Today we bring you a special "Saturday Morning Edition" of our Friday Night Lights series of Indy Lights drivers Q&As. Perhaps like me when you were younger you lived for Saturday Mornings, where you could sleep in, not have to get dressed for school, and above all else plop yourself in front of the TV and watch some tastefully violent cartoons.

Which brings us to today's driver, the very animated James Hinchcliffe.

"Hinch", as he's known, is an accomplished driver, having won races in Formula BMW, Star Mazda and the Atlantics series before moving to the Indy Lights series this year. He also raced in A1GP before becoming part of the broadcast team after his homeland's Team Canada folded.

Hinch was kind enough to not only answer the questions sent to him but to actually take the time to record and edit his video responses. This probably should have been expected from a guy who keeps fans entertained with his blgging and video on his "Hinchtown" website as well as his his twitter account. So let's take "Friday Night Lights" up a notch with the man, myth, the Mayor of Hinchtown.



Thanks to Sam Schmidt Motorsports for facilitating this multimedia experience. So much there's no hard feelings that he didn't say the site's name correctly ("My Name is Irl, rhymes with Pearl"). Happens all the time, actually.

If there's one thing IndyCar fans love to do it's complain. Actually pretty much all of humanity likes to complain, but since this isn't a site dedicated to covering all of humanity let's just stick to stereotyping fans of open-wheel racing. All of us - yes, YOU included - like to complain, whether it be about "Danica", "ESPN" or the lack of racing.

I'm sure we're all asking ourselves far too often "Where's the passing?", "What's with all of this fuel conservation?", or "How come only two teams can win a race?", but curiously enough none of those questions can be asked of most of the Indy Lights races.

The fact is that although imperfect the junior series of the Indy Racing League is often the most exciting event on shared weekends, possibly due to the lack of pit stops, or the race-to-race contracts, or the fact that many of the Lights drivers just don't have time for this whole "race strategy" deal. Whatever the reason, the races are fun even if you don't know who the drivers are - and even that won't be a problem for long if My Name Is IRLhas anything to say about it.

While most of the IndyCar series drivers get to answer fun questions prime inquisitors like pressdog the poor Lights drivers are stuck answering questions about bland and boring subjects like lap times and downforce, and that's just not fair to these fine men and women. We need to learn more about them as people, because surprisingly enough that's what they are. Starting tonight and hopefully throughout the remainder of the race season this spot will feature a less-than-boring interview with an Indy Lights driver in a recurring series called "Friday Night Lights". Catchy, eh?

This week we kick things off with Vision Racing's James Davison, a second-year participant in the series. James has 21 starts, one win, and an intimate familiarity with the word "coxswain". Enjoy the Q&A with James...or should I say, "Skippy"!?!.

MNII: First off, it's "Davison", right? Do you bother correcting people who refer to you as James "Davidson" or do you usually just let it slide?

JD: Yes I do, it has been an issue my entire life. My suit in Star Mazda had my name misspelled on it the entire season!

MNII: You come from quite the racing family. Your grandfather won the Australian Grand Prix four times, your father raced Formula 5000, and your cousins race V8 Supercars. Did you ever feel pressured to be in this profession?

JD: Yes, my family name is prominent in Australian motorsport, much like how Andretti, Unser, Foyt is regarded here. When I did my first year of racing Formula Ford back in Australia my cousins had left a big impression on the family name so I felt I had to perform if I was going to be taken seriously. I knew I had it in me and I wanted it just as much as they did. I performed straight away which was important in gaining my father's support of my career up to this year.

MNII: Being in the U.S. so much, what do you miss most about your Australian homeland? Vegemite? The AFL? Kylie Minogue?

JD: I actually have Vegemite nearly every morning for breakfast and recently found a place that sells it here in Indy. I miss the summer beaches and catching up with my old school friends. With that said, I am very focused and determined to make it as an IndyCar driver. I don't think about what I have left back in Australia all that much. My life is primarily in Indianapolis and I intend to keep it here.

MNII: I noticed from your bio that you served as a coxswain on a championship crew team a few years ago. Could you tell us what kind of stuff does a coxswain shout to the guys with the oars? Is it similar to what a spotter yells at a driver during a race?

