Long Beach GP Sunday Notebook

UPDATE #2 Ex-IndyCar teammates Dario Franchitti and Tony Kanaan have a side bet going – if Dario won first this year Tony would have to grow his hair, and if Tony won first Dario would have to shave his head. As it turns out Tony will now have to grow his hair long. Dario says he can't wait to see Kanaan in an afro.

04/19/09 The Conquest IndyCar team will miss the next race in Kansas but will return for Indy……..The grandstands are only 50% to 60% full so the attendance appears to be down from the Champ Car days. However, the hospitality suites are full as are the general admission areas…….spotted Tony Kanaan Friday in deep conversation with his agent, Robert Clarke. Some were speculating they were talking about Kanaan's struggles with AGR?……Check out iRacing.com. It is the best racing simulation program we have seen yet.

04/19/09 Sunday here in Long Beach is much warmer that Friday and Saturday and several IndyCar drivers tell us they will be chasing the track as the cars handling will change due to the heat. It is going to be very hot for the fans in the grandstands today. The beer will be flowing and a lot of fans may seek shade to watch the race from……..Dale Coyne and Z-Line Furniture CEO Jim Sexton will use Justin Wilson and the race car to promote the name Z-Line to consumers. Z-Line sells ready to assemble furniture to all the major retail stores but their name was not a household name, so Z-Line is using Indy Car and NASCAR to change that. There will be in-store and hospitality suite activation with Wilson. We asked Coyne and Sexton if we might see a 2-car Z-Line Dale Coyne entry soon in IndyCar and the answer from both was, "yes, that is the goal."…….Wilson said that what attracted him to the Dale Coyne team was the people that Coyne was putting in place like engineer Bill Pappas. In fact much of the team is new. "They say you can't make a difference overnight, but the team Dale has assembled is doing just that. I really feel we can win a race this year."……..Coyne contracted with people to help the team on ovals. They also designed their own front suspension for ovals. "We should be more competitive on the ovals right away starting in Kansas," said Coyne………..Several of the top Indy Lights drivers are unhappy that the qualifying groups are split in two. One group always ends up with an advantage. They would prefer a longer session with everyone together………After complaining of headaches after crashing in qualifying Saturday, Helio Castroneves has been cleared to drive today…….Rookie Raphael Matos topped morning warm-ups. Mark C. reporting from Long Beach