When IndyCar fans saw EJ Viso get punted both during and after the race at Toronto last year, we knew it was just a matter of time before EJ extracted his vengance. If you mess with the bull you get the horns, and if you mess with Viso you are lucky to escape with all of your vital organs intact.



The only question that remained was exactly how Viso would make Moraes pay for his impetuous transgressions. Public castration? Too obvious. Poisoned energy drink? Not obvious enough. Scalping Mario like an enraged Iriquois? That may have almost happened.

In the end, EJ got back at Mario by taking his ride away from him.

KV Racing Technology announced today that IndyCar Series veteran E. J. Viso will join the team for the 2010 IZOD IndyCar Series season. Viso will drive the #8 KVRT entry supported by PDVSA, Herbalife, CANTV, SBA Airlines and team partner Plantronics.

“We are very excited to have E. J. join our driver line-up for 2010,” said General Manager Mark Johnson. "We have been in talks with E. J. for quite some time now and successfully tested him at Sebring. Over the last two seasons he has impressed both Jimmy (KVRT co-owner Jimmy Vasser) and I with his race craft and growth as a driver. E. J. brings IndyCar and oval experience to our team, which will be extremely valuable as we progress through the season. I would also like to welcome commercial partners PDVSA, Herbalife, CANTV and SBA Airlines to the KVRT organization. We look forward to working with all of them.”

(MORE from KVRT's Fecebook page. Yes, I said their Facebook page.)

Last summer much was made about Gil de Ferran - excuse me, 2003 Indianapolis 500 Champion Gil de Ferran - as he spoke of shuttering his ALMS venture and moving towards assembling an IndyCar team. Names of drivers like Rahal and Dixon were frantically churned through the rumor mill as possible drivers even though the team hadn't so much as a single Dallara for anyone to pilot. At Indy much was also made of de Ferran hanging around with F1's Takuma Sato, but as the year drew to it's close there was still no team, no IRL equipment purchased, and certainly no verified reports of signed drivers for de Ferran.

Well, finally de Ferran has a team. It's not exactly his own, but...

Steve Luczo and Jay Penske, co-owners of Luczo Dragon Racing, and Gil de Ferran, owner of de Ferran Motorsports and former Indy 500 winner, have merged their two businesses to create a new cutting edge motorsport venture that will leverage technology and science to compete at the highest levels of the IZOD IndyCar Series, it was announced today.

De Ferran, the 2003 Indy 500 winner and two-time IndyCar champion, will serve as co-owner, President and Managing Partner of Luczo Dragon Racing/de Ferran Motorsports.

Tony Johns says pairing guys with Penske ties is a recipe for success, but I just want to note that while these gentlemen have every right to be impressed with themselves it would be incredible helpful if they could check their egos at the door and come up with a team name that isn't so freaking long? Sheesh. (And I know "Penske" isn't in the name, but "Dragon" is because that was the name of one of Jay's other business ventures, and perhaps also because his father threatened to cut him out of the will if Jay thought the universe was big enough for another race team named "Penske".)

But this should make this team better, and in terms of driver news the press release explicitly states that Rafa Matos is still the guy for...uh, do we call them LDRdFM? (Obscure musical reference: anyone else think that acronym looks like the result of Lords of Acid merging with KMFDM? Is that just me? OK, then excuse me while I remove my Doc Martens.)

Right now, we are running one car with Raphael Matos, but are working hard on expanding our program as this will increase our ability to improve and to extend our resources. We hope to have those details ironed out very soon.

So Rafa's their man while they are "working hard" so that he might soon have a teammate. Could it be Sato? Well, my ability to conjugate Portuguese verbs leaves much to be desired, but Brazil's Grande Premio indicated Sato either will be signing or has signed with...KV Racing Technologies? OK, show of hands - who saw that coming? I think the same article indicates Mario Moraes will also be returning, but again none of this has been confirmed.

Meanwhile, in recent days KV Racing was conducting a test...with EJ Viso. Hey, why not - right? I say get a guy that speaks Japanese, a guy that speaks Portuguese, and a guy that speaks Spanish and let 'em all throw broken English at each other. Besides, they all speak "Speed", right?

