Dragon Racing
| Owner(s) | Jay Penske |
|---|---|
| Series |
IZOD IndyCar Series FIA Formula E Championship |
| Race drivers |
6. Sebastián Saavedra 7. Sébastien Bourdais |
| Sponsors |
6. Truecar 7. McAfee |
| Career | |
| Debut | 2007 Indy 500 |
| Drivers' Championships | 0 |
| Race victories | 0 |
| Pole positions | 0 |
Dragon Racing is a racing team in the Izod IndyCar Series owned by Jay Penske. The team debuted in 2007.
Team history
Luczo Dragon Racing
The team debuted as Luczo Dragon Racing in 2007. The team fielded a one-off entry at the 2007 Indianapolis 500 with driver Ryan Briscoe. Jay Penske and Stephen J. Luczo were co-owners. The car was prepared by Penske Racing which is owned by Jay's father Roger. In addition, Briscoe was a driver for Roger Penske's ALMS team. Briscoe qualified 7th and finished 5th at Indianapolis. The car was notable for being painted in a "retro" paint schemes to resemble Rick Mears' 1988 Indy 500 winning car, a trend that Penske Racing would mimic in selected future races.
Luczo Dragon ran a six-race schedule in 2008 including the Indianapolis 500 with IndyCar veteran Tomas Scheckter,[1] this time without support or cars from Penske Racing. While qualifying well, the team failed to finish every race but one, knocked out by crashes twice and mechanical trouble three times. Scheckter finished 21st in the only race he completed, the Detroit Indy Grand Prix.
The team expanded to a full–time entrant in 2009, fielding 2008 Firestone Indy Lights champion Raphael Matos.[2]
de Ferran Dragon Racing
For the 2010 season, the team merged with de Ferran Motorsports to form de Ferran Luczo Dragon Racing and Gil de Ferran joined as co-owner. The team ran a full season for Raphael Matos, plus Davey Hamilton at the Indy 500 in conjunction with his Kingdom Racing group. Hamilton planned to run at Texas also, but his crash at Indy precluded the start. His second start with the team came at Chicagoland. Prior to the 2010 Indy 500, the team renamed itself de Ferran Dragon Racing as the previous name was "too long" according to co-owner Steve Luczo.[3]
For the 2011 IndyCar Series season, Matos was released and series veteran and past champion Tony Kanaan was signed on to drive the team's primary entry.[4] However, after the team was unable to find sponsorship, de Ferran released Kanaan and the team shut down.[5]
Dragon Racing
After closing its doors in February 2011, Jay Penske revived the team. A month later, he re-branded the team as Dragon Racing in April 2011 and jointly announced that Paul Tracy had signed a five-race deal to compete for the team. Additionally the team entered two cars in the Indy 500[6] for drivers Scott Speed and Ho-Pin Tung. Tung crashed his car during qualifying and suffered a concussion. The team's second entry crashed in practice on the final day of qualifying with Patrick Carpentier behind the wheel, who was shaking down the car for Speed. Tung made his IndyCar debut for the team later in the season at Infineon Raceway. The car was run in association with Sam Schmidt Motorsports.[7]
In January 2012, Dragon Racing had operations in Indianapolis and Los Angeles. It entered two cars in the 2012 IndyCar Series season; one driven by Katherine Legge, and the other driven by four-time Champ Car World Series champion Sébastien Bourdais, but in on June 1, 2012, it was revealed that they would come down to 1 team with Bourdais driving the street courses and Legge on the ovals.[8] Bourdais finished 25th in points with a best finish of fourth. Legge finished 26th with a best finish of 9th.
On February 12, 2013, it was announced that Sebastian Saavedra would be joining the team for the 2013 season in the #6 car while Bourdais would return in the #7.[9] Bourdais improved to 12th in points capturing three podium finishes, including two in the double-header in Toronto. Saavedra finished 21st in points, last among full-time drivers, with a best finish of eighth. The team also announced they would be participating in the FIA Formula E Championship.
Drivers
Sébastien Bourdais (2012–2013)
Ryan Briscoe (2007)
Patrick Carpentier1 (2011)
Davey Hamilton (2010)
Katherine Legge (2012)
Raphael Matos (2009–2010)
Sebastián Saavedra (2013)
Tomas Scheckter (2008)- Scott Speed1 (2011)
- Paul Tracy (2011)
Ho-Pin Tung (2011)
1Driver practiced but did not qualify for 2011 Indy 500.
References
- ↑ Cavin, Curt & Ballard, Steve. Scheckter likely back at Indy 500, The Indianapolis Star, February 1, 2008
- ↑ DiZinno, Tony. Matos, Luczo Dragon latest to confirm 2009 plans, Motorsport.com, October 7, 2008
- ↑ Luczo Dragon becomes de Ferran Dragon, Racer, May 14, 2010, Retrieved 2010-12-25
- ↑ Kanaan to deFerran Dragon, Indianapolis Star, December 21, 2010, Retrieved 2010-12-25
- ↑ de Ferran and Kanaan part ways, Motor Racing Network, February 24, 2011, Retrieved 2011-03-01
- ↑ Miller, Robin. Tracy To Lead Restructured Dragon Racing, Speed TV, April 2, 2011, Retrieved 2012-01-14
- ↑ Ho-Pin Tung to make debut at Infineon with Schmidt Dragon Racing, AutoWeek, August 24, 2011, Retrieved 2011-08-29
- ↑ Bourdais, Legge return with Dragon Racing, Racer, January 12, 2012, Retrieved 2012-01-14
- ↑ Pruett, Marshall. INDYCAR: Saavedra Joins Bourdais To Complete Dragon’s Two-Car Team, Speed, February 12, 2013, Retrieved 2013-02-12
External links
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