Not surprising to me, but still will be interesting to watch. I wonder if the leaders will actively attempt to set times faster than Lotus can achieve to get them out of the field early.....

The checkered flag will again drop in Baltimore when the IZOD IndyCar series returns for the 2012 Labor Day weekend. Charm City entered into a five-year agreement with Downforce Racing to run the Baltimore Grand Prix. The partners in the new group are Indianapolis-based contractor Dale Dillon, as well as Felix Dawson and Daniel Reck of Wilkes Lane Capital in Baltimore.

I know this article is old, but wanted to see if anyone had other images of the different "Super Cars" around Indianapolis? I wanted to get a picture of the Titans car, but it's downtown and I can't stand crowds/traffic. If I get down there, or to any of the other cars, I'll get a picture and post it. But feel free to share if you've got any pictures of the cars!

Robin Miller at SPEED reports that Brian Barnhart will move to President of Operations for INDYCAR but will no longer be involved in day-to-day management of the racing series. He also reports that INDYCAR commercial division president Terry Angstadt will be replaced by Mark Koretzky, previously director of business development.

Zanardi won the handcycle class in this year's NYC marathon by 2 seconds averaging over 25 MPH over the course. It's been a decade since he lost his legs but he hasn't slowed down at all.

"Dan lives in the memory of everybody at Dallara," company president and founder Gianpaolo Dallara said. "He has been a true champion; not only because of his many victories, but and above everything else, because he has been a true and warm man to all the people he encountered. "All people at Dallara always enjoyed meeting him in Italy and in the USA. We will honor his memory for the years to come by dedicating the Dallara IndyCar 2012 in his name. He deserves that."

The trophy to be presented originally was commissioned by Vincent Astor, son of industrialist John Jacob Astor, to be awarded to the winner of the Astor Cup Challenge -- a 350-mile race on a 2-mile board track at Sheepshead Bay, N.Y. All Indy car champions from 1909 (George Robertson; American Automobile Association) to the present are laser-etched into the two black granite bases of the sterling silver trophy. The IZOD IndyCar Series championship driver and team owner both will receive a replica, while the IZOD IndyCar Series World Championship Trophy will be on display at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum.

I'm struggling to think of anything more awesome than this, and failing. Wonder where it is today?

Once again deflecting blame from Race Control, IndyCar president of competition Brian Barnhart has announced that the driver of the safety truck that nearly collided with Graham Rahal at the start of the Baltimore GP will be suspended from Motegi and Kentucky for not following "proper procedures and protocol."

The last I heard, this was the #2 App in the Free Sports App section of iTunes. So what are you waiting for (besides an Android version, I know)?