JD: It's not like going side by side at 200mph but it was a very good experience that taught me discipline, dedication and determination, along with waking up at 5.00am to go training! I had a very important dictator-ing role to control the eight rowers in the crew. Motivating and strategic race planning were very important to being successful. My school was like the Team Penske of school boy rowing; Big budgets, new $40,000 carbon fiber boats, Olympic gold medalist coaches. We won everything and they still dominate today.

MNII: Your team co-owner, Tony George, had a bit of a rough time with the media last week. Did you offer to give him a hug, or would that have been awkward and inappropriate?

JD: A hug was definitely in order, but I took a step back from it all. You can never be sure that you're getting the whole story from the media. Knowing Tony personally, it's difficult to see the way he is portrayed a lot of times by the media; he is a very generous, thoughtful, hardworking person who has made many tough decisions with the best interest of the sport in mind. Tony is highly important to our sport, and something like the recent rumors would have a huge impact of a lot of people's lives. This is a crucial time for open-wheel racing to rebound, and the last thing we need is stupidity that would unsettle the progress that the series has made. There has been a lot of time and investment put into the IRL, most recently with the unification of the sport, and it's going to take everyone to be united in order to recover the lost ground. I've loved IndyCar racing since I was 11 years old, and I am committed to being a part of its future.

MNII: Vision Racing recently announced their newest team co-owner is 18-year-old Lauren George. So far would you categorize her as a harsh taskmaster or a benevolent dictator?

JD: I haven't disappointed her so far, but she won't be satisfied until we are winning races. As the old saying goes "sponsors or team owners don't care where you finish unless it's first". She is competitive and definitely wants to win, however she is understanding of the fact that we are a new team and need some time to catch our stride. We have been constantly improving on the ovals with a Top-Five in Milwaukee and eagerly look forward to the string of road courses where we are going all out to win.

MNII: Some drivers have very personal relationships with their sponsors, so, umm, pardon me for asking but do you find yourself shopping frequently at Charlotte Russe?

JD: No, I don't but I do use a People's Liberation bag to carry around some things. Ultimately the two brands reflect an 18 year old girl like Lauren, and in this economy you cannot complain about who's paying the bills! The car looks good and it is my responsibility to run up front. (People’s Liberation is our primary sponsor. Charlotte Russe was only on the car for Indy & Milwaukee.)

MNII: What's the biggest difference being on a one-car team like Vision Racing as opposed to the four-car effort at Sam Schmidt Motorsports?
Focus. It makes a difference and I feel that I did suffer from this at times last year. The key ingredient to any successful team is chemistry, and I have a very good relationship my guys at Vision.

MNII: Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe you did some TV work for the Surfer's Paradise race last year. How did you score that gig, and is that something you'd want to do more of in the future?

JD: Yes, it was a good experience. I grew up going to the race there and got to know many of the key personal from the event. I enjoyed commentating on what I love, however at this stage I would for sure much rather star in the race. Many commentators have been former drivers, which gives them more creditability when commentating or expressing their opinion on something.

MNII: Vision Racing has one of those FIL partnership deals that allows for extra testing time, but have they let you have a crack at driving one of their IndyCars yet? If so, what did you think?

JD: As of yet I have not driven the IndyCar, however after the season I am eager to get a chance to finally drive what I have been working toward my entire career. The budget at Vision does not allow us the leisure that AGR has to do testing miles. Right now I am focused on Indy Lights and developing with the team to a race winning level.

MNII: You raced well enough to win several races last year, but your lone FIL victory came at that bizarre boat race at Mid Ohio. Did you talk about it with Jonny Reid afterward, and did you at least offer to buy him a good stiff drink?

JD: Yes, I had a number of unfortunate incidents last year where I lead the race at Indianapolis & Nashville but ended up with zero. Mid Ohio was a very difficult race. I made a mistake early on and recovered from it. I had good speed in the rain and by the white flag I had got to within a second of Jonny. I was getting excited as I felt I was strong enough to pass him then the caution came out, which meant I was locked into finishing 2nd.....well at least I thought haha. I saw him go in the pit lane which made me stumble for a second. I exited the final turn and the guy was waving the flags at me. It was a crazy way to win however I felt I deserved some luck to be on my side as my entire season up to that point was very frustrating. Seven days earlier at Nashville when I started on the pole and lead half the race, I was accidently put into the wall by Jonny when coming up to lap him. I thought it was a convenient apology, however I really wanted to win that guitar. A couple of us had a few drinks that night back Indy and joked about it.