Finally, speaking of guys who speak "Speed" and "English" proficiently, "Captain America" JR Hildebrand has also been testing for the currently driver-less Dale Coyne Racing. Coyne made an announcement that the team now has sponsorship from Boy Scouts of America, so from a promotional standpoint Hildebrand definitely falls under the heading of "synergy". And as those that saw him in Firestone Indy Lights have seen he's a really good driver, so that helps as well.

And yes, I'll soon get around to discussing actual drivers who have actually been signed to actual contracts once there's a break from talking about Delta Wings and Danicas and Dragons and such.

Curt Cavin reports the unspectacular union of Dan Wheldon and Panther Racing that resulted in a total of 8 laps led in 2009...will continue. This is not unlike an unsatisfied married couple who both went out to separate bars, surveyed the options available, then went home to tell their spouses how much they love them. Wheldon is still a skilled driver, and Panther is still able to put a competitive car on the track (at least as competitive as anyone not in the Big Two) but I'm sure both would rather forget that 2009 ever happened. Well, except for that nice check they got for finishing 2nd at Indy.

Meanwhile, HVM Racing has issued a press release

With the checkered flag unfurled on the 2009 IndyCar Series season, HVM Racing is planning changes for the off-season to get the historically winning team back on track for 2010.

The team plans to return next season as a two-car operation after adding a second car mid-season in 2009 with the signing of Robert Doornbos. Doornbos is signed to return in 2010, and the team is now exploring options with their second entry after E.J. Viso's contract with the team expired.

Team principal and owner Keith Wiggins is already busy looking for the right talent that he feels is needed to get team performance back to past levels...

Which means if you have sufficient funding, you too might be "the right talent". And the return of Robert Doornbos practically begs the use of the term "meh", except that I don't say "meh". I just kind of shrug my shoulders, which of course you can't see. So OK, good for Bob, and now we're all moving along.

Meanwhile, I can't say that anyone can blames Viso for leaving. After an exciting rookie season where he made as many enemies as fans, Viso was featured in IndyCar fanclub ads as one of the more prominent drivers. "Spend a Day with Viso", they said. In reality most folks wouldn't wanted to have spent race days with Viso, as his '09 campaign was a dismal failure resulting in 18th place in the championship standings - last of any driver who competed in every race. You don't have to be a Venezuelan snake enthusiast to know that when you finish 12th or worse in all but one race it's time to look elsewhere.

Where that elsewhere will be is anyone's guess, but if there's any way he can be paired with his rumored punching bag Mario Moraes then I'd be willing to pitch in $20 to help fund that team.

SPARTA, Ky - IndyCar points leader Scott Dixon graciously emerged from his motorhome to be awarded the "pole position" for the Meijer Indy 300 after weepers, essentially underground water vents in the asphalt, washed out qualifying Friday evening. The field will start based on the driver season points standings.

Dixon will be flanked by teammate Dario Franchitti, while the Penske duo of Helio Castroneves and Ryan Briscoe comprise row two.

With four red cars in the first two rows, Kentucky Speedway will put the new "call it what you want, but don't call it Push to Pass" technology to the test, as the oval speedway enhancement rules take effect. The team parade continues with best friends Danica Patrick and Marco Andretti in row three, while the rumored-to-be-deposed Dan Wheldon and road king Justin Wilson are in row four.

A variety of technological enhancements, including aerodynamic options and a steering-wheel mounted "Burst Button" are expected to inject some extra ethanol madness into the field. The Barnhart General has issued a warning that some passing may occur now on oval tracks, as a 5-20 horsepower gain will be realized dependant on fuel setting for intervals calibrated on a race-by-race basis. For Kentucky, drivers will have 20 presses for a duration of 12 seconds each available. No word on whether engine telemetry will be tracked in the Versus broadcast, although it seems reasonable to assume this might be the case.

The zone of excitement and pain looks be the insides of rows eight and nine, with MadDog Mario Moraes lined up in front of the volatile EJ Viso. The two drivers exchanged pleasantries on the track twice in Toronto, and were rumored to have also continued the discussion after the race sans helmets only to be separated by KV Racing team owner Jimmy "the Peacemaker" Vasser. The altercation, following a similar clash earlier in the season prompted Viso to claim the Quote of the Year crown early by describing Moraes as a "monkey with a bag of money" on his Facebook page.