Infineon IndyCar Sunday Notebook

It was a good crowd on Sunday

After morning cloud cover the skies have cleared and we have a perfect day for racing with a very good crowd on hand, the largest we have ever seen at Infineon for an IndyCar race…..Ran into Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach President Jim Michaelian who tells us early ticket sales for the 2010 race are solid and this year they started a few months earlier. We hear the Thursday afternoon on-track action by ALMS probably won't happen next year due to protests by local businesses. They may start as early as 7:30 AM Friday and Saturday so they can fit everything in………Michael Andretti reiterated Sunday that they are very close to re-signing Danica Patrick, it's just a matter of getting all the details done…..Danica Patrick said that as a driver she was glad to know that the Andretti team is making changes from the top down and she again gave the impression she will be re-signing with Andretti……We ran into Simon Pagenaud who told AR1.com that Gil de Ferran said he can choose either to drive for him in ALMS or IndyCar next year, it would be his choice. "If Gil is able to make it happen [IndyCar team] it will be a first class operation, that is the way he does everything. Champ Car was a big jump up from Atlantics for me, and although I did well in Champ Car I felt like when it folded I still had not reached my true potential. I really didn't have a chance to show what I really could do. I have learned a lot from Gil this year. He is a true professional."……Steve Sudler of Team 3G told AR1.com that they hope to make an announcement about next year in the next couple of weeks. He hinted that Richard Antinucci will drive for them full-time in 2010 and they may even grow to a 2nd car….Dario Franchitti admitted after winning that this track was hard to pass on but it was a great track and the only think he might change is pushing the Turn 11 hairpin a bit further down the track toward the NASCAR Turn 11, but still leaving enough runoff because the IndyCars approach at 170 mph……Mark C. reporting from Infineon