MNII: Last question: Do you have a nickname? If you don't you can make one up, and if you don't make one up I won't be responsible for what the readers decide to call you.

JD: I have a number; Davo, JD, Jamo, Roo, Skippy.

MNII: Hmmm. James "Skippy" Davison. That does have an excellent ring to it!

(Thanks to Vision Racing for their assistance and to IndyCar.com for all photos used.)

Our next featured driver this week is the guy at the top of the points standings, J.R Hildebrand. J.R. finished fifth in the championship last year, garnering his first Indy Lights win in Kansas in 2008 - his first ever race on an oval.

Compared to his peers J.R. got a relatively late start in racing, starting with go karts seven years ago. He seemed to do pretty well, even winning championships in Formula Russell and Formula Ford 2000 along the way. And no, I have no idea what "Formula Russell" is, but he won it and you didn't.)

Off the track J.R. has the distinction of having a deferred acceptance to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a.k.a. "M.I.T.", or as it is less formally know, "one of the few institutions of higher learning that doesn't deal in stoopid people". Keep this in mind in case J.R. happens to offer to play you at poker or chess some day.

So please sit down and have a glass of unknown wine with NoCal's own J.R. Hildebrand, or as stock cars fans would call him, J.R. Jr.



MNII: First question that race fans want to know: What are the names behind the initials "J.R."?

JRH: I’m actually a J.R. Junior because those are dad’s initials. My given name is John Randal Hildebrand Jr., so it’s J.R. for short. We really did it to help my mom so she could avoid the confusion of which John she was calling for.

MNII: Three-time Indy 500 winner Johnny Rutherford also goes by "J.R.". Have you spoken to him, and has he given you approval to use the moniker?

JRH: Johnny Rutherford along with Rick Mears are guys that are always around for us to talk to. Johnny drives the pace car for our races, so I’ve had a chance to talk to him briefly and ask him about starts and restarts. I haven’t got as much time to talk to him as I like, but for a guy like me to get a chance to talk with those guys is invaluable. They are so full of experience and knowledge and they can tell you about doing the right thing or being fast on certain tracks. As for his permission, I don’t have any other name to revert back too, so I hope it’s OK with him. He’s a great guy, so I think it would be OK as long as I don’t use “Lone Star,” as well. I’d probably use something else being that I’m a California kid.



MNII: I see that you played varsity baseball in High School. What position did you play, and were you as good at baseball as you are at racing?

JRH: I’m a southpaw, so I was limited at the positions I could play. I played a little first base and played mostly left and center field. I was a pretty good player I was moved up to varsity as a sophomore for the playoffs, and I would have started the next year. I think everyone when they get out of high school says they were an incredible high school athlete, but my racing career has gone above and beyond what I did in baseball. My passion has always been cars, but I didn’t start racing until 14. For most of my childhood, baseball was my passion. I still enjoy playing and going to games and enjoying it as much as I can.

MNII: Since have a deferred acceptance to M.I.T., have you noticed if your aptitude with Math and History contributed in any way to your success as a driver??

JRH: I think it’s an intangible thing. It doesn’t relate to how fast you go or your skill as a driver, but it allows me to have a greater understanding of what’s happening as I’m driving the car and the relationship between the car, track and the changes you make.

The more I get involved with the car and what’s happening to it, the faster I’m able to go because you can work with how the car is going to function. It’s a good tool to have. I’m able to talk to the engineers in their own language and that plays a role in how good the car can be at times.”

MNII: You've only won once this year but you're leading in the FIL championship points. Do you think it's more important at this level to win a bunch of races or to be the series champ?

JRH: We certainly haven’t only won one race for a lack of trying. We’ve been really close a couple of times. If the weekend at St. Pete had gone better and we didn’t have the electrical problem we’d been in the top three for sure. To answer the question, both are important. The championship is quite strong and in the grand scheme of things that’s what were shooting to do. Winning races isn’t as easy as it’s been in the past. On the ovals there are almost 10 guys who can win the race or finish on the podium.

Right now as a driver, I’d like to be racing as if it’s “checkers or wreckers” every race. But the right now, the team has taken lower-risk options because the championship is what we’re looking for. An IndyCar Series team may be looking for guys with outright ability and the speed to win IndyCar (Series) race, but they may be also looking for guys who can make the most of a bad situation, as well.

