not necessarily the answer. It’s up to me to establish and manage expectations. I think it’s important for me to be able to articulate those grey areas so drivers know exactly where I stand and what will be called and what won’t.”

On shaking the perceptions of inconsistency and favoritism: “I really think it’s a tone you set. I have to be comfortable with the penalties fitting the violation and be comfortable with moving forward with that throughout the entire season. The worst thing you can hear about your own officiating is that people have a perception that it’s inconsistent, so that’s something that I certainly live by. I hate to call it a ‘menu of penalties,’ but we have a very simple spreadsheet that we refer to in Race Control that if we draw a blank or we don’t have a great memory or haven’t had that violation in a while we refer to this sheet and it tells us exactly what our standard penalty is for that violation. It’s a simple operating procedure that allows us to establish that consistency.

“But to take it a step further — and I know this sounds a little bit cliché — like many athletes might describe in their element, they sort of get in a zone. I’ve been in a zone enough where I’m watching a replay and I’m thinking about what I’ve told the drivers I would call or wouldn’t call and literally looking at an incident as it happens without any regard to who’s driving the car, the car number, or even the color of a car. I’m looking at that incident and how those cars are interacting just for absolute face value. It doesn’t matter who or what, it’s just the incident by itself, and then you can assess responsibility or blame enough to introduce penalty to the situation, and that’s how I move forward. So, the who and what of the incidents usually really rarely factors in.”

On openness and transparency of the rule book: “I certainly have hopes that I can start to turn this around and take it in a right direction, that the fans will be way less concerned with what the rule book says and way more interested in focusing on the great product that’s being developed. My thoughts on transparency are that I have time for every driver, every team owner, every fan, every member of the media that ever stops me in the paddock. I don’t shut down and I don’t hide — I’m very available. That probably means less to a fan, maybe a little bit more to the media, and certainly is invaluable to drivers and team owners.”

On establishing accountability through race-time use of instant messaging: “Quite simply, I don’t think I could function in Race Control without it anymore. I’ve used it so effectively and gotten so accustomed to it and gotten my teams so comfortable with it that I might be lost in Race Control without it. So, it’s definitely going to be in place, up and running, functional at the first race of the season.”

On communicating with live media: “For my own style, much like the drivers and the team managers, I have a good relationship — or at least open communication — established with the production crew and the on-air talent. So, much like the drivers and team managers need to understand me, so does television. Going to production meetings and having a good explanation at every race of how I’m going to call those races is a priority. Along those lines, in my Race Control, to my left is my person that does instant message, and to my right is the person that’s in contact with the director and producer. So, in terms of coordinating commercial breaks and such and giving any explanation on top of something that is called — or something that, for that matter, might not be called — I’m giving them that information so on-air they know what I’m thinking so they know how to explain it without it getting questioned, doubted, or stirring up controversy.”

On how the appeals process might work: “I think that probably the best preview I could give you to that potentially at this point — still yet to be determined — is that the stewards might be well enough disconnected from the normal operational decision-making that they’re in a position to at least hear the beginning of an appeal.”

On his approach to officiating his first Indianapolis 500: “I think there’s enough of a lead-up to the event that, with as much on-track activity as we have before the actual race itself, that will suffice in my mind to get me back comfortable with ovals that I haven’t experienced in a few years. I’m certainly looking forward to that somewhat lower-pressure environment of getting comfortable with watching cars from Race Control interact on the racetrack.

“I think the formation for the start of the Indianapolis 500 will be established in a tone that is set in all the races preceding the Indy 500. So, ultimately, the drivers will know what I expect of them on the starts and what I’m looking for, and I think it’s very important to take action against anybody who doesn’t play along prior to getting to the Indy 500. From an officiating standpoint, I don’t want to have to penalize anyone, and I certainly am sensitive to what the Indy 500 means to everybody, including myself, and probably am more sensitive at that race. But that doesn’t mean that I’m going to stand down from doing it. So, I’m perfectly willing to, and that tone is set in the races preceding it. Hopefully, we’ll end up with a start that all of us want to see.”

On whether he will wave off unsatisfactory starts: “The wave-off of a start, in my opinion, is not up to me. A wave-off of a start is up to the Starter — hence the title Starter. So, one thing that I have always done and I will continue to do is — much like I’ve already established this important communication line between drivers, team owners, television, all these various entities — I will make it very clear to the Starter what my opinions and philosophies are, but ultimately it’s his call and that’s up to him. I will give the Starter full empowerment to start races or wave starts off as they see fit.”

