2009 IRL Team Reports: Andretti-Green Racing

IRL Team reports for the 2009 IRL season

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Post by mlittle » Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:01 am

JOLIET, Ill. (August 30, 2009) - Andretti Green Racing drivers Danica Patrick, Tony Kanaan, Marco Andretti and Hideki Mutoh competed in the 2009 PEAK Antifreeze and Motor Oil Indy 300 at the Chicagoland Speedway on Saturday night. The IndyCar Series resumes September 19 in the Indy Japan 300 at Twin Ring Motegi.

Danica Patrick, #7 Boost Mobile/Motorola Dallara/Honda/Firestone:

"I really thought we had a car that was capable of finishing in the top-ten tonight. We had a decent practice and qualifying runs yesterday so I thought we would be strong. It's disappointing that we didn't have a better finish. We are headed to Japan in a couple of weeks, so hopefully we have better luck there."

Tony Kanaan, #11 Team 7-Eleven / Oscar Mayer Big Bite Dallara/Honda/Firestone:

"The #11 car was much stronger than the results showed tonight. We made a few calls on strategy that we thought would play out in our favor, but looking back it hurt us in the end. It's always unfortunate when you have a strong car and things just don't go your way."

Marco Andretti, #26 Meijer Dallara/Honda/Firestone:

"I'm obviously not happy with the race results tonight. We were fourth going into the last restart after fighting our way up back through the field. I couldn't get up to speed in time; we got caught out and lost position. It was a struggle all night. A lot of ups and downs, but the Meijer boys did a great job hanging in there. I'm looking forward to some down time and hopefully strong results in Motegi in a couple weeks."

Hideki Mutoh, #27 Formula Dream Dallara/Honda/Firestone:

"I don't know what happened to the car. I went high into the corner and the car just went loose. I think maybe the left rear suspension broke. It's unfortunate because the #27 car was strong up to that point."
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Post by mlittle » Sat Sep 19, 2009 12:30 am

Motegi: Andretti Green Racing preview
Racing series INDYCAR
Date 2009-09-15

Driver: Danica Patrick
Car: #7 Boost Mobile/Motorola Dallara/Honda/Firestone

Danica Patrick Facts:
- Patrick is the defending winner of the Indy Japan 300, claiming her first career victory there in April 2008.
- Patrick is currently fifth in the championship point standings.
- Patrick has five top-five finishes and nine top-10 finishes thus far in the 2009 season.
- Patrick finished third at the 2009 Indianapolis 500, her highest career finish in that event.

Danica Patrick on the Indy Japan 300:

"I'm really looking forward to this weekend. It's a very special feeling to be returning to Japan after winning there last year. I love the track. I've had some good results there. Winning there last year was such an unbelievable experience. There are so many great IndyCar fans in Japan; I'd love to give then a repeat performance."

Driver: Tony Kanaan
Car: #11 Team 7-Eleven Dallara/Honda/Firestone

Tony Kanaan Facts:
- Kanaan is currently seventh in the championship point standings, just 18 points out of fifth.
- Kanaan has three podium and four top-five finishes in 2009.
- Finished third in the 2008 IndyCar Series championship.
- Has led over 2,600 laps throughout his IndyCar Series career and won the 2004 IndyCar Series championship.

Tony Kanaan on the Indy Japan 300: "I am excited to go back to Japan. I love the country and Andretti Green Racing has had great success there in the past, so I am excited. We need to maximize everything this weekend and be the best we can to give ourselves a good chance, and I think we can do that. We just have to keep working hard."

Driver: Marco Andretti
Car: #26 Team Venom Energy Dallara/Honda/Firestone

Marco Andretti Facts:
- Andretti is currently sixth in the IndyCar Series championship standings, only 11 points out of fifth.
- Andretti has 10 top-10 finishes thus far this season.
- Won his first career pole position when he claimed the pole at Milwaukee (2008), the same place where his father (Michael) recorded his first pole position.
- Andretti finished the 2008 IndyCar Series season seventh in point standings with 363 points.

Marco Andretti on the Indy Japan 300: "Last year, our day ended almost before it started in Japan, but I still think we can be very competitive this year. As a team we've always run strong there and hopefully the Venom boys and I can get a third consecutive win for AGR."

Driver: Hideki Mutoh
Car: #27 Formula Dream Dallara/Honda/Firestone

Hideki Mutoh Facts:
- A native of Tokyo, Japan, Mutoh will be running in front of his "home crowd" this weekend.
- Mutoh has seven top-10 finishes so far this season.
- Mutoh is 11th in the championship point standings.
- Posted a 10th place finish in the 2009 Indianapolis 500, which was his second top 10 at the Indy 500 in two career starts.
- Captured the 2008 Bombardier Learjet Rookie of the Year award by finishing 10th in the IndyCar Series championship.

