Sunday Group Management

CARPENTER EARNS FIRST WIN IN KENTUCKY INDY 300

SPARTA, Ky. – Ed Carpenter was thankful he had one Honda push to pass available on the final lap of the Kentucky Indy 300.

The extra horsepower boost was crucial in the Sarah Fisher Racing driver’s 22-lap duel with Dario Franchitti, and most important as he exiting Turn 4 of the 1.5-mile oval side-by-side with the IZOD IndyCar Series championship front-runner.

He pushed the button and pushed the No. 67 Dollar General car to the start/finish line to edge Franchitti by 0.0098 of a second — the sixth-closest race in IZOD IndyCar Series and the closest ever at Kentucky Speedway.

Scott Dixon finish third to wrap up the A.J. Foyt Oval Trophy and rooklie James Hinchcliffe was fourth. Ryan Hunter-Reay, the winner at the last oval race (New Hampshire Motor Speedway in mid-August) finished fifth. Read more of this post

IndyCar Line up: Kentucky

SPARTA, Ky. – Qualifying Saturday for the Kentucky Indy 300 IZOD IndyCar Series event on the 1.48-mile Kentucky Speedway, with starting position, car number in parentheses, driver, chassis-engine, and speed:

1. (12) Will Power, Dallara-Honda, 219.283
2. (38) Graham Rahal, Dallara-Honda, 218.348
3. (06) James Hinchcliffe, Dallara-Honda, 218.186
4. (67) Ed Carpenter, Dallara-Honda, 218.004
5. (4) JR Hildebrand, Dallara-Honda, 217.872
6. (26) Marco Andretti, Dallara-Honda, 217.807
7. (9) Scott Dixon, Dallara-Honda, 217.692
8. (28) Ryan Hunter-Reay, Dallara-Honda, 217.632
9. (2) Oriol Servia, Dallara-Honda, 217.520
10. (83) Charlie Kimball, Dallara-Honda, 217.357
11. (10) Dario Franchitti, Dallara-Honda, 217.213
12. (27) Mike Conway, Dallara-Honda, 217.110
13. (78) Simona de Silvestro, Dallara-Honda, 216.924
14. (7) Danica Patrick, Dallara-Honda, 216.768
15. (17) Wade Cunningham, Dallara-Honda, 216.763
16. (3) Helio Castroneves, Dallara-Honda, 216.732
17. (44) Buddy Rice, Dallara-Honda, 216.685
18. (6) Ryan Briscoe, Dallara-Honda, 216.669
19. (82) Tony Kanaan, Dallara-Honda, 216.484
20. (24) Ana Beatriz, Dallara-Honda, 216.424
21. (14) Vitor Meira, Dallara-Honda, 216.300
22. (5) Takuma Sato, Dallara-Honda, 215.856
23. (59) EJ Viso, Dallara-Honda, 215.789
24. (19) Alex Lloyd, Dallara-Honda, 215.607
25. (34) Dillon Battistini, Dallara-Honda, 215.578
26. (22) Townsend Bell, Dallara-Honda, 215.404
27. (18) James Jakes, Dallara-Honda, 214.297
28. (77) Dan Wheldon, Dallara-Honda, no speed
29. (30) Pippa Mann, Dallara-Honda, no speed

RRDC Reaffirms its Support for the Team USA Scholarship

Road Racing Drivers Club Reaffirms its Support for the Team USA Scholarship

Braselton, Ga. (September 30, 2011) – The Road Racing Drivers Club, whose membership comprises many of the top names in the world of auto racing, today confirmed its enhanced support of the Team USA Scholarship which since 1990 has been assisting talented young American race car drivers in the early stages of their careers. Past winners include Jimmy Vasser, Bryan Herta, Buddy Rice, A.J. Allmendinger, Joey Hand, Bryan Sellers and J.R. Hildebrand.

“We at the Road Racing Drivers Club are extremely proud to be continuing our involvement in the highly successful Team USA Scholarship in 2011,” said Bobby Rahal, president of the RRDC. “We have watched this program grow in stature since the RRDC first came on board in 1997. It is no doubt one of the best programs to assist young American race-car drivers early on in their careers and we are privileged to be able to extend our support.”

As in the past three seasons, the Team USA Scholarship will enter two young drivers – teenagers Neil Alberico, from Los Gatos, Calif., and Trent Hindman, from Wayside, N.J. – in the Formula Ford “Kent” Festival at Brands Hatch on October 15/16 and the Walter Hayes Trophy at Silverstone on November 5/6. Each weekend will comprise three races. This year the program has been expanded to include another slightly more experienced driver – Spencer Pigot, from Windermere, Fla. – who will contest both the premier Formula Ford “Duratec” Festival at Brands Hatch and the previous weekend’s final round of the MSA Formula Ford Championship of Great Britain on the “Arena” circuit at Silverstone – the same track which hosts the Formula One British Grand Prix.