MNII: You and Jonathan Summerton are both 21, and have both raced Atlantics, Indy Lights and represented America in A1GP. Are we seeing a budding rivalry of young American drivers?

JRH: That’s a tough question. This is the first year that we’ve actually competed against each other. We started at a similar time and been competitive in similar series, but he was in Europe while I was here in the States. That played a big role in us never really racing against each other. It’s tough to say these days. We both have the opportunity to go far in racing and to be successful. We’ll have to see how they play out in the next couple of years.

MNII: You're from Marin County, which is pretty darn close to Sonoma and Napa counties. Do you have a favorite winery?

JRH: I just turned 21 this year. You’re getting ahead of me on that one. If you talk to me in a couple of years, I’ll have a better answer for you.

(Ed. note: Groove the guy a fastball and he just lets it pass. I can't believe J.R. didn't drop an "Andretti Winery" selection since he drives for AFS/AGR, or even the award-winning IMS "Brickyard Red". These kids today.)

MNII: Presumably you've driven more than a few races times at Infineon Raceway. Would it mean more to win an event so close to home or is it just another race?

JRH: It would be big if we could get the win at Sonoma. I do have a lot of experience there and it’s my hometown crowd. There will be a lot of family and friends and sponsors there. I will definitely looking to capitalize the experience there. Rafa (Matos) was fast there last year and so was I. In many ways, it’s a kin to winning at Long Beach. The two west coast races are really important in my mind and my team’s mind because our owner Gary Petersen is from Southern California. It would be nice to say I won both of those races. Also from a championship standpoint, it’s the last road course of the year. If the championship is close and with last two races being Chicago and Homestead -- where it’s more like musical chairs due their nature – a good run at Infineon would be crucial for the championship battle.

MNII: I've seen your name mentioned in random speculation about the new USF1 team. Is that something you feel ready to undertake now?

JRH: As a racing driver, particularly at this stage of a career, you have to be ready and available to do anything. F1 is an option for all open wheel drivers, but my focus now is to get to the IndyCar Series and the Indy 500. The last couple years in Indy Lights have been a huge eye opener for me. I’ve always been an Indy Car and Champ Car fan before I raced in Indy Lights, but racing at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the Freedom 100 has shown me how important (racing at Indy) is. If other opportunities present themselves, we’ll see if we can go do them, but my focus is on the Firestone Indy Lights championship and trying to covert that in to an IndyCar Series ride.

MNII: Other than being drivers, do you have anything at all in common with Sebastian Saavedra, your teenage Columbian teammate at AFS/AGR?



JRH: Certainly not our hair or our fashion choice for that matter. Sebastian is a really good guy and a great teammate. We’re really competitive as you can see by our speed on the track, so that sets a few boundaries. We’ve got along since the beginning and I’m sure we’ll continue to do so. When it comes down to it we’re both trying to win races and doing everything we can to accomplish that goal. There’s a little common ground between all committed drivers in that respects.

MNII: Last question about Andretti Green Racing team that needs to be asked: do they let the Indy Lights team members to the parties with the girls in cages?



JRH: I’ve seemed to miss out on them somehow. I’m sure Marco has a few lined up down the road. I would expect there to be invitation offered later in the year. That sounds like something they’d do at Homestead. I’ll keep you posted.

MNII: Please do!

(Thanks to Indy Lights PR megastar Arni "The Indy Insider" for his assistance and to IndyCar.com for all photos used.)

If you didn't get a chance to watch James Hinchcliffe wax poetic about such subjects as Chuck Norris and Nickelback then check out his video answers in the most recent edition of Friday Night Lights. It takes about 10 seconds to notice that Hinch acts like he's having more fun being a race car driver than any driver not named "Helio". And that's a good thing

Hinch is also quite the master of multimedia, filling up his spare time around the track by recording his own video features. All he needs is a two-pound sandwich, fifty Canadian dollars, and a stopwatch. Ladies and gentlemen, this is Kaaveh-yashi!



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I have been cursed, from a very young age, with a love of pretty much anything competitive. If they keep score, I'll watch it. The only exceptions tend to be sports that involve judges, so you can keep your ice skating and your synchronized swimming.