On dealing with the pressure inherent in his new role: “My goal is to go about my business the way I do it, and I’m confident that that will make a noticeable difference. I know there are times that this isn’t always going to be the case, but ultimately, my style is to disappear quietly into the background where I belong, do my business of calling a good race, and let the drivers be the stars as they should be. I don’t expect any attention when it goes well, and I’m certainly prepared for the things that people will say and how people will react when you make a call that everybody doesn’t agree with.”

On what about INDYCAR Race Control needs to change: “From what I’ve pinpointed, there have been a few noticeable system breakdowns that I have noticed and, I’ve determined through a lot of analysis, that are fairly simple fixes in my mind based on the system that I’m already used to. So, I’m comfortable, based on the things that I have discovered through analyzing INDYCAR Race Control, that the system that I already am comfortable with, when I walk in and put that in place, will resolve many of the issues that have happened in the past couple of years.”

To listen to the full interview, use the player below or search for More Front Wing on iTunes.

We are More Front Wing truly thank you for your continued to support throughout this past season.  We look forward to another great season of the IZOD IndyCar Series in 2012 when the sun will shine on a new era for Indycar racing.

To listen to the podcast, click on the player below to search ‘More Front Wing’ on iTunes.

There are many tributes already written to Dan, all of them far more eloquent than I have been given talents to match.  Instead, I feel it is best to simply write what I feel as it comes to me.  I hope that you might grant me latitude as my thoughts (much like yours, I’m sure) are still a jumbled mess of confusion, shock, and sadness at this point.

Once the initial shock of the moment began to somewhat wear off, I admit that there was a bit of joy for Dan.  I think we all hope that when our time comes to leave this world that we might be called away doing something we truly love.  Other than spending time with his wife and two beautiful young sons, there was nothing Dan Wheldon loved more than driving an Indy car.  He knew he was one of the best at his craft, and he was probably having more fun in those 11 laps than he could have ever expressed.  I can only hope that when my time comes, I will go out rejoicing the very opportunity I have been given as I know Dan was doing.

Dan Wheldon will always be remembered as one of the greatest oval drivers of his generation.  His record at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is the stuff of legend.  Now, in his passing, Dan joins the likes of Gaston Chevrolet, Ray Keech, and George Robson as champions of the Indianapolis 500 who gave their lives for the sport they love before they could return to defend their title.  When the admission ticket for the 96th Indianapolis 500 is unveiled, I think it would be appropriate for the Speedway to commemorate Dan’s passing with a black stripe on Dan’s image.

I would be remiss to complete my thoughts on this tragedy without lifting up those men and women who have worked so tirelessly over the past 50 years to make days like Sunday a truly rare event.  There was time not too long ago, certainly within our parents’ time if not our own, when death was a common element of racing.  It was both accepted and expected.  However, through the efforts of figures such as Sir Jackie Stewart, Bill Simpson, Tony George, Dr. Steve Olvey, Dr. Robert Hubbard, and more than I could possibly name here, tragedies such as Dan’s passing shock us because we are not accustomed to losing our heroes as previous generations were.  We recognize that this is not the first tragedy, nor will it be the last, that we in the racing world will endure, but men such as these and their successors will continue to ensure that safety continues to move forward as the show goes on.

And the show will go on.  It must.  Racing sadly has a history of losing its heroes, but the racing continues.  When names like Bill Vukovich, Jimmy Clark, Ayrton Senna, and Dale Earnhardt passed, their comrades were able to honor them by moving on and continuing to race in the following weeks as they knew their fallen friend would have wanted them to do.  Sadly, the drivers of today’s IZOD IndyCar Series must endure five long months to get back in the saddle again, much in the same way Greg Moore’s friends had to do following his death in the 1999 CART finale at California Speedway.  The irony, of course, is that when they return to competition, they will do so in a brand new car that Dan was instrumental in bringing to fruition.

I first met Dan as a fan at Indianapolis in 2004.  At the time, I remember thinking of him as somewhat bratty, loving the bachelor life, and ripe with a sense of entitlement.  However, I was able to look past that because I could immediately see the love and passion for what he was doing.  As the years went by and he continued to mature as both a man and a driver, I came to respect him more and more.  His charisma and charm quickly won me over as a fan long before I had any dealings with him as part of More Front Wing.  To say I knew Dan well would be a disrespectful overstatement, but I was fortunate to have had several encounters with him over the past two and a half years.  His passion for his sport was matched only by his willingness to give all of himself to promote the Series he so dearly loved.  In our final conversation at Kentucky Speedway two weeks ago, there was an excitement and a confidence that was palpable.  It was easy to tell that his career was on the cusp of a re-awakening.  The “new” Dan Wheldon that emerged after his marriage to wife Susie and birth of his sons Sebastian and Oliver understood now that life was much greater than just racing, but he still put the title of Indianapolis 500 champion as a close third in priority behind father and husband.  And a true champion he was…

