•    For the second consecutive race, Honda-powered Target Chip Ganassi Racing drivers finished 1-2 at Sunday’s Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix.  Scott Dixon dominated the event, qualifying on the pole and leading every lap for his first victory of 2012, followed by his teammate and Indianapolis 500 champion, Dario Franchitti.  The pair also finished 1-2 at last month’s Indianapolis 500, with Franchitti winning ahead of Dixon.
•    Simon Pagenaud made it a 1-2-3 finish for Honda in Detroit, finishing on the victory podium for the second time this season with a third-place run for Schmidt Hamilton Racing.
•    The 2012 season marks the return of manufacturer competition to the IZOD IndyCar Series after six years of Honda serving as single engine supplier.  Chevrolet and Lotus now join Honda in providing engines to the 25-car starting field.
•    Honda comes to this weekend’s race second in the Manufacturers’ Championship, with 42 points, to 48 for Chevrolet.  Lotus is third, with 24 points.
•    With his Detroit victory, Dixon is second in the drivers’ championship standings, with 206 points to series leader Will Power’s 232 points. Indy 500 winner Franchitti is fourth in the championship with 176 points, while Pagenaud comes to Texas ranked sixth with 171 points.  Pagenaud also leads the Rookie of the Year standings, with Honda driver Josef Newgarden second (87 points).
•    Dixon has led more laps this season, 196, than any other driver, including all 60 laps atmDetroit, and race-high totals of 37 laps at St. Petersburg and 38 at Barber.  Power is ranked second with 111 laps led.
•    Honda-powered drivers have led 330 laps this season, while Chevrolet drivers have led a total of 126 laps.  Race lap leaders for Honda include Dixon (196), Takuma Sato (58), Franchitti (29), Pagenaud (26), Justin Wilson (15), Charlie Kimball (3), Alex Tagliani (2) and Graham Rahal (1).

    Honda’s popular “Fastest Seat in Sports” sweepstakes makes its seventh stop of the 2012 season at Texas Motor Speedway this weekend.  Legendary racer Mario Andretti will take Jeff Cox of Dayton, Ohio for the ride of a lifetime around the high-banked 1.5- mile oval in a two-seater IndyCar, in advance of the green flag for Saturday night’s race. Interested fans can find out more information on the “Fastest Seat in Sports” at shophonda.com.

HONDA HISTORY AT TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
•    Honda has won eight times in 12 IndyCar Series races at Texas Motor Speedway, both as the single engine supplier to the series and against other engine manufacturers.
•    Honda scored its first win at Texas in June, 2004, with Tony Kanaan leading a 1-2 finish for Honda and Andretti Green Racing. Teammate Dario Franchitti finished second. Other Honda-powered winners at Texas include Franchitti and Power (in twin events held in 2012), Helio Castroneves (2006 and ‘09), Sam Hornish Jr. (2007), Scott Dixon (2008), and Ryan Briscoe (2010).

Scott Dixon was unstoppable Sunday on the streets of Belle Isle Park, fending off all challenges presented by his fellow IZOD IndyCar Series competitors, a two-hour race stoppage for track repairs and even a spot rain shower once the race resumed to win the Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix and lead a 1-2-3 sweep for Honda.

Starting from the pole, Dixon led all 60 laps around the city park temporary circuit, which was run in two halves when deteriorating track conditions led to a red flag after 45 laps to repair holes in the pavement. After a delay of just over two hours while repairs were completed, the race was resumed with a 15-lap “trophy dash” to the finish. But Dixon was never headed in either segment, leading his teammate TargetmChip Ganassi Racing teammate Dario Franchitti and Schmidt Hamilton Racing’s Simon Pagenaud home for a Honda sweep of the first-three finishing positions.

Coming from 14th in the 25-car starting field, Indianapolis 500 winner Franchitti moved through the field to sixth during the first 45 laps, then gained four more positions in the final two restarts after the race resumed to follow Dixon home in second.

It was the second consecutive 1-2 IndyCar finish for Honda and the Target Chip Ganassi Racing team, as today’s finish reversed the 1-2 result for Franchitti and Dixon at last week’s Indy 500. Pagenaud rounded out the podium sweep for Honda in Detroit by passing championship points leader Will Power on Lap 47.

After starting well down the order, 20th, Charlie Kimball equaled his best previous results of 2012 with an eighth-place finish for Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing, while Mike Conway rebounded from the disappointment of his crash last week at Indianapolis to finish ninth today for A.J. Foyt Racing.

Alex Tagliani and his Bryan Herta Autosport team posted their own impressive recovery today. After qualifying third, electrical issues on the starting grid resulted in Tagliani starting last, from pit lane. Clever pit strategy and timely passes in the closing laps saw Tagliani make up 15 positions for a 10th-place finish.