As a kid growing up motor racing was unquestionably the most exciting thing in the world and I wasn't selective. As long as it had two or four wheels and there was timing and scoring, I was in. The World Sportscar Championship, CART, the ETCC, British F3, European RallyCross you name it I was a fan and could bore you to death with the minute details of each. I'm somewhat ashamed to admit that nothing much has changed.

So when the invitation came to spend the weekend in and around the booth at Lime Rock with my colleagues from the American Le Mans Series Radio Network, I did not need to be asked twice. What I didn't realise at the time was how much IndyCar gossip there was to be unearthed throughout the weekend. the following is what I managed to dig up during what turned out to be quite an eye opening weekend.

It all started on Thursday night with reception at Patron Highcroft Racing in Western Connecticut. The event was held in the 'lobby' of the race shop, the tequila was flowing and the food was really tiny. The class of an event is normally in inverse proportion to the size of the fare on offer. All of the food being served was what you would call 'comfort' food but in miniature! Tiny pizzas, microscopic burgers and regrettably undersized chocolate cake were being passed around at an alarming rate. I was tackling a vastly undersized grilled cheese sandwich while trying to avoid dropping miniscule crumbs into the cockpit of Mario Andretti's World Championship winning Lotus 79 which was one of the lobby 'ornaments'.

With my metaphorical IndyCar hat on I decided I needed to get to the bottom of the 'Patron Highcroft Racing' to ICS rumours. As I began to make my way to chat to those in the know at the team, fellow Acura runners, Adrian Fernandez and Luis Diaz arrived. Now I was in sniffing overdrive as they represent another team who could be making the jump to IndyCar in 2010. At this point it is very unlikely that we will see Highcroft racing anywhere other than in the ALMS in 2010. Acura have another year left on their contract too so this partnership will almost certainly not be moving to IndyCar. Scott Sharp, however, is likely to be seen in a Dallara for the month of May again in 2010 and the team are evaluating an entry into a 'certain race in France' as it was described by one of their executives. As for Fernandez Racing? They were in and out of the party quicker than a late race gas and go. Bugger!

Friday was a day of practice and qualifying for the ALMS along with the FBMW and Atlantic Series. I had a very pleasant but brief chat with Jonathan Summerton who said that he is unlikely to be back in a Firestone Indy Lights Car this year and wasn't particularly bothered by the prospect. 'If your not in an AFS/AGR car then there really isn't much point' was his forthright assessment of the situation. The weekend in Atlantics was absolutely dominated by Simona De Silvestro who was stunning in wet qualifying and utterly dominant in the dry race on Saturday. She is highly rated by the entire ALMS paddock and she is handled by Tony Kanaan's manager, Robert Clarke. Unfortunately for IndyCar and Indy Lights fans, she will probably take the $1M for winning the Atlantic series and use it to help finance a GP2 ride in 2010. She has her eyes firmly fixed on Formula 1 and has expressed a dislike for ovals.

Saturday morning began with a rather excellent chat with Lindy Thackston who "never googles herself" and she "doesn't read blogs and forums" so I can say what I like about her. She was ludicrously lovely and we ended up chatting for ages. She did reveal that Marco Andretti decided that the whole 'Danica doesn't get team work' spat after the race in Texas was her fault for asking the question in the first place! Now if that doesn't tell you everything you need to know about what is going on inside Marco's head then nothing will.

At this point in the proceedings the gossip started to come thick and fast from a variety of sources that will have to remain nameless and slightly murky. All is seemingly not well at NHLR as Graham Rahal and Robert Doornbos have what can best be described as a 'frosty' relationship. Doornbos is running out of cash and one source expected him to be gone before the end of the season with a possible replacement being Sebastian Bourdais. If Danica makes the increasingly likely jump to TCGR next season, Franck Montagny is at the top of the list to replace her at AGR. His performance at Le Mans this year was stunning and that was despite driving with a broken leg sustained in training camp 3 weeks before the race. He was consistently faster than Bourdais in the number 8 Peugeot and his talent has been criminally overlooked by both the F1 and IndyCar communities. Scott Dixon could be on his way out of TCGR to make way for Danica and despite a calm exterior, he is thought to be not too pleased about having a team mate who can beat him week in week out. The De Ferran name keeps appearing in connection with the Kiwi for 2010. A move to the fledgling De Ferran squad could see him paired with another hot shot in the shape of Simon Pagenaud. The Frenchman has been a revelation this season and has been stunningly quick at times in the Acura prototype. Much like Ryan Briscoe before him, sportscar racing has helped him grow enormously as a driver and he will be a major threat if he returns to American open wheel racing in 2010.

