IndyCar Series Notes - June 29, 2009

Indianapolis, Viso encouraged by 12th place: E.J. Viso and the crew of the No. 13 PDVSA HVM Racing car were encouraged with the seventh starting position for the SunTrust Indy Challenge at Richmond International Raceway - the second-highest of the season.

There was cautious optimism of a top-10 finish through the earlier portion of the 300-lap race on the 0.75-mile oval, which would have been a first this season. In a hard-knock year, two untimely caution periods thwarted the team's efforts.

Viso kept pace with the leaders for much of the race but fell two laps down on Lap 138 when the caution flag flew while the No. 13 car was on pit road for a scheduled service stop. Another yellow flag flew on Lap 248 - while Viso again was on pit road. He ran in the top 15 the remainder of the race, and managed a late pass of Ed Carpenter's No. 20 car to take 12th place.

"Even if it's not the result we were looking for -- especially after the strong pace we had through all the practices and qualifying -- it's something that's going to pump our emotions a bit higher," said Viso, who finished his first race of the season. "We were all a little bit low because we hadn't finished a race so far. Finishing the race means a lot for the team and for me.

"We had a very fast car. I was running at the same pace as the leaders, I was saving fuel all through the race. It's just that yellow came out at the wrong time for us and that put us a couple laps down. I just need to thank the team and everyone that has supported me going through these difficult races. I want to thank them and tell them that I've been working harder than ever to achieve podiums. We've got the potential and we've improved the car a lot."

Public to vote for Firestone "Tire"-rific move of the race: Fans will have the ultimate say in who receives a $10,000 race bonus from Firestone each week. After each IndyCar Series race, Firestone executives pick three "Tire"-rific Moves of the Race, on-track moves where the drivers had to rely on their Firestone Firehawk tires. Fans can vote for the winner at www.indycar.com.

From the SunTrust Indy Challenge at Richmond International Raceway, fans can choose from:

•Tony Kanaan for double-stinting his Firehawks for 135 laps, helping elevate him to sixth place. •Hideki Mutoh for his 109-lap first stint that included 74 laps in the lead. •Graham Rahal, who posted a career-best third on an oval.

Philippe joins Team PBIR: Team PBIRannounced it has signed Richard Philippe for five of the final eight races of the 2009 Firestone Indy Lights schedule beginning this weekend with the Corning 100 at Watkins Glen International.

"It is an honor to have Richard driving for our two-car team," said Kane Williams, PBIR Vice President of Motorsports. "He is an extremely talented driver and has a wealth of experience to pass along to the team."

In addition to this weekend's event, Philippe, who competed in the first four races of 2009 with Genoa, will drive the No. 37 Team PBIR entry at Edmonton City Centre Airport, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Infineon Raceway and Homestead-Miami Speedway. He recorded a season-best second place finish at Long Beach in April.

"I am really excited about this opportunity," said Philippe, who tested with the team at Indianapolis in May. "The team's crew is experienced and I think that will build my confidence, get the car setup right and we will be competitive with the rest of the field right away."