Days like today make many of us question why we love this sport and follow it faithfully knowing full well what lurks in every corner.  In the end, we love it because it is in our blood.  We love our heroes who understand the risks and face them head-on.  Dan was certainly one who did not back down from those risks.  At some point, our shock and sadness will turn to anger and dozens of questions will arise.  We will wonder how this happened and how it could have been prevented.  I know that no tragedy is an isolated moment in time but instead the result of a thousand unforeseen occurrances that all had to line up just right to put Dan in that space at that time.  The saying When it’s your time, it’s your time is too often overused, but it is truly fitting. When the Almighty Creator calls us Home, we must accept that our path is not for our chosing but that of a Higher Will.  I can’t help but smile knowing that when our friend Michael Wanser soon arrives at the Pearly Gates, he’ll have a familiar face now to welcome him Home.

As I began to think last night about how to sum up the events of the day, I kept thinking back to the tragic events of the 1964 Indianapolis 500 that took the life of Dave MacDonald and fan-favorite Eddie Sachs, a man who loved the 500 as much as Dan Wheldon but was never able to achieve racing’s highest glory.  In the moments that followed the announcement of his passing, IMS Radio Network anchor Sid Collins delivered an impromptu eulogy for Sachs that became a seminal moment in radio history.  The words he spoke are as fitting today as they were in that tragic moment.  (The file below is the audio version of the Sachs eulogy from 1964, courtesy of the IMS Radio Network.)

And so we too must go on.  We will never forget Dan Wheldon.  He will always be remembered for his determination and prowess on the track as much as his charisma and character off the track.  He was a great champion, and a loving father and husband.  On behalf of all of us at More Front Wing, we send our prayers and deepest sympathies to the family and friends of Daniel Clive Wheldon.  May he forever rest in peace.

To listen, click on the player below or search ‘More Front Wing’ on iTunes.

Afterward, Paul and Steph review in detail the events of this past weekend’s event at Kentucky Speedway, including the fantastic stories generated by Ed Carpenter’s first race win, the unfortunate lack of witnesses to said stories, the unusually high number of incidents on pit road, and Scott Dixon’s clinching of the 2011 AJ Foyt Trophy. The duo also touch on Dan Wheldon’s situation going into the GoDaddy $5 Million Challenge and take a brief look at the 2012 INDYCAR schedule.

To listen, use the player below or search for More Front Wing on iTunes.

Pippa Mann catches us up on her rehabilitation efforts, shares how she felt after last week’s test at Kentucky, and shared her thoughts on the GoDaddy Challenge and on Alex Tagliani being deposed from his seat this weekend to allow Dan Wheldon a warm-up event.

Wade Cunningham talks about his debut event at Texas Motor Speedway earlier this year and shares his goals for the upcoming two races as well as his thoughts on his career up to this point and his prospects for 2012.

To conclude, Paul and Steph go over some of the hot topics in the IZOD IndyCar Series, including this week’s test of the 2012 car at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the ongoing saga of the GoDaddy Challenge, and the other recent announcements regarding the IZOD IndyCar Series World Championship.

To listen, use the player below or search for More Front Wing on iTunes.

*

Please note that Pippa Mann’s car number was named incorrectly in the audio file. Pippa will be driving the #30 machine in the upcoming two races for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. More Front Wing apologizes for the error.

To listen, use the player below or search for More Front Wing on iTunes.

After concluding their conversation with Ryan, Paul and Steph carry on to discuss the state of the championship, the fizzling out of the $5 million Vegas challenge, and the engine manufacturer challenges currently being handled by INDYCAR.

To listen, use the player below or search for More Front Wing on iTunes.

To listen, use the player below or search for More Front Wing on iTunes.

To listen, use the player below or search for More Front Wing on iTunes.

To listen, use the player below or search for More Front Wing on iTunes.

To listen, click the player below or search for ‘More Front Wing’ on iTunes.

The bulk of the episode focuses on our interview with Tony Cotman. Tony reviewed the planning process for the new Edmonton track layout and what his expectations are for this coming weekend. He also updated us on the status of the 2012 car from the point of view of the engines, the tub, and the aero kits. Finally, he offered some very candid thoughts on Race Control in both the IZOD IndyCar Series and Firestone Indy Lights and shed some further light onto some of the lingering controversies coming out of the race in Toronto.

To listen, use the player below or search for More Front Wing on iTunes.