Honda-powered drivers claimed three of the top four starting positions for Sunday’s race, with Alex Tagliani third-fastest, his best qualifying run of 2012 in only his second race with Honda for Bryan Herta Autosport. Simon Pagenaud equaled his previous best starting position of 2012 and will start fourth for Schmidt Hamilton Racing.  Graham Rahal just missed advancing to “Fast Six” final qualifying, coming up hundredths of a second short, and will start seventh. Justin Wilson, winner of the most recent IndyCar Series race in Detroit in 2008, qualified 11th; with Indianapolis 500 star Takuma Sato rounding out the top 12 qualifiers. Reigning Indianapolis 500 champion Dario Franchitti will start 15th. Sunday’s 90-lap race starts at 3:30 p.m. EDT, with live television coverage on ABC.

In 2008, the most recent IndyCar race on the temporary park circuit, Wilson led the final 15 laps in his Newman Haas Racing Honda Dallara to win by 4.4 seconds over Helio Castroneves. It was the final IndyCar triumph for team co-owner Paul Newman, who succumbed to cancer later that year.

Wilson posted the second-fastest time in practice today, just one-tenth of a second off the fastest time, recorded by Team Penske’s Will Power. Series rookie Simon Pagenaud was third quickest in his Schmidt Hamilton Racing Honda, while Target Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon rounded out the top six.

COMPETITION
• Honda-powered drivers finished 1-2 at last weekend’s 96th running of the Indianapolis
500-Mile Race, with Dario Franchitti scoring his third win at the historic “Brickyard”, followed by his Target Chip Ganassi Racing teammate, Scott Dixon.
• Five different Honda-powered drivers led the “500” at different points in the contest, including Franchitti (23 laps), Dixon (53 laps), Takuma Sato (31 laps), Charlie Kimball and Alex Tagliani.
• Honda-drivers dominated the second half of the race, holding down the top-five positions with 20 laps remaining.
• Honda comes to this weekend’s race second in the Manufacturers’ Championship, with 33 points, to 42 for Chevrolet. Lotus is third, with 20 points.
• The 2012 season marks the return of manufacturer competition to the IZOD IndyCar Series after six years of Honda serving as single engine supplier. Chevrolet and Lotus now join Honda in providing engines to the 25-car starting field.

HONDA AT DETROIT
• The IZOD IndyCar Series returns to the temporary street circuit at Belle Isle Park in 2012 after a three-year absence. Justin Wilson won the most recent IndyCar race at Belle Isle, driving for Newman Haas Racing in 2008. Wilson returns to Belle Isle with Honda power, now driving for Dale Coyne Racing.
• Honda-powered drivers have won six times on the streets of Belle Isle Park, including four victories in competition with other engine manufacturers and twice as the single engine supplier.
• Honda-powered race winners at Detroit include Alex Zanardi in 1998; Dario Franchitti in 1999; and Helio Castroneves in both 2000 (his first Indycar victory) and 2001. Honda was supplying engines to the entire IndyCar field when the series returned to Belle Isle in 2007, a race won by Tony Kanaan, while Wilson won the 2008 event, the final race win for team co-owner Paul Newman, who succumbed to cancer later that year.

MARKETING
• Honda’s popular “Fastest Seat in Sports” sweepstakes makes its sixth stop of the 2012 season at the Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix this weekend. Legendary racer Mario Andretti will take Robert Locke of Pennsauken, NJ for the ride of a lifetime around the 2.07-mile temporary circuit in a two-seater IndyCar, in advance of the green flag for Sunday’s race. Interested fans can find out more information on the “Fastest Seat in Sports” at shophonda.com.

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (May 26, 2012) – Five of the eight rookies in Sunday’s Indianapolis 500 field will be using Honda power, as the manufacturer leads the way in providing opportunities for the next generation of racing stars to achieve their dreams of competing at the fabled Brickyard.

On Sunday, Bryan Clauson, Wade Cunningham, James Jakes, Josef Newgarden and Simon Pagenaud will all make their first Indy starts in the 96th running of the Indianapolis 500, the largest contingent of rookies for any manufacturer in this year’s race.

Three of the Honda-powered rookies and one driver making his second “500” start are products of the INDYCAR ladder system, while an additional rookie and four veteran Honda drivers in this year’s race are previous graduates of either the Formula Atlantic or Indy Lights development series.

“Honda has long believed in providing platforms for developing future stars of the sport,” said Marc Sours, General Manager, Honda Performance Development (HPD). “It’s rewarding to see that so many talented rookies in this year’s field are driving for Honda teams. Our goal is to see additional drivers, now just starting out in Formula F and other Honda-supported classes, achieve their Indy dreams in future years.”

Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing is fielding a pair of rookies and INDYCAR ladder graduates: 2011 Indy Lights Champion Josef Newgarden and USAC National Champion Bryan Clauson.

Wade Cunningham, a former Indy Lights champion and three-time Indy Lights winner at Indianapolis, will make his “500” debut on Sunday with A.J. Foyt Racing.

Indy rookie Simon Pagenaud and veteran Graham Rahal are both graduates of Formula Atlantic, where both won races and finished 1-2 in the 2006 championship, Pagenaud winning the title after a year-long battle with Rahal. Now, they are rivals for racing’s greatest prize, with Rahal driving for Service Central Chip Ganassi Racing and Pagenaud leading the Schmidt
Hamilton Racing effort.