“This is tremendous news for young American race car drivers,” said auto racing writer and broadcaster Jeremy Shaw, founder of the Team USA Scholarship. “The RRDC is a prestigious organization, and to have its membership be so supportive of the young talent in this country bodes extremely well for the future.”

The Road Racing Drivers Club, founded in 1952 and with its mission defined by Mark Donohue, its spiritual leader and an early president, has played a substantial role in improving insurance and safety standards for drivers, crews, workers and fans. Members are elected by their peers and include Formula One World Champions, Indy 500 winners, champion sports car drivers and top American amateur road racers, as well as leading industry professionals, race officials and motorsports journalists who have made significant contributions to the sport. New members eligible to display the distinctive steering wheel logo this year include Helio Castroneves, Scott Goodyear, J.R. Hildebrand, Stefan Johansson, Johnny O’Connell, Johnny Rutherford and Guy Smith.

The RRDC hosts annual dinners during the Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona and the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach when the Mark Donohue, Phil Hill and Bob Akin Awards are presented to recognize outstanding achievements in the sport. In recent years as part of its commitment to mentoring young drivers and in conjunction with the FIA Institute for Motor Sport Safety, the RRDC has hosted several highly acclaimed “Safe is Fast” workshops. The wealth of information is now available to drivers via a new website,www.SafeisFast.com, which includes a variety of tutorials highlighting driver safety, fitness, mental preparation, sponsorship and race car dynamics.

The Team USA Scholarship program also is supported by Doug Mockett & Company, Cooper Tire & Rubber Company, Walldinger Racing, Robo-Pong, INDYCAR’s Mazda Road to Indy, Mazda, Bondurant School of High Performance Driving, Honda Performance Development, NameSilo, Silicon Salvage, McMurry Inc., Robertson Racing, Parathyroid, PitFit Training, Sparco USA, eFormulaCarNews.com, Speedstar Management, Styled Aesthetic and Manifest Group as well as numerous past Scholarship winners.

For more information, please visit www.TeamUSAScholarship.org or find us on Facebook.

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Longtime NASCAR Executive Ed Bennett Named GRAND-AM CEO

LONGTIME NASCAR EXECUTIVE ED BENNETT NAMED GRAND-AM CEO

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Sept. 29, 2011) – To further strengthen its executive leadership team and create stronger links to key NASCAR assets, GRAND-AM Road Racing announced today that longtime NASCAR executive Ed Bennett has been named chief executive officer of the sports car sanctioning body.
Bennett will continue as an officer of NASCAR, serving as a vice president and chief administrative officer. In his new role with GRAND-AM, he will report directly to NASCAR President Mike Helton.
Tom Bledsoe will continue as president of GRAND-AM with primary responsibility for day-to-day operations of the organization and providing leadership to the industry from a competition and membership perspective.
Bennett, who has been at NASCAR since 1998 and an officer of the company since 2000, will focus on further leveraging the collective strength of both companies through enhanced strategic planning, project management leadership and the acceleration of new business opportunities.
While he will work closely with Bledsoe on competition matters, Bennett will be the primary conduit between GRAND-AM and NASCAR on marketing, sales and communications efforts.
“This move is highly significant, as we continue to grow sports car racing in this country,” said Bledsoe. “This will advance our ability to combine the resources and experiences at NASCAR with the vast knowledge of international sports car racing at GRAND-AM to improve the overall environment and opportunities for stakeholders across the board.”
Added Bennett: “I look forward to working diligently with both GRAND-AM and NASCAR to take our sports car racing property to the next level. There are a number of exciting initiatives in development at GRAND-AM – and exciting challenges of bringing both organizations closer together to achieve collective goals.”
A native of the Daytona Beach area, Bennett graduated from Florida State University with a B.S. in Finance and also earned an M.B.A. from Stetson University. Bennett resides in Lake Mary, Fla., with his wife, Mindy, and daughter, Ailey.

ED BENNETT NAMED GRAND-AM CEO.pdf

Matt Cleary
Sunday Group Management
media
http://www.sundaymanagement.com
317.908.2975 (m)


Based in Indianapolis, Sunday Group Management is a leading motorsports management and communications consulting firm.

Sunday Group Management works with clients in a variety of motorsports categories, including NASCAR Sprint Cup driver AJ Allmendinger, Riley Technologies, GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series organization Michael Shank Racing, Continental Tire, and several teams and drivers in Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge competition.

