A.J. Foyt signs IndyCar driver Mike Conway

A.J. Foyt said Tuesday he hired Mike Conway, who won this year's Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, to drive for Foyt's team next season in the Izod IndyCar Series.

Conway, 28, is a specialist on street and road courses and "with the series having twice as many road courses as ovals, we looked for a driver who is fast on those tracks," Foyt said in a statement.

Foyt, who won the Indianapolis 500 at the rectangular Indianapolis Motor Speedway a record four times, added that "I may even be able to give [Conway] a little advice when it comes to the ovals."

The reserved, soft-spoken Conway was seriously hurt in the 2010 Indy 500 when the Englishman's car collided with one driven by Ryan Hunter-Reay, went airborne and then crashed into the catchfence.

But after months of rehabilitation, Conway bounced back with the victory in Long Beach in April while driving for the team of Andretti Autosport.

"Hopefully we can hit the ground running with off-season developments and be quick out of the box," Conway said of the Foyt team. "I'm counting the days until the first test and the start of the season."

-- Jim Peltz

Photo: Mike Conway celebrates after winning the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach on April 17. Credit: Chris Carlson/Associated Press

British driver Mike Conway wins Long Beach Grand Prix

Mike Conway, badly injured in a crash at last year's Indianapolis 500, completed his comeback Sunday by winning the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, his first victory in the Izod IndyCar Series.

The 27-year-old Englishman passed Ryan Briscoe for the lead with 14 laps left in the 85-lap race and held on to win by more than six seconds on the 1.97-mile, 11-turn course on Long Beach's seaside streets.

"On the restarts the car was awesome, it just came to life," Conway told a television audience as he basked in Victory Lane. "Just had to make the right moves and hang in there and keep it clean.”

Briscoe finished second and Dario Franchitti, the reigning IndyCar champion, was third.

Danica Patrick, Conway's teammate at the Andretti Autosport team, finished seventh.

Pole-sitter Will Power finished 10th after his car was hit from behind by Helio Castroneves, his teammate at Team Penske, as they tried to maneuver through Turn 1.

Conway crashed near the end of last year's Indy 500, his car going airborne, flying over Ryan Hunter-Reay's car and then slamming into the catchfence in front of the grandstands.

The crash ended Conway's season because he suffered multiple fractures to his lower left leg, among other injuries, requiring months of rehabilitation.

Hunter-Reay, last year's Long Beach winner, finished 23rd after his car had late mechanical problems.

ALSO:

Australian Will Power wins pole for Long Beach Grand Prix

IndyCar's season to end in Las Vegas -- with a $5-million twist

-- Jim Peltz

Photo: Mike Conway leaves the track after a crash during the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on March 27. Credit: Chris O'Meara / Associated Press

Australian Will Power wins pole for Long Beach Grand Prix

Three races, three poles.

Will Power on Saturday won the pole position for Sunday's Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, the third consecutive year that he's started first in the Izod IndyCar Series race.

Power also has captured the pole for all three of the series’ races so far this season, and he won the second race last weekend at Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama.

The Australian also won the Long Beach Grand Prix in 2008, when the race was sanctioned by the Champ Car World Series. That series then reunited with IndyCar to form a single series for U.S. open-wheel racing.

"It's one of my favorite tracks," Power said of the 1.97-mile, 11-turn Long Beach street course. "I love it around here."

The Team Penske driver won the pole with a lap of 102.582 mph Saturday. Ryan Hunter-Reay of the Andretti Autosport team, who won the Long Beach Grand Prix last year, was second at 102.469 mph.

Mike Conway qualified third in the 27-car field and Oriol Servia was fourth. Helio Castroneves was sixth, Ryan Briscoe was 12th and Danica Patrick qualified 20th. Charlie Kimball, a rookie from Camarillo, was 24th.

Reigning IndyCar champion Dario Franchitti, who won the Long Beach race in 2009, qualified seventh. Power finished second to Franchitti by a mere five points in last year's championship battle.

ALSO:

British driver Mike Conway wins Long Beach Grand Prix

IndyCar's season to end in Las Vegas -- with a $5-million twist

-- Jim Peltz

Photo: Will Power, left, shakes hands with Ryan Hunter-Reay on Saturday after Power won the pole position for the Toyota Grarnd Prix of Long Beach. Credit: Mark J. Terrill / Associated Press

IndyCar Series champion Dario Franchitti visits L.A. Live

 

Dario Franchitti, the reigning IZOD IndyCar Series and Indianapolis 500 champion, is coming off a dream season.

His IndyCar Series championship was his second in a row and his third in the past four seasons. His Indy 500 win was the second of his career.

During a visit to the ESPN Zone at L.A. Live, Franchitti talked about how his return to IndyCar racing after a year in NASCAR reignited his passion for motor sports. He also talked about what he would like to accomplish after winning three IndyCar Series championships, two Indianapolis 500s, the 24 Hours of Daytona, 12 Hours of Sebring and the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach.

Go to Haddock in the Paddock for more on Franchitti and the 2011 IZOD IndyCar Series.