Bryan Herta Autosport’s Alex Tagliani is another graduate of the Atlantic series, where he starred from 1996-99. Charlie Kimball was an Indy Lights front-runner in 2009-2010 before moving up to IndyCars with Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing; and Townsend Bell won the Indy Lights championship in 2001.

In 2009, Honda Performance Development (HPD), the racing arm for American Honda, announced the formation of its grass roots motorsports initiative, and today the company supplies engines and technical support to racers competing in a wide variety of entry-level and intermediate racing categories, including Quarter Midget, Karting, Formula F and Formula
Atlantic.

Takuma Sato posted the fourth-fastest speed in practice today for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, while Justin Wilson completed the top six in his Dale Coyne Racing Honda.  The hour-long session, the last chance for drivers and teams to prepare for Sunday’s race, ran without incident. The Indianapolis 500 starts at 11 a.m. EDT Sunday, May 27, with live television coverage on ABC.

Wade Cunningham led the final three Honda-powered drivers Sunday at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway as qualifying concluded for next weekend’s 96th running of the Indianapolis 500.  Cunningham posted a four-lap average of 223.258 miles per hour in his A.J. Foyt Honda-Dallara to qualify 26th, the second-fastest run in Sunday’s final qualifying.

Cunningham’s teammate, Mike Conway, completed his own four-lap run of 222.319 mph to qualify 29th. Rookie Bryan Clauson, who crashed during his first qualifying attempt on Saturday, climbed aboard his repaired Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing Honda Dallara today to qualify 31st, with a four-lap average of 214.455 mph.

Four Chevrolet-powered entries and two Lotus Dallaras made successful qualifying runs on Sunday to complete the 33-car starting field. The 2012 Indianapolis 500, the first with engine manufacturer competition since 2005, includes 15 Honda-powered drivers, 16 from Chevrolet and the remaining two using Lotus engines.

Activities at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway resume on Friday with the traditional final practice session, known as “Carb Day”. The 96th running of the Indianapolis 500 starts at 11 a.m. EDT Sunday, May 27, with live television coverage on ABC.

Wade Cunningham (#41 A.J. Foyt Racing Honda) qualified 26th for his first Indianapolis 500: “It’s been a long road for me to Indianapolis. I got to the States in 2004, so eight years of hard work and commitment, but this is a very proud day for me. I know my parents are proud, as are all my sponsors and supporters who have helped me through the years. We ran quicker [in qualifying] than we did this morning in practice, so we found a little bit of speed. If we had run that speed yesterday, we would have been comfortably in the first-day qualifiers. I guess we underestimated Indianapolis a little bit and we got ourselves caught out with circumstances [during Saturday’s qualifying]. But we did it in the end, which is the most important thing. Qualifying is not a reflection of our performance, we’ve been strong in the draft at times and strong by ourselves. So, as long as we make good decisions, now through race day, there’s no reason we can’t be fighting for a top-10 in the race.

Indianapolis 500 Opening Day Practice Report
Circuit: Indianapolis Motor Speedway (2.5-mile oval) Speedway, IN
2011 Winner: Dan Wheldon (Bryan Herta Autosport Honda) 170.265 mph average
Weather: Partly cloudy, mild, 74 degrees F

Indianapolis 500 Opening Day Top-10 Practice Results:
Ps. Driver Team Engine – Chassis Best Lap Speed /Notes
1. Josef Newgarden-R Sarah Fisher Hartman Honda Dallara 220.250 mph
2. JR Hildebrand Panther Racing Chevrolet Dallara 219.693
3. Bryan Clauson-R Sarah Fisher Hartman Honda Dallara 219.632
4. James Jakes-R Dale Coyne Racing Honda Dallara 218.286
5. Tony Kanaan KV Racing Technology Chevrolet Dallara 217.741
6. Charlie Kimball Chip Ganassi Racing Honda Dallara 217.699
7. Helio Castroneves-W Team Penske Chevrolet Dallara 217.617
8. Simon Pagenaud-R Schmidt Hamilton Racing Honda Dallara 217.483
9. Justin Wilson Dale Coyne Racing Honda Dallara 217.429
10. Scott Dixon-W Target Chip Ganassi Honda Dallara 217.244
Additional Honda-Powered Drivers:
12. Takuma Sato Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda Dallara 217.180
13. Graham Rahal Chip Ganassi Racing Honda Dallara 217.047
18. Dario Franchitti-W Target Chip Ganassi Honda Dallara 215.896
19. Alex Tagliani Bryan Herta Autosport Honda Dallara 215.344
21. Michele Jourdain Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda Dallara 214.871
23. Mike Conway A.J. Foyt Racing Honda Dallara 214.152
Townsend Bell Schmidt Hamilton Racing Honda Dallara no speed/did not run
Wade Cunningham A.J. Foyt Racing Honda Dallara no speed/did not run
W – Previous 500 Winner R – Indianapolis 500 Rookie
Rookie Newgarden Leads Opening Day at Indianapolis