IndyCar News and Notes – March 10, 2015
Verizon IndyCar Series Headlines:
- D-A Lubricant returns as RLL Racing sponsor
- Ergonomic assessment for multiple benefits
- KV Racing Technology pairs Coletti with veteran Bourdais
- IMS to celebrate release of Pattern Magazine, Indy Girls at Pagoda Party
- Of Note:
- Team ’15 season preview: ‘Race for wins right away’
- Hunter-Reay gets a pass for missing ticket unveil
- Sunoco extends its role as the official fuel
1. D-A Lubricant returns as RLL Racing sponsor: Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing announced that D-A Lubricant Co., a heavy duty and industrial lubricant compounder/blender, will be the primary sponsor of the No. 15 Honda driven by Graham Rahal in the inaugural Indy Grand Prix of Louisiana April 10-12 at NOLA Motorsports Park in Avondale, La. In addition, D-A Lubricant Co. has joined the team as a multi-year, major associate sponsor.
The partnership marks a return to Indy car racing for D-A Lubricant Co., based in Lebanon, Ind., which sponsored entries in the Indianapolis 500 from 1955-58 with a highest finish of sixth in “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” in 1956 with driver Bob Sweikert. D-A-sponsored cars also ran in the USAC Championship Car series during that period, earning one win in 1957 and four wins in 1958.
For more information and a closer look at the RLL Racing car, check out IndyCar.com.
2. Ergonomic assessment for multiple benefits: Through a partnership with Community Health Network, CFH Racing participated in an ergonomic study with the goal of personnel safety enhancements, injury reduction and related workers compensation claims and an improvement in efficiency.
At the race shop, Brent Beecher of Community Health Network arranged for filming and photographs of crew members at their station during a simulated pit stop.
“They go through the pit process as we took photos and video and then we can slow everything down frame by frame and catch all the nuances that you can’t do in real time,” said Beecher, a certified ergonomist who has led the hospital system’s ergonomic consulting division for nearly two decades.”
Results were collated and presented to the team, with action items quickly implemented.
“We wanted to add value to fitness and performance training,” added Terry Sutterfield of Community Health Network’s Employer Health division. “There are individualized programs that blend into the team’s strategic plan.
“The goal is to support keeping people in healthy state and maximize their fitness to perform at highest level.”
Read more on Community Health and CFH Racing’s ergonomic assessment here.
3. KV Racing Technology pairs Coletti with veteran Bourdais: A victory in the GP2 Series’ 2014 season finale at Abu Dhabi was a fitting farewell to Stefano Coletti, who rides into the Verizon IndyCar Series for 2015 with KV Racing Technology.
Coletti, who turns 26 on April 6, will drive the No. 4 KV Racing Technology Chevrolet for the team co-owned by 1996 Indy car champion Jimmy Vasser and businessman Kevin Kalkhoven. The season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg is March 29, and Coletti and new teammate Sebastien Bourdais will test the new aerodynamic bodywork components March 16-17 at Barber Motorsports Park.
Coletti, who said his longtime goal was to race in the Verizon IndyCar Series, auditioned in the No. 4 entry Feb. 10 at NOLA Motorsports Park. He also tested in a Schmidt Peterson Motorsports car in December.
“It’s a great championship and the competition is very high,” he said. “When I tested with KV Racing Technology at NOLA a few weeks ago, there was a great atmosphere and the whole team really welcomed me, so I can’t wait to get to Indianapolis and start working with the No. 4 crew and getting to know everyone better.
“It’s a great opportunity to be on the same team as a driver like Sebastien Bourdais, who is very experienced, very quick and a nice person to work with. I couldn’t have asked for better for my rookie year. (I) look forward to an exciting year with the team.”
For the full announcement, check out IndyCar.com.
4. IMS to celebrate release of Pattern Magazine, Indy Girls at Pagoda Party : When arts and sports enthusiasts gather at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Pagoda Saturday to get an early look at the latest issue of Indianapolis-based Pattern magazine, which features 2013 Indianapolis 500 winner Tony Kanaan on the cover, they’ll get another preview, too.
The event will also serve as the launch of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Indy Girls for the 2015 racing season. Party-goers will be the first to meet the five women in their new capacity as goodwill ambassadors for IMS with first looks at this year’s Indy Girls’ uniforms, which were designed in the Indianapolis area.
Creating the outfits was a new challenge for Noblesville, Ind., pattern maker and fashion designer Catherine Fritsch, who made her first-ever trip to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the project.
“It’s really special to me that I am putting something in front of people that I have never had contact with,” said Fritsch. “I have a lot of contacts in fashion and theater, but not really in sports areas. That’s new for me.”
Tickets to the event are available here.
5. Of note – Team ’15 season preview: ‘Race for wins right away’: Both Schmidt Peterson Motorsports drivers James Hinchcliffe and James Jakes are in their first year with the team co-owned by former Indy car driver Sam Schmidt and Canadian businessman Ric Peterson. For a closer look at SPM’s 2015 preview, check outIndyCar.com… Hunter-Reay gets a pass for missing ticket unveil: While the Indianapolis 500 champion’s photo was unveiled on the 2015 Indianapolis 500 ticket during a 500 Festival Corporate Members event at the Eugene and Marilyn Glick Indiana History Center in downtown Indianapolis, Ryan Hunter-Reay was more than 1,000 miles away at a South Florida hospital. His second child, a boy, arrived earlier in the day. For more, check out IndyCar.com … Sunoco extends its role as the official fuel: Sunoco, the official fuel of the Verizon IndyCar Series, also has been named official fuel of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Read the full announcement here.
Sources: Mike Kitchel/IndyCar PR