Hideki Mutoh on the Indy Japan 300:

"I cannot believe it's already the Indy Japan race. My goal for this year was to win a race before I came back to race at Twin Ring Motegi, but the win hasn't happened yet. I've been back home since the Chicagoland race doing pre-race events. There is so much energy from all the IndyCar fans in Japan. I'm so happy to be able to be part of this race and looking forward to meeting more fans at the track."
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Post by mlittle » Thu Sep 24, 2009 11:06 pm

Motegi, Japan (September 18, 2009) - Andretti Green Racing drivers Danica Patrick, Tony Kanaan, Marco Andretti and Hideki Mutoh qualified today for the Bridgestone Indy Japan 300 at Twin Ring Motegi.

Patrick, driver of the #7 Boost Mobile/Motorola car and defending race winner, will start in the sixth position. Andretti, driver of the #26 Team Venom Energy car, will start 14th. Mutoh, driver of the #27 Formula Dream entry, will start 22nd after making contact with the outside wall during his qualifying run. Kanaan, driver of the #11 Team 7-Eleven entry, will start from the 23rd position due to a post-qualifying technical penalty.

Race coverage will be provided by VERSUS with two shows tonight. A taped-delayed qualifying broadcast is set to air at 6 p.m. (EDT) and coverage of the race airs live beginning at 10:30 p.m. EDT).

Danica Patrick, #7 Boost Mobile/Motorola Dallara/Honda/Firestone:
"We're here to win so I'm a little disappointed with where we qualified. On my third lap, instead of downshifting to fifth gear, the car went all the way down to fourth. I'm not sure if it did it by accident or if it was an electrical problem, but I'm sure that affected my last lap. The car has been pretty good. Eddie (Jones), my engineer, has done a great job and we were really strong in the last practice session before qualifying and made great progress. The entire #7 crew has been working hard and I think we'll be okay for the race."

Tony Kanaan, #11 Team 7-Eleven Dallara/Honda/Firestone:
"I'm not pleased with our qualifying position, but we will make the most out of it. We will need to be smart on the track and during pit stops to make up as much track position as we can."

Marco Andretti, #26 Team Venom Energy Dallara/Honda/Firestone:
"I'm happy with the race car we have but was expecting the Venom car to start a little higher on the grid. I almost hit the wall coming into turn four on my third lap and that hurt our last lap. Andretti Green normally rolls off the truck pretty strong here so I'm still confident."

Hideki Mutoh, #27 Formula Dream Dallara/Honda/Firestone:
"I'm a bit sore but I'm okay. I have a great setup and we have a good strategy so I am looking forward to the race. I will do my best to move up to the front and finish the race with a smile."
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Post by mlittle » Thu Sep 24, 2009 11:07 pm

MOTEGI, Japan (September 19, 2009) - Andretti Green Racing drivers Danica Patrick, Tony Kanaan, Marco Andretti and Hideki Mutoh competed in the 2009 Bridgestone Indy Japan 300 at Twin Ring Motegi on Saturday afternoon. The 2009 IndyCar Series season finale will be held October 10th at the Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Danica Patrick, #7 Boost Mobile/Motorola Dallara/Honda/Firestone: (Started 6th, finished 6th)
"The #7 car was strong all day; unfortunately it just wasn't strong enough to defend my win from last year. We could have had a run on Mario (Moraes) but I got caught in traffic and just wasn't able to gain the position. Overall it was a good day and a solid finish for us.

Tony Kanaan, #11 Team 7-Eleven Dallara/Honda/Firestone: (Started 23rd, finished 11th)
"Starting last made it a difficult day for Team 7-Eleven. We did what we could, but it's a tough race and now-a-days track position is everything. Going from dead last to 11th makes for an okay day, but obviously we are always hoping for more."

Marco Andretti, #26 Team Venom Energy Dallara/Honda/Firestone: (Started 14th, finished 7th)
"Today wasn't a bad showing for the Venom boys, especially considering our starting position. A better qualifying run obviously would have made our day a lot easier, but we were able to work through some traffic and make the best of it. Had that last yellow fallen a couple laps later I think it would have been a much brighter outcome for the #26 car, but you can't depend on yellows."

Hideki Mutoh, #27 Formula Dream Dallara/Honda/Firestone: (Started 22nd, finished 14th)
"I am disappointed that I was injured during the qualifying session yesterday, but I did my best today. I would like to thank all the fans for cheering for me and want to apologize for not being able to show a better performance during the race. I saw the fans waving the flags during the yellow and it gave me energy and made me realize how lucky I am to have such a warm hearted people on my side."
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Post by mlittle » Sun Oct 11, 2009 12:33 am

Homestead: Andretti Green Racing preview
Racing series INDYCAR
Date 2009-10-06

Driver: Danica Patrick
Car: #7 Boost Mobile/Motorola Dallara/Honda/Firestone

Danica Patrick Facts:

- Patrick is currently fifth in the championship point standings. - Patrick has five top-five finishes and 10 top-10 finishes thus far in the 2009 season.

