Clauson makes Grand Prix of Long Beach debut

Bryan Clauson, a two-time USAC National champion, turned his first laps on a street course in Long Beach in the Toyota Pro Celebrity race.

He’ll make his first trip to the Indianapolis 500 in May.

Clauson, an open-wheel racer backed in part by K&N, ran into a tire barrier midway through the Toyota Pro Celebrity race during the Grand Prix of Long Beach. He didn’t complete the entire 10 laps of the race, but he said racing at Long Beach was an opportunity he couldn’t pass up.

“It’s kind of a no-brainer to get the opportunity to be with super people and the personalities and everybody that’s in this group is phenomenal,” Clauson said. “To get the opportunity to be a part of it and to spend some time with these people has been amazing. You learn a lot about how to be successful in life when you’re around successful people. It’s been a lot of fun and we definitely had a great time.”

How Bryan Herta, Sam Schmidt and Charlie Kimball helped Dan Wheldon win the Indy 500

Dan Wheldon won his second Indianapolis 500, but if not for a trio of Southern Californians, he might have never made it to the finish line at the Brickyard on Sunday.
The owner of the Wheldon’s car is Valencia’s Bryan Herta.
The team that provided the car for Wheldon to drive is owned by Sam Schmidt, who grew up in the San Fernando Valley, graduated from Pepperdine and went to Village Christian in Sun Valley.
The driver of the car who played a role in the last-lap crash that took out leader JR Hildebrand was Camarillo’s Charlie Kimball.
Without those three people, Wheldon probably doesn’t have a car to drive nor is he in position to win the Indy 500.
Wheldon, driving for Bryan Herta Autosport, took the lead for the first time in the race on the last lap when the rookie Hildebrand crashed into turn 4 wall.
Hildebrand was leading the race, but tried to pass Kimball on the outside. Hildebrand slid into the turn 4 wall allowing Wheldon a chance to take the lead and win the race. Hildebrand skidded across the finish line in second place.
It led to a surprising finish, with Wheldon leading only the last few hundred yards of the race. He became the first driver in the history of the Indy 500, which was celebrating its centennial anniversary, to win the race leading only the last lap of the race.
“When I saw him crash, I mean, I knew it wasn’t serious. As soon as I knew it was not serious, there was a little smile on my face, I will say,” Wheldon said. “From that point, it was just making sure that I didn’t do anything silly. Then I think I got on the radio and started crying.”
Bryan Herta Autosport is a part-time player in the Izod IndyCar Series. Herta has a team that runs the entire Firestone Indy Lights series, but only one IndyCar Series race. He entered the Indy 500 last year with Sebastian Saavedra as his driver and had the last car to qualify in the 33-car field.
In the second start for Bryan Herta Autosport at the Indy 500, Wheldon put Herta’s car on the second row, qualifying sixth, and in a much better position to contend for a win. Herta knew his chances of winning were slim, but with Wheldon as his driver, he had confidence.
“Dan has done such a great job. One of the things he did for us is bring an attitude and a belief we could win this race,” said Herta, who graduated from Hart High School in Newhall. “On paper, based on our previous effort, anything, on paper we really had no business believing we could win it. But Dan believed in us so strongly he made us believe it, too. I really think over the course of this last two weeks, he made the crew guys believe it, he made a lot of people on the outside believe it, because so many people were coming up to us the week of the race saying, ‘We think you’re going to win.’ It was so uplifting.”
Schmidt had his own two-car effort in the Indy 500. One of his drivers, Alex Tagliani, won the pole. Schmidt had good cars, but they were still considered inferior to the ones put together by Roger Penske, Chip Ganassi and Michael Andretti. Wheldon said he didn’t see a Penske car in front of him the entire race. Ganassi’s drivers, Scott Dixon and Dario Franchitti, led the Indy 500 at various points, but fell out of contention when their fuel strategies failed. Danica Patrick, driving for Andretti Autosport, led late in the race, but had to pit for fuel.
Schmidt’s cars meanwhile were strong and fast.
“They dug all month. The 77 (Tagliani) and 99 (Townsend Bell) worked really well together and had fast cars,” Schmidt said. “Unfortunately, they both got a little out of sequence. We probably should’ve finished at least second or third when all was said and done. You can’t second-guess what happens in the race, and that is what this place is all about. At least we got a little piece of that car rolling up on victory circle right there. It was Bryan’s, and that's cool.”
Kimball turned out to be the unfortunate X factor in Wheldon’s win. Hildebrand came up on Kimble, the last car on the lead lap, on the final turn of the race. Instead of letting up on the throttle and coasting to the finish line, Hildebrand tried to pass Kimball. Kimball did nothing wrong, but Hildebrand made the mistake of trying to pass Kimball on the outside. Hildebrand crashed and Wheldon was the surprise and teary-eyed winner of the Indy 500.
“I’m not normally that emotional,” Wheldon said. “But having been through what we’ve been through, being able to deliver this for everybody is certainly very gratifying. Proud of everybody. In terms of what it will do for the future, it will make me a happier person on the beach. In terms of more races, you'll have to ask these guys.”

