In-Depth
8 Rookies race for recognition By Matt Jacuk
rivers who will be racing at the Indy 500 for the first time are considered rookies no matter previous experience on other tracks. Twelve rookies are attempting to make the most of their situations as they are just steps away from being part of the IndyCar Series. This year’s rookies will all be competing to become rookie of the year in the wakes of Phil Giebler in 2007, Marco Andretti in 2006, and Danica Patrick in 2005. Rookie of the year gets a substantial money prize and due respect from their fans. Rookie Will Power is coming off a short Champ Cars racing career. The highly hyped Australian racer was born in Toowoomba, Australia. In 2005, he stepped up from British F3 racing to compete in the Pan-European World Series. He will be competing in the Conquest Racing league this year for team Carlin Motorsport. Rookie Jamie Camara will be looking to get back on his feet after crashing into the first turn wall on May 6 in just the third practice of his career. He was cleared to return the next day. Camara, a native of Brazil, enters Conquest Racing with three years experience in Firestone Indy
to Sp e
Lights, which also uses oval shaped tracks. Camera will wear number 34 on race day. Like Camara, drivers Alex Lloyd and Jay Howard are both entering the Indy Car Series with Firestone Indy Lights experience. Twenty-two year old British driver Alex Lloyd, like many other drivers, has raced in multiple racing leagues, including IRL Indy Pro Series, F3000 Italia Series, and Euro F3000. Twenty six-year-old Briton Jay Howard has had success in the past by claiming the Indy Pro Series in 2006, but looks to get back on track after having a relatively disappointing 2007 season. Driver E.J. Viso was born in Caracas, Venezuela. He is mostly known for his racing careers in foreign countries, such as France and England, but is famous worldwide. He won the U.S. Barber Formula Dodge East Championship in 2001. Graham Rahal is the youngest winner in major open-wheel racing. The son of Champ Car champion Bobby Rahal is also the youngest in series history to win the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. Graham will look to repeat history as his father won the Indy 500 in 1986. For those looking for Graham Rahal on race day, he will have Number 6.
Then and Now: History of the Brickyard By Julie Clites uring May, Indianapolis holds the greatest spectacle in racing. The track was built in 1909, intended for automobile testing. The Owners held occasional races with the manufacturers, and spectators would attend to see the new cars. The track is a “super speedway”, in a rectangle configuration. Each turn is banked nine degrees. The front and back stretch measure 3,330 feet and are connected by two short chutes. The track in total is two and a half miles around. The track surface started out as crushed rock and tar but was too dangerous. 3,200,000 bricks were laid, hence the name The Brickyard. In 1941, almost the entire track was done in black top except parts of the straight-aways. By 1961, the entire track was covered expect the yard of bricks, which is used as the start finish line. The Indianapolis 500 was the only race held at the track until 1994 when NASCAR decided to try its hand at the famed speedway. The only time since the track was built that the race was not held was during the two world wars, but they resumed once they were over. The track is currently owned by the HulmanGeorge family. Mari Hulman George serves as the chairman of the board and Tony George is the president and chief executive officer. The track currently holds four major racing series: NASCAR, IndyCar, Formula 1, and MotoGP. NASCAR and Indycar follow the rectan-
gular configuration while MotoGP and F1 take the road course, which runs through the infield. The infield of the speedway is big enough to fit Church Hill Downs. Inside the track, there are several places for fans to park and a motor coach lot for the drivers. Part of the golf course goes inside the track. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum is also located inside the track and is recognized as being one of the best museums for the history and preservation of auto racing. Many families continue the legacy of running in the 500. The Allisons, Andrettis, Foyts, Mears’s, and Unsers are probably some of the better known families involved in the tradition. Some drivers attempt to make two races in one day, the 500 and the CocaCola 600 in Charlotte, North Carolina. The 600 is the NASCAR race with drivers, such as Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart and Robby Gordon. Many times the driver cannot finish the 500 and has a relief driver, or has another driver starts the 600 while he completes the 500.
edwa y
Families pack for track day fun By Jake Clawson
oday, families are packing their food, drinks and lawn chairs to enjoy an exhilarating day at the Indy 500. “My family and I usually have a party at my house or one of our buddies’ houses the day before,” sophomore Zach Losacker said. “We usually eat, listen to music, hangout and obviously talk about the race.” The members of Losacker’s family and friends who attend the party usually attend the race the next day. “This year, my step dad, his buddies, myself and a friend of mine who I brought last year are going,” Losacker said. When sophomore Thomas Hitch attends the race, he does more than what most IRL fans plan to do on the day of the race. “My dad works at the track so I get to hang out and walk around before the race but we also have a trailer to hang out in,” Hitch said. Not all IRL fans have favorites, but most know whom they are rooting for to take home
the Borg-Warner Trophy. The Borg-Warner Trophy is the trophy given to the victor of the Indy Five Hundred. “I don’t really have a favorite right now, but I’m rooting for Danica Patrick because she is really making a name for herself and more people need to know about her,” Losacker said. Other fans feel very confident in whom they like and think will win. “I know it for a fact that Graham Rahal is most definitely going to win this year,” English 10 teacher Mike Campbell strongly stated. Sometimes, people like to have a night of fun and exciting activities after the race, such as sophomore Sam Newkirk. “Me and my buddies go to the race every year. Afterwards we usually go to Hooters and take a cruise around Monument Circle once or twice,” Newkirk said. “One time, I was riding in my buddy’s truck on our way up to the circle, and we saw two people doing some tricks on a motorcycle. It was a guy driving and a girl on the back, but they started doing a wheelie down the road. The girl fell off the back of the bike going about 40 mph without a helmet on.”