- Patrick finished third at the 2009 Indianapolis 500, her highest career finish in that event.

- Patrick has one IndyCar Series victory, which came at the Indy Japan 300 in 2008.

Danica Patrick on the Firestone Indy 300:

"The Homestead track is a very challenging track. It's really difficult to get your car to feel comfortable and fast, but once you do you're a step above the rest. We had a really good test in Homestead last week, so we will use the data we got and use it to our advantage. It would be great to end the season on a high note and have a strong finish come Saturday."

Driver: Tony Kanaan
Car: #11 Team 7-Eleven Dallara/Honda/Firestone

Tony Kanaan Facts:

- Kanaan is currently eighth in the championship point standings.

- Kanaan has three podium and four top-five finishes in 2009.

- Finished third in the 2008 IndyCar Series championship.

- Has led over 2,600 laps throughout his IndyCar Series career and won the 2004 IndyCar Series championship.

Tony Kanaan on the Firestone Indy 300: "I'm happy to be able to be home. The Homestead-Miami track is like my home track and I'm excited to be able to race in front of family and friends. We had a good test in Homestead last week, so hopefully we can capture our first win this weekend. This will be the last chance to do so for the season, so I'm looking forward to racing there."

Driver: Marco Andretti
Car: #26 Team Venom Energy Dallara/Honda/Firestone

Marco Andretti Facts:

- Andretti is currently sixth in the IndyCar Series championship standings, only 13 points out of fifth. - Andretti has 11 top-10 finishes thus far this season.

- Won his first career pole position when he claimed the pole at Milwaukee (2008), the same place where his father (Michael) recorded his first pole position.

- Andretti finished the 2008 IndyCar Series season seventh in point standings with 363 points.

Marco Andretti on the Firestone Indy 300: "I'm excited about finishing the season at Homestead-Miami this year; it's a great circuit with a great atmosphere. We were able to run really strong here last year and finished on the podium. I think the Venom car will have a good chance of being just as competitive this year and I hope to end the season with a solid finish."

Driver: Hideki Mutoh
Car: #27 Formula Dream Dallara/Honda/Firestone

Hideki Mutoh Facts:

- Mutoh is 11th in the championship point standings.

- Posted a 10th place finish in the 2009 Indianapolis 500, which was his second top 10 at the Indy 500 in two career starts.

- Captured the 2008 Bombardier Learjet Rookie of the Year award by finishing 10th in the IndyCar Series championship.

Hideki Mutoh on the Firestone Indy 300:

"I cannot believe it is already the last race of this season. I was hoping to get my first win by now, but we haven't gotten to victory lane yet, so I hope I can get the best result in Homestead to end this year happy. I am looking forward to our final race in Homestead."
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Post by mlittle » Sun Oct 11, 2009 12:33 am

Homestead: Andretti Green Racing qualifying report
Racing series INDYCAR
Date 2009-10-09

Danica Patrick, #7 Boost Mobile/Motorola Dallara/Honda/Firestone (qualified 7th):
"Overall it was a productive day for the Boost Mobile/Motorola car. The changes we made in practice today made the car better which is what you hope for on a race weekend. The last run in the afternoon session was the best the car has felt yet. To go from that and then end up faster in qualifying is a good sign and it makes me believe we have a strong car for tomorrow's race."

Tony Kanaan, #11 Team 7-Eleven Dallara/Honda/Firestone (qualified 15th):
"We didn't really work on the qualifying setup for the #11 car this morning; we concentrated on the race because we know it will be tough tomorrow. Consistency is going to be the key. I worked on the car during my timed laps and we were able to gain some speed. I'm confident for the race. It's hard to race at home so we want to do well."

Marco Andretti, #26 Team Venom Energy Dallara/Honda/Firestone (qualified 8th):
"We had good speed in the Venom car for qualifying today. Considering we've been focusing on race setup I'm pleased with where we will start for the race tomorrow. I believe a race can be won from eighth and winning the race is the highest goal I can have. Hopefully everything will fall into place."

Hideki Mutoh, #27 Formula Dream Dallara/Honda/Firestone (qualified 19th):
"We struggled to find speed during qualifying today and that is a little frustrating. Tomorrow is another day and I think we have a better race setup for the car. We will keep working to finish the season strong."
The Sci-Fi Station Come by and visit when you get the chance. :)
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