The prospects of multiple engine suppliers in IndyCar are diminishing rapidly. One team executive told me that the VW Group have 'gone cold' on the idea and that is partly due to the infuriating procrastination at 16th and Georgetown. There is also a major sporting brand struggle going on between VW, Audi & Porsche right now which is yet to be fully resolved and IndyCar is certainly a victim of that.

And finally, the continuing story of the 'Greatest Spectacles in Racing' or the Philippe family as they are known to most people. I had my first chance to see Wilson, the youngest of the racing brothers, race over the weekend and he's rubbish!

It's race day! HALLELUJAH! I got my upgraded cable package, my pressdog "Cue the circus music" t-shirt, and my fully-charged laptop. I am so excited, and I just can't...possibly make a Pointer Sisters reference.

Yesterday Graham Rahal went out and claimed the pole in his preparing to defend his victory here at St Pete. Last year there was much tongue-wagging that the victory was a fluke since it was aided by both fuel strategy and a time-shortened race, and now it seems his claiming of the pole this year shares a similar controversy. Says Rahal's former teammate Justin Wilson - who qualified 2nd - "I was robbed."

Should make for a fun first turn. Wilson's position is reportedly the best ever for a Dale Coyne car (previously 7th). This Wilson guy is pretty good.

Before we start, here's a quick congratulations to Junior Strous, who swept BOTH Firestone Indy Lights races in St Pete this weekend. Keep an eye on the young driver from the Netherlands, because he accomplished this feat without driving for one of the big FIL teams like Sam Schmidt Motorsports or AFS/AGR.

Also, kudos to VERSUS for the coverage provided during yesterday's qualification. The broadcast team this year is HUGE, and I'm especially looking forward to having Dreyer & Reinbold co-owner Robbie Buhl in the booth. Best moment: when D&R's Mike Conway wrecked and Jon Beekhuis asked "How much is that gonna cost?"

One last note for the tens of you who were greatly anticipating the My Name Is IRL "Cheat Sheets" provided in previous years: they're gone. They've been replaced by the "Pay Attention" feature over at Silent Pagoda. Yes, I'm spreading myself too thin by moonlighting at another blog, but in these trying times we all need to kick the efforts up a notch.

The kids (P1, et al) are here as well as father-in-law Link. And with that...it's time to start!

0: First thing to note - SUNSHINE! No rain this year. Quite the opposite in fact, as we might have some extra sliding on the heated surface.

0: FREE IndyCar Race Control is DOA. Hope they didn't spend too much on those ads promoting the feature on VERSUS.

0: Also, cars have the vertical flaps on the front wings. Cattle guards have been deployed.

0: Conquest Racing says "In each of their (two) previous participations at the 14-turn street course, Conquest Racing has finished with one car in the top five." We'll try to keep an eye on Alex Tagliani, and we'll check to see if "participations" is a word.


0: Important news item from the intrepid Curt Cavin: Roger Penske says of Helio: "If he's cleared, he's going in...We can run three."

0: Encouraging words from reader Nancy. "The word from St. Petersburg is MORE! We came here expecting less...not as many vendors, fewer attendees, a scaled down event. We got here late on Friday afternoon, and found a crowd we would have normally expected on Saturday."

0: Jack Arute has no firesuit today, but he does have a podium. He's now Vice President of Package Introduction.

0: P2 just got his first glimpse of Dario and his new hairstyle and asked "Who is that? Jeff Simmons?"

0: I just realized - I'm NOT watching women's golf. Huzzah!

0: Dan Wheldon says his newborn son Sebastian tinkled on him several times during "Daddy Pit Stops". Dan, with boys you gotta drop the defense shield (a.k.a. The Wipe) IMMEDIATELY after diaper removal. You're welcome.

0: Kinder, gentler Danica. She just told Arute "I love you." Link just asked "She on Xanax?"

0: Why we use Twitter. From @VisionRacing: "Vision drivers have um... Taken care of business (aka gone potty) and are now at their cars. TMI?"

