Graham Gives Back

Graham Rahal loves IndyCar. A statement of the obvious? Maybe, but he goes out of his way to show it. Take this little bus trip to The Milwaukee Mile he and his main squeeze (my words), the lovely and talented Laken Kurtz (@LakenKurtz), helped organize, for example. 

He didn't have to do it, but he loves American open-wheel racing and The Mile, so why not? Take issue with what Graham (@GrahamRahal) does on the track or for his preference of caffeinated beverage, but you can't knock him for the good he does in his spare time. Did I mention he has a foundation that benefits children (www.grahamrahalfoundation.org and @GR_Foundation, for those keeping score)?

Check the deets, below, for the bus trip and, BTW: Communing with your fellow fans not your thing? Milwaukee IndyFest has lots of other ridiculously awesome (and inexpensive, relatively speaking) ways to attend. Get the complete skinny here.  

—JM

[Milwaukee IndyFest press release]

Graham Rahal Offers Bus Trips to Milwaukee IndyFest

-- Fans Can Now Order Marcus Club Passes --

Graham Rahal, a second-generation star of the IZOD IndyCar Series and driver of the Service Central No. 38 car for Chip Ganassi Racing, is offering race fans two exclusive tour bus packages from Indianapolis to the Milwaukee IndyFest, June 15 and 16 at the Milwaukee Mile.    Each package includes transportation from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway to the Milwaukee IndyFest, a reserved seat for Saturday's 225-lap IndyCar race, a paddock pass to access the garage area and more. The packages can be purchased from the Milwaukee IndyFest website at www.MilwaukeeIndyFest.com or the Wisconsin State Fair Park box office at 414-266-7100.   "I'm thrilled that we were able to make this bus trip happen with the Andretti promotions folks," said Rahal, who currently sits eighth in the IZOD IndyCar Series standings. "I hope the fans embrace this great opportunity for a unique experience both on the buses and at the track. I absolutely love racing at Milwaukee, it is one of Americas greatest racetracks, and the fans will not be disappointed one bit."   Race Day, Saturday, June 16: $89 per person    The Rahal IndyFest Express departs from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway at 6 a.m. on Saturday, June 16, and returns after the IndyCar race and post-race concert by Smash Mouth. The package includes a reserved grandstand ticket (level 200), a paddock pass, access to all of the infield festival activities including post-race concert, and more.   Weekend Package, Friday and Saturday, June 15 -16:  $149 per person   The two-day Rahal IndyFest Express will travel to Milwaukee Friday morning, June 15 at 8 a.m. from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, arriving at the Milwaukee IndyFest for practice and qualifying sessions for the IZOD IndyCar Series as well as the Firestone Indy Lights race. The tour will return to Indianapolis Saturday, June 16, following the IndyCar race and concert by Smash Mouth.   A hotel room is not provided in the weekend package price, but rooms are available at the Milwaukee Hilton at a rate of $145 per night for participants (one king or two double beds. Hotel booking code provided with confirmation.).   The weekend package includes transportation to and from Indianapolis, transport to and from the Milwaukee Hilton, a reserved seat (level 300) for Saturday's 225-lap IndyCar race, two-day paddock pass, Friday general admission ticket with access to all infield festivities, and more.

No, it's not May yet, but...

...there's a little somethin'-somethin' going on tomorrow that may just help satisfy that fevah.

What was originally scheduled to be a manufacturers-only test has transformed into a (semi-) full-on assault on the IMS oval.

Nine teams/drivers and two manufacturers (let's not go there) are scheduled to lap the world's greatest race course. Breakin' it down: Marco (Andretti/Chevy), Carpenter (ECR/Chevy), Helio (Penske/Chevy), Conway (Foyt/Honda), Dixie (TCGR/Honda), Hildebrand (Panther/Chevy), Kanaan (KV/Chevy), Sato (RLL/Honda), Wilson (Coyne/Honda).

By the way, rookies: NO IMS TESTING FOR YOU. Simon Pagenaud and Josef Newgarden will be testing, separately, at Texas Motor Speedway, this week.

The IndyCar Twitter account popped this out, earlier today, so it's not like you don't have an official invite.

Hang on... "Yellow for moisture!" A few question marks about the weather, so if it's a concern to you, you can check it here.

Testing is from 9–5, with an hour lunch break at noon. Tell The Man to SUCK IT, and get there, if you can.

—JM