Catching Up With Vitor Meira

BY BRUCE MARTIN

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MOORESVILLE, North Carolina – With one off weekend left before the IZOD IndyCar Series World Championship Presented by Honda in Las Vegas on October 16 Vitor Meira gets a trip to Hawaii. But don’t expect to see the likeable driver from Brazil who drives the No. 14 ICOD IndyCar for team owner A.J. Foyt lounging on the beach with a Mai Tai in his hand.

Meira and fellow IZOD driver Tony Kanaan will be competing in the Ford Ironman World Championship – the famed Triathlon – in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii on Saturday, October 8. It’s a grueling test of physical endurance that includes a 2.4-mile swim in the Pacific Ocean, a 112-mile bike ride and a 26.2-mile run.

So much for a “weekend off” but Meira is a veteran Ironman competitor and looks forward to the challenge.

“I ran the Half-Ironman Championship last year but now it’s the full Ironman,” Meira said. “Man, it’s much bigger than I thought it would be. As I started training and putting the miles necessary to do a decent job there it’s pretty hard. It’s a lot of mind training to be honest because you are on the bike for like five hours training and then you run for 2-1/2 hours. You have to train mentally for it because it is such a big challenge. I try to spend as much time as I can not to disturb the IndyCar training and put as much time as I can not to disturb racing at all.”

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Danica Patrick will be driving her last IZOD IndyCar Series race next weekend at the World Championship in Las Vegas. She discusses her past, present and future in motor sports.

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IZOD sponsored golfer Kevin Na poses with Justin Timberlake after winning his first PGA Tour event, the Justin Timberlake Shriner’s Open. (Courtesy Getty Images)

Kevin Na kisses celebrates his first PGA Tour Victory at the Justin Timberlake Shriner’s Open. (Courtesy Getty Images)

IZOD IndyCar Series Title Takes Another Turn At Kentucky Indy 300; Ed Carpenter Scores First Career IZOD Win

BY BRUCE MARTIN

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SPARTA, Kentucky – Ed Carpenter finally discovered the “Look of a Winner” while a dramatic change to the IZOD IndyCar Series points race may have given Dario Franchitti the “Look of a Champion.”

On a day when Carpenter and team owner Sarah Fisher celebrated their first IZOD IndyCar Series win the series championship took a huge turn in Sunday’s Kentucky Indy 300 at Kentucky Speedway. 

Team Penske’s Will Power started on the pole and had built a 2.7924-second lead over his closest pursuer, Graham Rahal, by lap 45. But when Power came into the pits for his first stop on Lap 49, Ana Beatriz of Dreyer & Reinbold Racing was sent out of her pit stall and her car ran into Powers’ sidepod. It left a huge gash in the side of the car and Powers’ chance at victory – and the championship – took a wicked turn. 

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Team Penske Driver Will Power Blows Way the Field to win the IZOD IndyCar Series Pole at Kentucky

BY BRUCE MARTIN

GO TO MACYS.COM/IZOD TO PURCHASE THE LATEST IN IZOD FALL FASHION. 

 SPARTA, Kentucky – In a tight race for the 2011 IZOD IndyCar Series title where every point counts, Team Penske’s Will Power added one more point to his season total in dominating fashion. He blew away the field to win the pole Saturday for Sunday’s Kentucky Indy 300 with a series record-tying eighth PEAK Performance Pole Award this season while setting a two-lap qualifying record at the 1.5-mile Kentucky Speedway.

The all-time IndyCar record for poles in one season is held nine held by Mario Andretti and Danny Sullivan.

Power won the pole with a two-lap average of 219.283 miles per hour in his No. 12 Verizon Team Penske IZOD IndyCar. That broke Ed Carpenter’s previous record of 217.933 mph set last season.

Power was beaming with happiness as he walked up pit lane after his record run.

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Kevin Na is tied for the 3rd Round lead in Justin Timberlake Shriner’s Open in Las Vegas. 

http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/wireStory/watney-na-lead-las-vegas-14648283

Florence, Ky. (October 1, 2011) – IZOD IndyCar series driver and reigning Indianapolis 500 champion Dan Wheldon takes a lucky fan on a $500 IZOD shopping spree at the Florence Mall Macy’s. Trey Taylor, 8 years old from Blue Ash, OH,won the IZOD shopping spree with Wheldon after entering to win at the IZOD IndyCar Series Transporter display and parade in downtown Cincinnati on Wednesday night. (Courtesy INDYCAR)

 GO TO MACYS.COM/IZOD TO BUY THE LATEST IN IZOD FALL FASHION.

BY BRUCE MARTIN

MOORESVILLE, North Carolina – There is something about the 1.5-mile Kentucky Speedway that fits Ed Carpenter’s driving style perfectly. In 112 career IZOD IndyCar Series starts Carpenter has two podium finishes. Both of those came at Kentucky Speedway.

In seven starts at the bumpy track located near the Ohio River Carpenter has five top 10 finishes and has finished twice the last two seasons. He started 14^th for Vision Racing in 2009 and led 34 laps before finishing just .01162 seconds behind Team Penske’s Ryan Briscoe in the 11th closest finish in IZOD IndyCar Series history.

Last year for Panther Racing Carpenter started on the pole and led 11 laps before finishing second to race winner Helio Castroneves, who blew away the field to win by a whopping 13.160 seconds.

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 GO TO MACYS.COM/IZOD TO PURCHASE THE LATEST IN IZOD FALL FASHION. 

BY BRUCE MARTIN

MOORESVILLE, North Carolina – Scott Dixon’s victory in the Indy Japan: The Final at Twin Ring Motegi capped an incredible week for the two-time IZOD IndyCar Series champion and 2008 Indianapolis 500 winner. His wife, Emma, gave birth to their second daughter, Tilly, on September 10 before Dixon departed for Japan. Tilly joins older daughter Poppy in the Dixon Family.

“I told Chip Ganassi (Dixon’s team owner) having another mouth to feed I have to win more races and more prize money so that I can afford them,” Dixon said. “I don’t think you can ever top that week having a new baby in the family, winning the pole at the next race and then winning the race at Japan the first time on the road course. It was a picture perfect race. It was very cool. The overseas races to me are a little more special with the exception of the Indianapolis 500. With the year Japan has had to go over there and still have the race – being the only driver to get the pole on both oval and road course and win on both is very special. You couldn’t have scripted it any better.”

Young Tilly was born six weeks early so the infant is currently in Pre-Natal Care where Dixon said she will remain for another week or two.

“Her lungs aren’t really built for any speed at this point,” he said. “She is on respirators and stuff and is being fed by tubes. But she is doing good. As long as they are healthy that is all I really care about. The girls are cool that they are `Daddy’s Little Girl.’ They are very clingy with the dad’s. I asked the doctors now that the second one is a girl what are the percentages that the third one will be another girl and they said 75-80 percent.”

SCOTT DIXON CELEBRATES AFTER WINNING THE HONDA INDY 200 AT MID-OHIO.

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Check out video highlights from Today’s Auditions Courtesy of NJ12 TV.