0: Full disclosure - I don't have a favorite driver, but as long as he's in the race I'm unabashedly hoping Justin Wilson and Dale Coyne can win today. An underdog voctory like that would be epic. I realize I probably just jinxed Justin into wrecking in the first turn, but I thought you should know.

0: "Drivers...start your Honda engines!" Excellent use of audio by VERSUS. I'm getting a little choked up with excitement.

1: And we are green green green! ...And just like that it's amateur hour in turn one. Rahal slowed down and got turned around in the first turn. Conway seems to have run off as well.

2: Replay shows Tagliani running over the front of Rahal's car. Kanaan also needs a new nose cone as well. Are these DP01s?

4: Still yellow. Wilson, Franchitti, Briscoe, Power, Manning.

5: We're back to green. This time clean restart.

5: Kanaan and Rahal already moving up from the back. Credit newcomer Stanton Barrett for getting out of their way without incident.

7: We go to commercial - Side-by-side! Hooray again for VERSUS!

8: Programming note: P1 is also "live blogging" in her journal. She just called that GoDaddy ad "the stupidest commercial ever".

9: Looks like Wilson on The Reds is pulling away from Franchitti. Over a second. three seconds back to Briscoe in third.

13: The crew is talking about Manning and Tagliani and Doornbos. I'm in shock.

15: No change in the leaders but Franchitti is closing in on Wilson, who's led every lap. A Dale Coyne car has led EVERY lap. Bruce Willis is readying to be sent to a meteor.

18: No passing anywhere unless you count Stanton Barrett being lapped. We should have pit stops soon.

19: Mutoh pits early. Looks like he was passed by Matos and Moraes. If your surname starts with "M" you've got a leg up on being an IndyCar driver.

21: After going to the back on the first lap Tony Kanaan is back up to 15th. Graham Rahal, not so successful today.

23: Kanaan up to 13th. Come one, VERSUS - show the guy who's passing people every lap!

25: Rahal has gotten it together. He's right behind Kanaan and they're both on camera. Thank you, VERSUS.

29: Nice battle between Moraes, Kanaan and Rahal. More than one block party being thrown. If Helio was in there we'd probably see a black flag.

31: Up front, Wilson has grown his lead to six seconds. Ganassi and Penske cars behind him must be switching to the dreaded "fuel strategy". Don't fall for it, Justin!

32: Looks like Tags has a flat tire. Dropping like a stone.

32: Yellow! Matos and Moraes and Danica are all wrecked. Danica was talking to Matos, probably asking if he saw her. Looks like Matos didn't have the position to make that move.

33: Tagliani's tire got cut by Vitor's front wing.

33: Also Mutoh punted Moraes and sent him int the wall. Amazingly Justin Wilson avoided getting caught up in that.

35: Everyone pits. Holy Ganassi Pit Circus! Dixon just had like a 20 second pit stop. Power had some issues in front of him, Dixon stalled, got out of position...these things tend to snowball.

37: Briscoe, Wheldon, Viso, Hunter-Reay, Doornbos - Wilson now 7th? What happened?

38: Let's talk to Danica. "It's not exactly the ideal spot to pass." No real disparaging comments about Matos. Link says "She's DEFINITELY on Xanax."

40: Back to green. Much passing. Justin Wilson up to 5th, even around the ever dangerous Robert Doornbos.

41: Justin inside of Hunter-Reay, now up to 4th. EJ Viso ahead of him. Proceed with caution, Mr Wilson. Franchitti makes some moves to get up to 6th. Rahal 7th, Kanaan 8th.

42: Dan Wheldon is in second. Have we even seen him since the race started? I hope he gets a little more air today than "my son urinates on me".

45: Arute is talking to Oriol Servia. Servia's probably the current guy sitting on the Throne of Injustice (best unemployed driver). Bob Jenkins like the way he rolls his "R"s. For real.

50: We're halfway through and Briscoe still leads. Wheldon, Viso, Wilson, Hunter-Reay. I sincerely hope this isn't another time-shortened event.

52: Wilson finally around Viso. Fellow Englishman Dan Wheldon is next for Wilson.

53: Stanton Barrett is noticeably slower, but he's doing his best to get out of the way. He's the GT2 car out there today.

55: And just as I say that Barrett is stopped on the course and brings out a full course caution. Why is this a full course yellow?

