HOUSTON -- Scott Dixon gladly accepted the $100,000 check for earning the SONAX Perfect Finish Award at Toronto. Will a driver collect the $50,000 prize this weekend in Houston?
SONAX, a global leader in the manufacturing of premium car care products, will pay out $50,000 if a driver can sweep the Shell and Pennzoil Grand Prix of Houston doubleheader. The 90-lap races on the 1.683-mile, 10-turn street circuit are Oct. 5-6.
Dixon won both races on the Exhibition Place street course in July. The SONAX Perfect Finish Award rolled over the first $50,000 to Toronto after no driver won both races at Detroit (Mike Conway and Simon Pagenaud).
“It was nice for me but it is extra special for the crew guys who work hard and get a portion of this prize money," Dixon said. "It’s great for SONAX to post such a big check for the weekend and to have them in the sport."
Race 1 standing start procedure the same as Toronto
A standing start, with procedures and the lighting system the same as Toronto, will be utilized in Race 1 at Houston.
It was in Race 2 at Toronto that Dixon, the pole sitter, got a clean getaway from the standing start and went on to the victory.
Firestone Racing will provide primary and alternate tire specifications used this season at St. Petersburg, Long Beach, Detroit, Toronto and Baltimore. Each entry receives nine sets of primary (black) Firehawks and three sets of alternate (red sidewall) Firehawks for the race weekend.
Firestone Racing provided Andretti Autosport alternate tires with pink sidewalls to support its breast cancer awareness initiatives. Correspondingly, the livery of the No. 27 GoDaddy.com car driven by James Hinchcliffe will have pink accents.
The Nos. 10 (Dario Franchitti) and 15 (Graham Rahal) cars will receive a 10 grid-spot penalty for Race 1 because of unapproved engine changes.
Drivers get behind disc-throwing robots
Drivers Charlie Kimball and Josef Newgarden will pair with Texas high school teams and their disc-throwing robots for a competition Oct. 5.
The driver-controlled robots, Viper and Apex, try to hit as many goals in an allotted time. The higher the goal, the more points scored.
The robotics teams from Greenville, Texas, and League City, Texas, are part of FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology), a competitive robotics group for K-12 students created by inventor Dean Kamen to inspire young people to be science and technology leaders.
Check out the video of disc-throwing robots:
Of note
Chevrolet and Honda are tied in the manufacturer standings with three races left. Both have eight victories. ... Morris Feigel from Edmond, Okla., is the winner of Honda’s Fastest Seat in Sports sweepstakes and will lead the field during the parade lap of Race 2 in the two-seat IndyCar driven by two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Arie Luyendyk. ... There have been 19 different lap leaders in the 11 road/street course races this season. Ryan Hunter-Reay is tops with 126 laps led in six races. ... Country star Clay Walker will sing the national anthem before Race 2 on Oct. 6. ... Team co-owner Sarah Fisher turns 33 on Oct. 4. ... Shell is celebrating its 30-year association with Penske Racing.
