If ever there was a time for perennial minnow Dale Coyne to become a serious player in the IZOD IndyCar Series, 2012 may be that time.

The well-liked team owner got his first IndyCar victory at Watkins Glen International in 2009 with driver Justin Wilson and engineer Bill Pappas. It was a terrific moment for Coyne and for IndyCar, but to say that anyone saw it coming would be stretching the truth quite a bit.

As if that were not enough, the combination almost won two other races that year, and for people used to seeing the Coyne cars struggling gamely midpack or tailing the rest of the field, it was a revelation.

Now, with a new engine and chassis formula coming online in 2012, Coyne is "Putting the Band Back Together" (no, really, that's precisely how the team's public relations arm termed it) by rehiring Wilson and Pappas and casting their lot with Honda's powerful new twin-turbo V6 engine.

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Randy Bernard and Brian Barnhart maintained a suitably somber and professorial mein during a press conference held Thursday morning at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

The subject matter - the initial findings of the INDYCAR investigation into the fatal accident at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on October 16^th - made for a subdued atmosphere as the two series officials summarized in brief the conclusions that INDYCAR derived. A full 49-page report was subsequently released to the media.

Very little was surprising about what INDYCAR revealed as causal factors for the accident, with Bernard calling the accident a "perfect storm" and Barnhart pointing to "location, direction, and orientation" as the key factors for the impact that killed 2011 Indy 500 winner Dan Wheldon.

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Funeral services for IZOD IndyCar Series driver Dan Wheldon will be held at 10 a.m. (ET), Saturday, Oct. 22, at First Presbyterian Church of St. Petersburg, 701 Beach Drive N.E. in St. Petersburg, Fla.

Wheldon's wife, Susie, released the following statement on behalf of the family, inviting members of community to attend the service:

"Although the last few days have been unbearable for our family, the overwhelming love and support we have received are rays of sunshine during these dark days. The outpouring of sympathy and condolences has been so comforting, and I want to thank everyone for their kind notes, letters, gifts and flowers.

"Dan touched the lives of many people, and I would like to invite those citizens in our community who knew and loved my husband to attend his funeral service at the First Presbyterian Church of St. Petersburg on Saturday, October 22, at 10 a.m.

"Though we won't be able to fit everyone inside, I know that Dan would have wanted the community to share in the celebration of his life and to grieve his passing. Thank you again. I am forever grateful for your kindness."

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Graham Rahal may be one of INDYCAR's younger drivers, but his maturity and leadership outweigh his years. The latest evidence of this is the fundraising auction he is helping put together for the family of the late Dan Wheldon, who lost his life at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday.

The 22-year-old Ohio native, who drives the #38 Service Central Dallara for Service Central Chip Ganassi Racing, took the initiative via social media in the immediate aftermath of Wheldon's fatal accident to help organize the auction.

What was initially Rahal's plan to auction his Las Vegas-worn helmet has swelled into an industry-wide push to raise funds that is being supported by stars from all over motorsports, including Max Papis, Jimmie Johnson, Brandon Bernstein, as well as his fellow INDYCAR drivers Tony Kanaan, Dario Franchitti, and Marco Andretti, RACER and AutoWeek magazines, and sponsors like GoDaddy.com and Bowers and Wilkins.

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Left standing alone without a ride when the silly season music stopped, Dan Wheldon must be given credit for retooling, refocusing and quite simply, throwing a huge roll of the dice in signing with Bryan Herta Autosport for the 2011 Indy 500.

After all, Herta's underfunded outfit had barely qualified for the last and final spot on the grid in 2010. But that trust and feeling of confidence with Herta was repaid in both directions in what was certainly one of the most fantastic finishes in the century of history at the Brickyard (cues NFL Films marching music.)

Through it all, the 2005 IndyCar series champion and now two-time Indy 500 winner has stood by both his instinct and conviction. And when the nine-time winner on a 1.5 mile oval says he has a chance to win the GoDaddy Challenge, you are simply compelled to believe him.

I caught up with the eminently quotable 33-year old native of Emberton, UK via phone from Los Angeles Tuesday afternoon, where he was on a media blitz for the IZOD IndyCar World Championships. 

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The return of the IZOD IndyCar series to New Hampshire Motor Speedway Sunday afternoon certainly filled up the highlight reel tape. 

Heck, they might even have to devote an extra DVD to it in the IndyCar post-season collection. And use a couple of those black censor bars to make it viewer-friendly.

Thrills, spills, separate crashes by the two championship leaders (one of which did not officially happen), controversial retroactive officiating and an obscene gesture each would have been worthy by themselves. When the rain steadied in pace, and the red mist dissipated, Ryan Hunter-Reay of Andretti Autosport was left  parked at the front of the remaining field on pit lane with an unconventional but deserving first victory of the season.

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Another session was completed Saturday morning at New Hampshire Motor Spreedway, and the Top-5 of the practice was strangely devoid of Penske Racing's three cars. Granted, Will Power and Ryan Briscoe were still in the Top 10, but with Helio Castronevesmired in 20^thplace, the feeling was that there was an odd tilt to the Death Star universe without one of the prime contributors to global IndyCar domination and standings destruction.

Penske Racing had lost that je ne sais quois on the the left-hand only tracks. And don't think for a minute that the drivers haven't noticed. Are the days of Penske oval domination over for the season? Are poles on ovals, once a staple in Roger Penske's diet, now a thing of the past?

“Good question. We don't know. We've been putting so much effort (in engineering), like in the past, and some how other teams have developed another way and (improved),” said Castroneves after qualifying ninth (168.886 mph) Saturday for the Movethatblock.com 225. “This business is about working constantly. Certainly this weekend is a wakeup call for us.”

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A rare  on-site, off-track day in the IndyCar schedule Friday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon found a relaxed atmosphere for drivers and crew in the garage area. But with a full day of open testing just completed, rave reviews were already coming in from IndyCar drivers for the progressively-banked 1.025 mile oval. As the third and final short oval on the 17-race calendar, the Movethatblock.com 225 in Loudon seems familiar, yet brings a unique set of challenges.

“I like it, it’s a cool little track. It’s similar to MIlwaukee in that it’s flat and a little bit bumpy, but I think it’s going to be good fun in the race,” said Andretti Autosports Mike Conway, who was 13th in the combined practice results Thursday.

Tony Stewart completed the previous chapter in the NHMS’ open wheel legend with a win in the  IndyCar race in 1998. The track history book itself is a Who’s Who of 1990s open wheel talent,  with the roster of IndyCar and CART race winners boasting names like Stewart, Robbie Buhl, Scott Sharp, Al Unser Jr., Nigel Mansell and Bobby Rahal, while IndyLights victors included the late Greg Moore (twice, in 1994 and 1995) and Adrian Fernandez. Jacques Villeneuve won the pole for the Toyota Atlantics race at the track in 1993, while Dario Franchitti’s race engineer Chris Simmons won twice in the USAC Formula Ford 2000 series.

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