Photo: Dan Wheldon won his second career Indianapolis 500 driving for Bryan Hertra Autosport. (Photo by LAT)

Dan Wheldon wins Indy 500 for Bryan Herta Autosport

Dan Wheldon took the lead in Sunday's Indianapolis 500 on the last turn of the last lap and won the race for the second time in his career.
It was an unlikely finish to the 100th anniversary of the first Indy 500. Wheldon, driving for Valencia's Bryan Herta, was making his first and probably only start of the Izod IndyCar Series season.
Herta, the owner of Bryan Herta Autosport, was entered in his only IndyCar Series race of the season and making only his second career start as a team owner.
The two teamed up to win the Indy 500 taking advantage of a last-lap crash by JR Hildebrand, who slid in to the turn 4 wall trying to pass a lapped car.
Go to Hometown Station.com for more on Bryan Herta Autosport winning the Indy 500.

Photo: Valencia's Bryan Herta, left, driver Dan Wheldon, and Steve Newey talk to the media at Indianapolis Motor Speedway after winning the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday. (Dana Garrett)

Bryan Herta Autosport secures final spot in Indianapolis 500

The Indy car for Bryan Herta Autosport was in pieces. The driver was in the hospital. Valencia’s Bryan Herta, the owner of the team, didn’t know if he was in or out of the Indianapolis 500 until he was on his way to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway tech center after qualifying was over on Sunday.
Sure enough, Herta’s team was in the Indianapolis 500 field, the last car in. Sebastian Saavedra will start 33rd for Bryan Herta Autosport in the 33-car field, the last car on the last row.
Herta, with a rookie driver, one car, limited resources and boundless hope, will make his first start in the Indy 500 as an owner.
“You know, we were well aware that we were going to have a roller coaster, that our race was to make the race, and we knew that we were going to be part of whatever is happening today, that it was going to be touch and go,” said Herta, a Hart High graduate. “But never in a million years could we have imagined the scenario that actually unfolded. Thank God. I already had a hard enough time sleeping.”
The scenario that unfolded involved one of the more active and eventful Bump Days in recent memory for the Indy 500. Saavedra put his car in the field on Bump Day, the last day of qualifying when drivers and teams can withdraw times to improve their positions in the race and bump other drivers out of the starting field.
Saavedra’s qualifying run was far from a lock to make the field of 33 cars. He was one of the drivers bumped out of the field as other drivers posted better qualifying speeds than his.
Saavedra was on the bubble and took his car out for practice in preparation for another qualifying run, but crashed in turn one. Herta thought his chances of making the field were gone.
His chances were revived when two drivers withdrew their times and put Saavedra back in the field.
Paul Tracy was one of those drivers. But he didn’t improve his qualifying run and Saavedra maintained his hold on the 33rd spot.
Jay Howard went out to try and improve his qualifying effort, but he too did not produce a better run.
When Bump Day was over, Saavedra was in the Indy 500 field, and on his way to the hospital to be evaluated after his crash.
“I had just turned on the television in my hospital room and I saw an interview with Bryan and my crew jumping up and down,” said Saavedra, a 19-year-old from Colombia. “My family started jumping in celebration. This is wonderful for me and my country. I’m still trying to process it. I want to thank Bryan Herta Autosport and William Rast for believing in me and making my dream come true.”
Herta said he never experienced the range of emotions in one week, let alone one day, through his years of racing in the Indianapolis 500.
“Three times. Three times we thought we were out when we crashed,” Herta said. “We were pretty confident that we were going to have to bump our way back into the race. So when we crashed we thought, ‘Oh, that’s it.’ And then we got bumped out the first time. And OK, thought, OK, you’re out, that’s it. And then time withdrew in front of us, we got back in.”
Saavedra had an MRI as a precautionary measure at the hospital. The results were negative. The car, the only one Bryan Herta Autosport has for the race, is in pretty bad shape.
“We broke the gearbox, bell housing, underwing, rear wing attenuator, left front suspension is junk,” said Steve Newey, who owns the team with Herta and is the team's race engineer. “Left rear suspension. Obviously, I could go on and on. There’s a lot. Honda wants to take a look at the engine.
“We’re going to have the engine over to Honda tomorrow to see how much damage there is. The tub appears to be OK. So there is a lot of damage, and our guys are coming in and we’re going to go shopping for used parts tomorrow.”

Photo: Sebastian Saavedra, driver for Bryan Herta Autosport, qualified for the Indianapolis 500 and will start 33rd in the 33-car field. (Bryan Herta Autosport)

Paul Tracy heading back to Indy

Paul Tracy will be returning to the Indianapolis 500 to race a car for KV Racing Technology, owned by Jimmy Vasser and Kevin Kalkhoven.
Tracy and the team made the announcemt Friday at the Grand Prix of Long Beach. Tracy, a four-time winner at Long Beach, is only going to race in the Indy 500 for KV Racing. When asked if he expected to get any extra time in his team's new car before the Indy 500, Tracy said they don't normally make past winners go through rookie orientation.
He was making reference to the last time he was in the Indy 500 in 2002. He finished second to Helio Castroneves on a debatable pass under caution.
Tracy has raced in the Indy 500 six times. Tracy has been in three IndyCar Series races, most recently last year in Edmonton where he finished fourth.