IndyCar Series Notes - May 13, 2009

Servia lands Indianapolis 500 ride with Rahal Letterman Racing: With only two days of practice remaining before the final qualifying weekend for the 2009 Indianapolis 500, Rahal Letterman Racing has partnered with veteran driver Oriol Servia to pursue the team's sixth consecutive top-10 finish in the race.

"We all know it's not ideal to jump in the car for Thursday and Friday," said Servia, who will drive the No. 17 Rahal Letterman Racing entry with backing from DAFCA, a company dedicated to protecting the supply chain of micro electronic goods from acts of cyber terrorism. "We have two days to prepare for qualifying and one for the race."

Servia finished ninth in the IndyCar Series in points last year, recording seven top-10 finishes with KV Racing Technology. He finished 11th in the Indianapolis 500 after starting 25th.

Rahal Letterman Racing won the 2004 Indianapolis 500 with driver Buddy Rice and fielded cars for Chase Rookies of the Year Danica Patrick in 2005 and Ryan Hunter-Reay in 2008.

"I'm really happy to get the opportunity to be with such a team," Servia said. "The team has a lot of experience here, and they did really well in the past. I have raced many years against the Rahal Letterman team, and it makes me very proud to be finally part of it. I've been going to every race; I'm totally committed to this series and I feel like I'm on top of my game like I think I showed last year. Maybe a last-minute deal like this for Indy will be a formula to success this year."

"We have worked very hard all year in order to put this program together for the Indianapolis 500, and we feel like we have a package that will allow us to go to Indy and perform well," said RLR co-owner Bobby Rahal, the winner of the 1986 Indianapolis 500 as a driver. "The team's experience, combined with a veteran talent like Oriol, should give us everything we need to be competitive throughout the event. We are extremely pleased to welcome DAFCA to the RLR family and look forward to giving DAFCA a great experience in their first visit to Indy."

Foyt IV goes retro: A.J. Foyt IV is wearing an orange helmet at the Indianapolis 500, similar to the one his grandfather wore for many years.

After going winless in 1966 for the first season in his career, the elder Foyt switched to a simple-yet-distinct paint scheme dubbed Foyt Orange (officially Poppy Red) in the hopes of turning his fortunes. That it did; he won his first race with the orange No. 14 car - his third Indianapolis 500 - and five others in 1967. Overall, Foyt recorded 172 victories in all classes. He hung up the helmet in 1993 - at the Speedway.

Foyt IV is hoping for similar results. Foyt, who turns 25 on May 25, has made 82 IndyCar Series starts - including 34 in 2007 and '08 with Vision Racing - but was looking for a ride heading into May.

"I wore it growing up in go-karts and some even in the big cars but went to a more stylish helmet," said Foyt, who qualified 19th on May 10 with a four-lap average of 222.586 mph. "But I figured I'd get back to the basics. I did well with this helmet, and obviously my grandfather did well with the plain orange helmet with the gold A.J. on the side of it. We'll see if we can bring a little luck our way with that helmet."

HVM Racing, Conquest Racing add sponsors: Herbalife, a personal sponsor of HVM Racing driver E.J. Viso, is beginning a team sponsorship that will cover the remainder of the IndyCar Series season.

Herbalife announced its personal sponsorship of Viso in March and soon after partnered with HVM in its "Gotta Be Fit to Be in the Pit" team weight-loss challenge. With its expanded involvement, Herbalife will now have its name on the No. 13 car as well as additional assets for all 2009 races.

Conquest Racing has welcomed Forté Healthy Energy Shot as an associate sponsor on the No. 34 car for the Indy 500. The energy drink is just 3 ounces and is low in natural sugar.

Duno up for awards: Dreyer & Reinbold Racing driver Milka Duno is among the nominees in the "favorite alternative athlete" category of the third American Latino Awards, which recognize the accomplishments of American Latinos.

Winners will be announced during the American Latino Awards broadcast beginning July 14.

Also, Duno's children's book "Go Milka Go!" has been nominated for an International Latino Book Award. Winners will be announced May 28.

The 2009 IndyCar Series season continues May 24 with the Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The race will be telecast live in High Definition at 1 p.m. (EDT) by ABC. The race will air live on the IMS Radio Network, XM channel 145 and Sirius channel 211. The radio broadcast also will be carried on www.indycar.com. The 2009 Firestone Indy Lights season continues May 22 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The race will be telecast May 22 by VERSUS as part of its Carb Day coverage from 11 a.m. - 4 p.m. (EDT).