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Long Beach: AGR IRL IndyCar Race Preview - Danica Patrick Looking Forward
Who: Andretti Green Racing drivers Danica Patrick, Tony Kanaan, Marco Andretti and Hideki Mutoh
What: Grand Prix of Long Beach, Round 2 of the 2009 IndyCar Series
Where: The Streets of Long Beach, Long Beach, Calif.
When: Sunday, April 19, 2009, 4:30 p.m. (EDT)
Television: Versus, Sunday, April 19, 2009, 3:30 p.m. (EDT)
Driver: Danica Patrick
Car: #7 Motorola Dallara/Honda/Firestone
Danica Patrick Facts:
- Patrick finished sixth in the 2008 IndyCar Series championship.
-Patrick won her first IndyCar Series race in 2008 at the Indy Japan 300.
-Patrick had three top-five and nine top-10 finishes in 2008, her second season with Andretti Green Racing.
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Danica Patrick on the Grand Prix of Long Beach:
"I'm really looking forward to Long Beach. I raced on the track years ago, but this will be my first time there as an IndyCar driver. I went to the race last year on our way back from Japan. The event has a great vibe to it, there were tons of fans and the location can't get any better. Hopefully we will have a better finish than we did in St. Pete, and I feel confident that we will. I'm getting more comfortable on street courses and I have a great crew working with to me to get the result we want and need."
Driver: Tony Kanaan
Car: #11 Team 7-Eleven/Dr. Pepper Dallara/Honda/Firestone
Tony Kanaan Facts
- Finished third in the 2008 IndyCar Series championship.
- Has led over 2,500 laps throughout his racing career.
- Captured 11 top-five finishes during the 2008 IndyCar Series season.
Tony Kanaan on the Grand Prix of Long Beach:
"I can't wait to get to Long Beach, I have wonderful memories from there. My first race in the USA was at Long Beach in 1996 with Indy Lights, then in 1999 when we were CART, I got my first career pole and I cant forget that one. We had a problem with the gearbox on our primary car in the morning, so we switched to the backup car and we were 0.5 seconds quicker. So, about ten minutes before qualifying, we decided to withdraw the primary car and take a chance with the backup car. It was a gamble, but it paid off. I bet my engineers and the crew their wristwatches that I could do better than a 62.5 (seconds) and I did. They all lost their watches. This weekend marks my 100th start in the IndyCar Seroes and I'm looking forward to it."
Driver: Marco Andretti
Car: #26 The Automatic Fire Sprinklers Dallara/Honda/Firestone
Marco Andretti Facts:
- Andretti finished the 2008 IndyCar Series season seventh in point standings with 363 points.
- Won his first career pole position when he claimed the pole at Milwaukee (2008), the same place where is father (Michael) recorded his first pole position.
- Andretti is in his fourth year at Andretti Green Racing.
- Captured six top-five finishes during the 2008 IndyCar Series season.
Marco Andretti on the Grand Prix of Long Beach:
"I am really looking foward to racing in Long Beach. We didn't have the best luck in St. Pete. It's a tough weekend to come off of, but the AFS boys have worked hard to put together a good car. It's a very special place for my family, so I know I will have a lot of support going into the weekend. My father and grandfather have both won there; I really hope I can carry on the tradition and bring home a strong finish for the #26 car this weekend."
Driver: Hideki Mutoh
Car: #27 Formula Dream Dallara/Honda/Firestone
Hideki Mutoh Facts:
- Mutoh is in his second season at Andretti Green Racing.
- Mutoh captured the 2008 Bombardier Learjet Rookie of the Year award by finishing 10th in the IndyCar Series championship.
- Mutoh has seven top-10 finishes in the 17 races this season and eight top 10s in his 18 career starts.
Hideki Mutoh on the Grand Prix of Long Beach:
"I have heard great things about the Long Beach race, so I'm looking forward to it. The Formula Dream team didn't have the best luck in St. Pete but at the same time we had a good car that was capable of a better finish than we had. I hope we will use this as motivation going into the race weekend and have a strong weekend to show for it."
PaddockTalk Perspective
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Also in IRL Weekend Team Reports: |
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