57: Back to green and Wilson is all up in Wheldon's business. Can't get around him, though. Not yet at least. Briscoe, Wheldon, Wilson, Hunter-Reay, Franchitti. Rahal and Kanaan right behind them.

58: For a guy who just got in the car, Hunter-Reay has been the most impressive driver today. Hopefully IZOD is pleased.

64: And, we're in full "parade mode".

65: This just in: Scott Dixon is in 14th. He'll be listening to that "Had a bad day" song on his iPod tonight.

67: I have a 55" TV and I can' read that lap indicator. Can anyone else read that?

68: Briscoe, Wheldon and Kanaan pit without incident. Wilson assumes the lead again.

69: Who's this courteous guy driving in the HVM car?

70: Graham Rahal is suddenly losing position all over the place.

71: Wilson makes his final pit stop and comes out ahead of Briscoe. Got cold tires so Briscoe Inferno is all over him. WARNING: actual racing, viewer discretion is advised.

72: Looks like Ed Carpenter is in the wall. Local yellow only, thankfully.

73: Nevermind - full course caution. Wilson, Briscoe, Wheldon, Hunter-Reay, Franchitti.

74: Hideki Mutoh is in 8th. He nearly took out the race leader earlier but he's right behind his teammates Kanaan in 6th and Marco in 7th. Meanwhile Scott Dixon is in 11th behind Robert Doornbos.

75: EJ Viso is in the pits and it doesn't look like he's leaving anytime soon. Gotta say, though he was near the front EJ was a tad boring today. Brian Barnhart probably appreciates it, but I sure don't.

77: That's quite a nasty blister on Viso's hand. Maybe his agent can get him a Band-Aid sponsorship.

78: Back to green, and Wheldon and Franchitti just lost a bunch of positions. Not so magically delicious.

79: Wilson, Briscoe, Hunter-Reay, Kanaan, Franchitti. Wheldon back to 6th.

81: And Dixon is out, hard into the wall. Not the way to start a title defense.

82: Looks like he tried to take Mutoh and Godzilla came down and ate up the front of his left-front suspension. Full course yellow once again in effect.

83: I don't know what pressdog's beer of the race will be, but I'm having a tasty new batch of Mr Beer right now. Times are tough, people, and we need to make our own beverages.

83: I swear that in that shot where he's lying on the floor, that WEC fighter named "Torres" looks more than a little like Wade Cunningham.

85: 15 laps to go. Still yellow. Still Wilson. Dale Coyne is probably popping Rolaids like they're M&Ms.

86: Back to green and Briscoe gets past Wilson. Great move by Ryan. Both Ryans, actually, as Hunter-Reay got around Wilson as well.

86: Trouble down the track. Wheldon and Doornbos touch. Wheldon into the wall, Mutoh into Wheldon. Andretti into Mutoh. They'll all be done as we're back to another yellow.

90: Still yellow. 10 laps to go. 13 minutes in the broadcast. Don't time me, bro.

92: Back to green. Hunter-Reay on The Reds is all over Briscoe, who's on regular tires. Wilson a bit back in 3rd. Pity.

96: Yellow! I guess Marco wasn't done, but he is now as he and Tagliani tangle, send Marco spinning on the track. Tags tried to pass without passing, which rarely works. Hunter-Reay should get one more shot at overtaking Briscoe on a restart.

97: Restart and no one passes anyone. We're down to 12 cars. Sheesh.

99: White flag for Briscoe. Expect little passing for the last lap.

100: And Briscoe takes the win for his first points victory on a street course. Hunter-Reay second and Justin Wilson third for an extremely surprising podium group. They might all be eye-level. Congratulations to them all.

High marks also for Tony Kanaan, who went from the back to 5th. He's pretty good.

Also, shockingly, Stanton Barrett got back on the track and finished 12th. 12th! Robert Doornbos also got back on the track and finished 11th. Good showing for those rookies, even though they were both 4 laps down.

We've run long in the broadcast window and WE'RE STILL GOING. Big hug, VERSUS. Above-average show today, and I hope the ratings reflect that. I'm going to start wading through the comments and see what Chris and Meesh had to say. And of course the world-famous pressdog recap.

Program note: For the next race I may or may not have a LiveBlog because I'll be LIVE FROM LONG BEACH. My first time to the famed event, so I'm all tingly. The IndyCar coverage will resume tomorrow, so for now - thank you all very much, and good night!