Tonight Guests Are... Sebastian Saavedra In 2009 Sebastain Saavedra signed to drive in the American Firestone Indy Lights Series in 2009 for defending championship team AGS-AFS Racing alongside teammate J.R. Hildebrand. He captured his first Indy Lights win in the fourth race of the season and the first on an oval, at Kansas Speedway in April. In July he won from the pole on the streets of Toronto. He returned to the series in 2010 for Bryan Herta Autosport and made his IndyCar Series debut in the 2010 Indianapolis 500 driving for the same team Seb was on the bubble during most of qualifying during bump day, and crashed during practice laps while waiting for other drivers to attempt to qualify. While he was in the hospital being checked out, and with no working car to attempt to re-qualify, Saavedra appeared out of the race when Tony Kaanan bettered his time knocking him out of the field. However, when both Paul Tracy and Jay Howard withdrew their successful qualifying times and failed to re-qualify (both felt they would be knocked out by other drivers if they did not improve), Saavedra improbably ended up back in position thirty-three and in the race when time ran out for attempts where he became the first driver to qualify for the 500 and being born in the 1990s. Sebastian crashed out in a single car accident on lap 159 and was credited with 23rd place in the race. The following month, Saavedra captured Bryan Herta Autosports second Indy Lights win in the AvoidTheStork 100 at Iowa Speedway. For 2012 Saavedra returned to AFS Racing/Andretti Autosport to race a full season in Indy Lights and also drove in the IndyCar Series in the 2012 Indianapolis 500 as well as the series races at Sonoma Raceway and Auto Club Speedway. 23-year-old Colombian Sebastian Saavedra, has shown flashes of speed this season and posted his best result of the year with a run to eighth at Baltimore. Between the two Chevy-powered Dragon entries, team owner Jay Penske has seen his Los Angeles-based squad develop into a serious contender in the final months of the championship, and with planning for 2014 underway, he says a return for Dragons eighth season of IndyCar competition is in the works. Danny White Danny began by training as a member of the fire crew at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. One day, I was sitting on the pit wall when car owner Dick Simon told me about a mechanical problem that none of his engineers could figure out. When I identified the problem and fixed it for him, he asked me to show him one of my paycheck stubs. He offered to pay me $10,000 more than whatever I was making if I would come work for him, and I did. Before coming to Purdue, I held several jobs in CART and in IndyCar, including as a team owner in the Indy Pro Series, now called Indy Lights, with Taylor Fletcher as my driver. Ive been here at Purdue now for four years. Dannys deep connections to the motorsports industry — in Indiana and elsewhere — help him give Purdue students a head start on careers in that field. White, director of motorsports at Purdue and an Indianapolis native, has a long resume in motorsports that includes 20 years working in Champ Car, the governing body later known as Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART), and IndyCar. Now, he is heavily involved in Purdues Grand Prix races, teaches Purdue students about motorsports and its history in Indiana, and helps place talented students in IndyCar-related internships that often lead to permanent jobs. Please remember our next show will be December 10th at McGilverys Speedway Pub & Eatery.
Posted on: Tue, 19 Nov 2013 19:11:12 +0000
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