Team Penske/Chevy drivers revved up for start of Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix - Detroit Free Press
Team Penske/Chevy drivers Ryan Briscoe and Will Power are ready for the green flag to drop later today on the Chevrolet Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix at Belle Isle.
With the sun breaking through, drivers met at the old Casino near the IZOD IndyCar Series paddock area to talk track safety and rules.
"It's just first-class, as Roger (Penske) always does it," said Briscoe of the track, the Grand Prix organization and entertainment. "It's an impressive weekend of racing."
The Penske pair took part in the Sunday warm-up session, the last chance for crew to work on cars.
Briscoe, who hails from Sydney, Australia, will start seventh in today's IndyCar race, which is scheduled to begin around 3:30 p.m. Will Power starts second on the front row with pole-setter Scott Dixon from Target Chip Ganassi Racing.
"I'll try to move forward," said Briscoe, who cut a tire in qualifying and would probably have been higher on the grid but for the mishap. "We're pretty close to the front, in a pretty good spot, but it's going to be tough."
Fellow Aussie Power said he'll be out to pass Dixon.
"Absolutely," said Power, who has won three of five series races this season and is a terrific street circuit driver. "We'll see how it plays out early -- if it is going to be a two or three-pit stop race. It's going to be an incredible start for fans."
Earlier in the morning, Roger Penske, the driving force behind the return of the Detroit Grand Prix following a four-year absence, stopped to chat as he inspected the paddock and corporate tent area on his scooter.
"This is fantastic," said a beaming Penske, IndyCar/NASCAR team owner and Birmingham businessman. "The place is alive. It's a great day."
Bud Denker, chairman of the Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix Association, agreed.
"It's absolutely unbelievable," said Denker from a golf cart near the pits. "Saturday, we had the biggest day ever in the history of the Grand Prix in terms or revenue sales and ticket sales. It's going to be bigger today."
Denker said plans are already in place for the 2013 Chevrolet Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix, which could see the race track extended and the state run Belle Isle as a national park.
"We're in for some great times ahead," said Denker. "As far as today's race is concerned, Scott Dixon told me after his pole that Belle Isle is hardest, most physical track they race all year. I think we are in for a great day."
RSS mouthpiece hits out at Narendra Modi - newsbullet.in
New Delhi: In yet another instance of growing feud within BJP and the Sangh Parivar, an article in a RSS mouthpiece has criticised Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi for his style of functioning and also indicated that the party has several other prime ministerial candidates.
The article, which figures in the latest issue of 'Panchajanya,' says it is being felt that Modi needs to do a rethink about his style of functioning and organisational capabilities.
"The role of Narendra Modi in the Sanjay Joshi episode at BJP's national executive meeting in Mumbai is worth pondering over," the article states. Modi had insisted that he will attend the conclave only if his bete noire Sanjay Joshi resigns from BJP national executive. The party bowed to his demand.
The article further points out that it is a mystery why Modi, a staunch believer of the Sangh ideology, could not deal with his anger towards his fellow RSS worker Joshi.
"By making the presence of Sanjay Joshi at the BJP national executive a prestige issue, why did he (Modi) give the media an opportunity to spread misinformation about the Sangh and BJP?" the article said. In a dig at Modi's prime ministerial ambitions, the article also states that BJP has several chief ministers and central leaders who are capable of being its prime ministerial candidate and hence the decision on this matter should be made after the general elections.
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