Milwaukee Saturday Notebook

The teams brought out their qualification setups for the second round of practice. Graham Rahal lead the combined charts, followed by Dixon, Helio, Will Power, and Hideki Mutoh. Marco posted the 6th fastest speed, followed by Briscoe, EJ Viso, Vitor Meira and Enrique Bernoldi.
Will Power's crew remarked to AutoRacing1.com, "We're new to this series. We're NOT rookies." Tomorrow, they're likely to prove it. It would not surprise people here if one of the former CCWS teams (or drivers) wins this race.
Vitor Meira is an avid bicyclist, and Wisconsin is one of the most bicycle-crazy places on earth. He declined an offer to take a quick ride after today's practice (he would've kicked AutoRacing1.com's Tim Wohlford's butt, who foolishly offered), claiming that the laps on the Milwaukee Mile were enough exercise for one day. He did mention, however, that he's made three visits to the nearby Trek (Whitewater, WI) bicycle factory.
With leased motors and identical chassis, there is precious little that teams can do to tune their cars. One major exception is in the area of the front wing. Viewers for Sunday's race should concentrate on the front wings when the TV coverage allows. Some teams — notably Roth Racing — are running bone stock front wings. Others have one or two vertical planes, curved or slanted at various angles, with varying heights. Many teams are experimenting with "wickerbills" on the trailing edge of the front wing. One wonders how much time — and money — teams are putting into engineering and wind tunnel time to tweak the front wings, and equally, one wonders when the IRL will put a halt to such development.
There's something in the IRL water supply. Five drivers now have newborn / toddler-aged kids. Ed Carpenter's wife, Heather, is happy to be seen with baby Makenna, both of whom have their own headphones (Makenna's is pink). When not sleeping in the midst of 27 IRL cars practicing, Makenna is keen to check out credentials of anyone within reach. Word has it that the IRL drivers have formed a babysitting co-op. …. Tim Wohlford reporting from Milwaukee