team penske LOOKS TO continue winning ways AT toyota GRAND PRIX OF long beachFAST FACTSDrivers: Ryan Briscoe (No. 2 Hitachi Team Penske), Helio Castroneves (No. 3 Automobile Club of Southern California Team Penske), Will Power (No. 12 Verizon Team Penske)Event: Toyota Grand Prix of Long BeachStreets of Long Beach(1.968-mile street course)When: Qualifying – Saturday, April 14 at 5:00 p.m. EDTRace (85 laps) – Sunday, April 15 at 3:30 p.m. EDT (Live on NBC Sports)TV/Radio: NBC Sports/IMS Radio Network and XM Channel 145 and Sirius Channel 211 Fast Start: Team Penske comes to Long Beach on a hot streak as drivers Helio Castroneves (streets of St. Petersburg) and Will Power (Barber Motorsports Park) have won the first two races of the 2012 season. With their wins, both drivers established themselves as the first multi-race winners at the respective venues. They also swept the first two pole positions of the season as Power qualified first in St. Petersburg and Castroneves did the same the following week at Barber. Road to the Championship: Castroneves, with his collection of a victory in St. Petersburg and a third place finish at Barber, is sitting in first place in the IZOD IndyCar Series championship standings with 86 points. Power is not far behind in third place with 77 points following his win at Barber and Ryan Briscoe is ranked eighth with 46 points. Long Beach Love: Castroneves and Power have both recorded wins at Long Beach with Castroneves winning from the pole in 2001 and Power winning the last-ever race for the Champ Car World Series in 2008. Team Penske has a strong history at the Grand Prix of Long Beach. Dating back to 1985, Team Penske has earned 19 top-five finishes, 14 podium results, eight pole positions and four victories at Long Beach. In 2011 Ryan Briscoe and Will Power combined to lead 64 of 85 laps as Briscoe went on to finish second in the race. One More for Four: Power has won the last three consecutive poles on the Streets of Long Beach, two of which lead to podium finishes. He has won the pole at three of the last five road/street course races. Like A Rock: Team Penske is leading the charge in Chevrolet’s return to the IndyCar series. Paced by the performance of Team Penske drivers, Chevrolet has taken four of six combined top-three finishes and nine of 12 combined starting spots in the Firestone Fast Six over the first two events. Three for Three?: With the first two races of 2012 being won by Team Penske drivers, Briscoe will look to make it three in a row at Long Beach. Briscoe left Long Beach in 2011 with a sense of satisfaction after leading 35 laps and finishing second on the podium. Sweet on the Street: Power has won the Mario Andretti Road Course title in each of the past two seasons and continues his quest for a third road crown this weekend after winning a pole and a race in the season’s first two weeks. In 2011, seven of Power’s eight poles and five of his six wins came on road/street courses. Premier Partners: Team Penske is proud to continue its relationship with existing partners and welcome several new sponsors to its family in 2012. Briscoe will continue to compete with IZOD as a sponsor of the No. 2 car, Shell-Pennzoil will serve as a primary sponsor of the No. 3 car driven by Castroneves and Power will drive the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske for the entire season. Team Penske also features Hitachi, AAA, PPG and Penske Truck Rental as primary sponsors in 2012 along with associate sponsors Coca-Cola, Meijer, PTC and SKF. Super Strategy: Team Penske’s two victories in 2012 have been the result of great strategies. Utilizing a two pit stop strategy and avoiding a pit stop during caution laps lead Helio Castroneves to his win in St. Petersburg. At Barber Will Power started the race on black compound tires compared to the popular choice of the alternative reds and which turned out to be opportunistic as Power was able to move through the field on a track that many, including Power, believed would be difficult for passing. Street Success: Team Penske excels at street course circuits, including winning four of the last five. Castroneves, Briscoe and Power have all earned road/street course victories over the last several seasons as the overall team produced 29 poles and 19 wins at road/street course venues since 2007. Legacy of Success: Team Penske continues to set the standard of success in open-wheel racing. Throughout its storied history, the team has posted 161 race wins, 12 National Championships and 205 pole positions. In addition, Penske Racing has won the Indianapolis 500-mile race 15 times. Across all of its disciplines, Penske Racing teams have produced 353 major race wins, 414 pole positions and 23 National Championships. See the Stars: Thursday night will have both Briscoe and Castroneves at the Macy’s in Brea Mall from 6:00-7:00 p.m. and Power at the Best Buy in Long Beach from 6:00-7:00 p.m. to meet local fans. WHAT THEY ARE SAYING ABOUT THE TOYOTA GRAND PRIX OF LONG BEACH Helio Castroneves (@H3lio): “I am really excited to go back to Long Beach, it is a place I enjoy very much. We are looking to continue the good momentum after a great start the first two races and I feel good racing in Long Beach. I hope to have another good result for the No. 3 Auto Club Team Penske Dallara/Chevrolet." Ryan Briscoe (@Ryan_Briscoe): "I’m looking forward to the Long Beach race. It’s probably my favorite street course on the calendar. And we had a really good second place result there last year. So I’d like to build on that and also build on this year’s performance. We’ve started off this season well including the front row start in St Pete. I hope to get the first win of the year for me and for Hitachi this weekend." Will Power (@12WillPower): "After being on the pole the last couple years, Long Beach is a race I am keen to finally win. The entire No. 12 Verizon Team Penske crew did a fantastic job at Barber and we need to stay focused to get a good finish this week. It will be interesting to see how we do there with the new Chevy engine. The results have been good so far. This is definitely a race I want to win."