For additional information: www.sundaymanagement.com, http://sundaygroupblog.com, www.facebook.com/sundaygroup, or twitter.com/Sundaygroup

Insight Racing–SPEED Programming Reminder!

Insight Racing Programming Reminder: Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge on SPEED – 1:00 PM ET Sunday, September 25

Make sure to tune into SPEED at 1:00 PM ET on Sunday, September 25 for the EMCO Gears Classic at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Insight Racing returned to GRAND-AM Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge action in the season-finale with drivers Tyler McQuarrie and Martin Jensen. McQuarrie placed the No. 19 BMW seventh on the 71-car combined class grid and the duo looked to finish out the season with a strong result in front of Insight Racing’s hometown fans.

Images from the race weekend are now posted at www.insightracing.com.

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Insight Racing Media
Contact: Matt Cleary, Sunday Group Management
(317) 908-2975 // media
www.insightracing.com
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Insight-Racing/183845971652252

Don’t Forget! Burrows and Hopwood on SPEED Sunday

Rum Bum Racing: TUNE IN ALERT: Sunday, 1:00 PM/SPEED

Rum Bum Racing: TUNE IN ALERT: Sunday, 1:00 PM/SPEED

You can follow Rum Bum Racing on Facebook:

23 September, 2011-Don’t miss the EMCO Gears Classic on Sunday, September 25 at 1:00 PM ET on SPEED as drivers Nick Longhi and Matt Plumb scored Rum Bum Racing’s third victory of the season in the GRAND-AM Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge season-finale at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

The result secured third in the Team Championship standings with Rum Bum Racing just 14 points behind the title winners. Rum Bum Racing once again played a critical role in BMW winning the GRAND-AM Manufacturer title.

If you want to get a sneak peak, check out this winning post: http://rumbum.com/2301-what-victory-looks-like

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Matt Cleary
Sunday Group Management
media
http://www.sundaymanagement.com
317.908.2975 (m)


Based in Indianapolis, Sunday Group Management is a leading motorsports management and communications consulting firm.

Sunday Group Management works with clients in a variety of motorsports categories, including NASCAR Sprint Cup driver AJ Allmendinger, Riley Technologies, GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series organization Michael Shank Racing, Continental Tire, and several teams and drivers in Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge competition.

For additional information: www.sundaymanagement.com, http://sundaygroupblog.com, www.facebook.com/sundaygroup, or twitter.com/Sundaygroup

One Lap with Mark Webber

Riley Technologies Wins Eighth Consecutive GRAND-AM Championship

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Riley Technologies Wins Eighth Consecutive GRAND-AM Championship

1-2-3 on Mid-Ohio podium as Starworks breaks through for maiden win

Media Contact: Matt Cleary, Sunday Group Management
media
(317) 908-2975

Mooresville, NC (19 September 2011)—Riley Technologies closed the 2011 GRAND-AM season out in winning fashion at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course this weekend, scoring a 1-2-3 finish in Daytona Prototypes as Starworks Motorsport broke through for its first-ever Rolex Series win. Ryan Dalziel and Enzo Potolicchio teamed in the No.8 Ford-powered Riley to cross the line just .416 seconds ahead of the No. 01 Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates BMW-Riley.

The weekend opened up with qualifying on Friday as the No. 99 GAINSCO Riley set a new track record time of 1:16.504 seconds on the 2.258-mile natural terrain circuit. Jon Fogarty and Alex Gurney teamed in the No. 99 to finish third, completing the Riley sweep of the Daytona Prototype podium.

The runner-up race finish for the Ganassi duo put an exclamation point on a tremendous season for the defending series champions, who only needed to run 30 minutes of the EMCO Gears Classic event to secure both Team and Driver Championships for the second year in a row. Pruett and Rojas opened the year with a victory in the Rolex 24 At Daytona, and went on to win five races in 2011.

The results delivered the GRAND-AM Manufacturers Championship to Riley Technologies for the eighth consecutive season. The Riley Technologies Daytona Prototype design first debuted in the 2004 Rolex 24 At Daytona, winning the pole position and going on to secure the championship in its first season of competition. A 2008 update of the venerable championship-winning design once again saw Riley on pole for its debut race, the Rolex 24 At Daytona. The Mid-Ohio victory is the 84th GRAND-AM win for Riley Technologies in Daytona Prototype competition.

“It is amazing to look at the statistics and see everything that our customers have accomplished,” said Riley Technologies VP Bill Riley. “The Rolex Series is extremely competitive, and I am proud of the effort and support that we as a company put into every race weekend. Congratulations to Starworks on winning the final race of the year, and to Ganassi for another incredible championship season. We are hard at work already to be ready for the 50th running of the Rolex 24 At Daytona. Riley designs have enjoyed a lot of success in that event through the years, and we fully intend to extend that history again next January.”