ALSO:

IndyCar's season to end in Las Vegas -- with a $5-million twist

Danica Patrick's NASCAR plans, IndyCar to exit Japan, and a repave in Phoenix

-- Tim Haddock

Sebastien Bourdais might return to Long Beach in IndyCar Series

Between 2005 and 2007, the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach was the playground of Sebastien Bourdais, who won the race on the city's seaside streets for three consecutive years.

At the time, the race was part of the Champ Car World Series, and Bourdais also won the Champ Car championship in 2007 for the fourth consecutive year for the Newman-Haas-Lanigan team.

Then in 2008, when Champ Car was reunited with the IndyCar Series, the French driver left for what would be an unsuccessful foray into Formula One and, after he was fired from that ride in mid-2009, other European circuits.

But Bourdais might be back for another shot at the Long Beach race this year.

The IndyCar team of Dale Coyne Racing said this week that Bourdais recently tested one of its cars at Sebring (Fla.) International Raceway with an eye toward being hired to race on the so-called road courses -- curvy tracks and street circuits -- on IndyCar's schedule  this year. The Long Beach grand prix is one of those races.

"We have talked with Sebastien before and this is an opportunity that has great potential," team owner Dale Coyne said in a statement.

Bourdais, who turns 32 on Feb. 28 and was born in the famous racing city of Le Mans, France, said in the same release that he looked forward "to putting together the pieces to get back into Indy car racing."

Coyne told Speed.com  that he expected to finalize his driver lineup for this season in about two weeks. Other candidates include Alex Lloyd, one of Coyne's drivers last year.

The 17-race Izod IndyCar Series season opens March 27 with a street race in St. Petersburg, Fla., and this year's Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach is April 17.

--Jim Peltz

Photo: Sebastien Bourdais is congratulated after winning the Toyota Grand prix of Long Beach for the third consecutive year on April 15, 2007. Credit: Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times

 

IndyCar's Andretti Autosport releases Tony Kanaan, re-signs Ryan Hunter-Reay

Former IndyCar champion Tony Kanaan is seeking a new ride after being released Friday by the Andretti Autosport team.

At the same time, Andretti announced a two-year contract extension for driver Ryan Hunter-Reay, who won this year's Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach on the seaside streets in Long Beach, Calif. Danica Patrick and Marco Andretti also drive for Andretti Autosport.

Kanaan, the 2004 champion in what is now the Izod IndyCar Series, had been with Andretti for eight years. But his future there was jeopardized early this month when convenience-store giant 7-Eleven said it would not return as Kanaan's primary sponsor.

"We were left with a very challenging situation" and ultimately decided "the best option for both Tony and the team is to allow him the freedom to sign with another team," Andretti Autosport Chairman Michael Andretti said in a statement.

"I want to thank Tony for all the effort and passion he shared with our race team and the fans," Andretti said.

Kanaan, a 35-year-old Brazilian, has 14 career IndyCar wins, including a victory this year at Iowa that was his first since June 2008. He finished sixth in the series championship standings.

--Jim Peltz

Photos: (Top) IndyCar driver Tony Kanaan at Homestead-Miami Speedway in Florida on Oct. 1; Credit: Alan Diaz / Associated Press. (Bottom) Ryan Hunter-Reay after winning the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach on April 18; Credit: Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times

 

Long Beach is third race in 2011 IndyCar schedule

The Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach will be held April 17 next year, the third race in the 2011 IndyCar Series schedule announced Friday.

The schedule starts with a street race in St. Petersburg, Fla., on March 27, includes a return to the Milwaukee Mile in Wisconsin on June 19 and for the first time features a street race in Baltimore, on Sept. 4. IndyCar's crown jewel, the Indianapolis 500, is scheduled May 29.

A site for the season finale in October hasn't yet been chosen, although there is speculation it might be held at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Ryan Hunter-Reay won this year's Long Beach grand prix, which is run on a 1.97-mile, 11-turn course through the city's seaside streets.

--Jim Peltz

Brian Austin Green wins Long Beach celebrity race

Actor Brian Austin Green won the celebrity portion of the annual pro/celebrity race Saturday that precedes the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, while former driver and now IndyCar team co-owner Jimmy Vasser won the professional class.

Vasser also was the overall winner after he passed Green -- whose credits include "Beverly Hills 90210" -- on the final lap of the charity race.

Tanner Foust, another professional, also passed Green on the last lap to place second overall, with Green finishing third in the entire field.

Among the celebrities, actor Adrien Brody ("The Pianist") was second to Green and Zachary Levi ("Chuck") was third. Patrick Warburton, whose roles included David Puddy on "Seinfeld," was fourth among the celebrities.

All the drivers raced in identically prepared Scion tCs around the 1.97-mile, 11-turn seaside course that will be used in Sunday's grand prix.

-- Jim Peltz

Photo: Brian Austin Green before the start of Saturday's Toyota Pro/Celebrity race in Long Beach. Credit: Reed Saxon / Associated Press