Notes:

++ Riley Technologies had 9 GRAND-AM Rolex Series race wins in 2011 overall, with three GT Class victories
++ 84 overall GRAND-AM race victories since 2004 (First Win-Phoenix, April, 2004-SunTrust Racing)

For more information or questions, please contact: Bill Riley, (704) 663-6319 *302

For additional information:
www.rileytech.com

About Riley Technologies:
Riley Technologies has an extended legacy of success, developing competitive on-track products for the Rolex Sports Car Series, the American LeMans Series, the USAC Gold Crown Series, and the Japanese GT Championship Series.

About Siemens:
Riley Tech has long relied on Siemens PLM Software to help design and develop their race-winning machines. NX software, Siemens PLM Software’s digital product development solution which includes computer-aided design, -manufacturing and -engineering (CAD/CAM/CAE) applications, is the preferred development software. NX Software was cited as a driving force behind Riley taking a sixth straight Daytona Prototype Manufacturers championship in 2009 before kicking the 2010 season off with a win at Daytona International.

For more information or questions, please contact: Bill Riley, (704) 663-6319 *302

For additional information: www.rileytech.com
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Riley-2011-DP-CHAMPS-PDF.pdf

Matt Cleary
Sunday Group Management
media
http://www.sundaymanagement.com
317.908.2975 (m)


Based in Indianapolis, Sunday Group Management is a leading motorsports management and communications consulting firm.

Sunday Group Management works with clients in a variety of motorsports categories, including NASCAR Sprint Cup driver AJ Allmendinger, Riley Technologies, GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series organization Michael Shank Racing, Continental Tire, and several teams and drivers in Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge competition.

For additional information: www.sundaymanagement.com, http://sundaygroupblog.com, www.facebook.com/sundaygroup, or twitter.com/Sundaygroup

Marsal Gains More Experience at Mid-Ohio With Double-Duty GRAND-AM Day

Marsal Gains More Experience at Mid-Ohio With Double-Duty GRAND-AM Day

Lexington, Ohio (17 September 2011) – Michael Marsal overcame numerous obstacles in both the GRAND-AM Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge and Rolex Sports Car Series season finales at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course to complete a grueling near four hours of racing on Saturday.

The day opened with the 2.5-hour Continental Tire race in which Marsal took control of the No. 97 BMW from Turner Motorsport co-driver Sam Schultz for the final two hours of the race. Following the team’s first pit stop, Marsal re-entered the field in the 21st position. Despite several caution periods which saw the race pace slowed seven times, Marsal began to make his way through the field as he made up several positions to run 16th.

Unfortunately the forward movement would not yield the strong result Marsal had hoped for as he worked through persistent radio communication issues and contact from another competitor to finish the race 21st among the 71-car combined class grid.

With just over an hour between races, Marsal was right back in race action as he teamed with Turner Motorsport team owner Will Turner in the No. 93 BMW for the Rolex Series GT race. Turner began the 2.75-hour event before handing the car over to Marsal for the middle stint of the race.

Marsal would have another tough race ahead of him as the team continued to experience radio communication issues. The No. 93 would drop deep in the field when the team was issued a penalty due to an issue with the pit speed limiter on the car but despite the setback, Marsal and Turner wheeled the BMW back to a 15th place finish.

“It’s definitely tough to switch back and forth between two cars and it’s a lot of driving,” said Marsal of the compact race schedule. “I drove two hours in the first race and an hour and 40 minutes in the second. Making the adjustment from GT to GS is really a tough one – it’s hard to drive fast in one series and then be off the pace in the other one. There is some some practice to be had in order to get myself up to speed in those cars. We had an overall good experience – but it’s left foot braking versus right foot braking, sequential versus H pattern gear box, and frankly the 97 car, which I’ve been driving for two years, I know like the back of my hand versus a brand new car. Definitely, there is much to learn before the Rolex 24, but it was a good experience today. I had some good laps in the car.”

The EMCO Gears Classic Continental Tire race will broadcast on Sunday, September 17 at 1:00 PM (ET) on SPEED.

Matt Cleary
Sunday Group Management
media
http://www.sundaymanagement.com
317.908.2975 (m)


Based in Indianapolis, Sunday Group Management is a leading motorsports management and communications consulting firm.

Sunday Group Management works with clients in a variety of motorsports categories, including NASCAR Sprint Cup driver AJ Allmendinger, Riley Technologies, GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series organization Michael Shank Racing, Continental Tire, and several teams and drivers in Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge competition.

For additional information: www.sundaymanagement.com, http://sundaygroupblog.com, www.facebook.com/sundaygroup, or twitter.com/Sundaygroup