Scuderia Corsa took its second TUDOR United SportsCar Championship victory of the year on Friday at the racing capital of the world - Indianapolis Motor Speedway. In winning the Brickyard Grand Prix in the GT-Daytona class, Alessandro Balzan and Jeff Westphal scored their second win of the season and the third in North American endurance racing for the no. 63 Scuderia Corsa Ferrari 458 Italia.

 Starting from the ninth position, Westphal moved the Ferrari through the field during the opening stages of the race. When an extended caution came out, the Scuderia Corsa team elected to stop at near the end of the caution period - giving up their leading position, but satisfying the minimum drive time requirement for Westphal. The strategy call would enable Balzan to challenge for the lead with an hour remaining. After executing a pass on the leading Porsche, Balzan had enough fuel to make it to the finish with a healthy advantage over the rest of the GT-Daytona field.

 "Yesterday we had a hard day with some problems in qualifying," said Balzan. "But I knew the car could be really fast over a stint. And today, Scuderia Corsa gave me the perfect car, and it was a perfect race. The team strategy worked perfectly, and the car worked perfectly on the Continental tires. Jeff from ninth position, got up to first positon, and he did an incredible job. Coming from Italy, when I was a little baby I understood that Indianapolis is a very historic circuit. Now, I'm a little man, and I've won here. I think I will realize tomorrow where I won today."

 The victory was Balzan's third, and Westphal's second, with Scuderia Corsa.

"First and foremost, a big thank you to the Scuderia Corsa team," said Westphal. "It is the 60th Anniversary of Ferrari racing in North America and we worked so hard to come back from a rough race at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park. Everybody in the team, Alessandro included, did a great job and we just tried to make our way up the field when we could. It was a really, really nice feeling to kiss the bricks."

 The victory was especially satisfying for Scuderia Corsa team owner, Giacomo Mattioli. At last year's Brickyard Grand Prix, Mattioli's no. 63 Scuderia Corsa Ferrari 458 Italia led but would ultimately finish in fourth position as another Ferrari won the race.

 "When you lead the race, it stings when you don't win," said Mattioli. "But certainly, I remember the picture of another Ferrari team kissing the bricks last year, and I thought 'that is on the bucket list!' So, this victory today is really amazing. This is the racing capital of the world, and I wouldn't pick any other place to win. The team did an amazing job. We had some issues yesterday, but we worked through them and everything worked out great. Jeff did a very good job in his stint, as he's been doing all year long. Alessandro did a fantastic job - he pushed hard lap after lap and dealt with a lot of traffic and a lot of pressure. To win again this season is unbelievable."

 Scuderia Corsa will next compete at the Continental Tire Road Race Showcase at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin on August 8-10.

Following a promising start to the weekend as the two fastest cars in opening practice and sweeping the front row in qualifying, Extreme Speed Motorsports’ (ESM) Brickyard Grand Prix proved to be challenging. With less than 10 laps to go, both Tequila Patrón-sponsored Honda Performance Development ARX-03b (HPD) pitted for a splash of fuel to reach the scheduled race distance. In the end, the ESM machines finished fifth and seventh.
 
In its Indianapolis Motor Speedway debut, ESM earned its first front row sweep in TUDOR United SportsCar Championship competition, appropriately on National Patrón Tequila Day. The team was confident it had exorcised the mechanical and electrical gremlins that arose in the two previous rounds of the TUDOR Championship. The front row start was a step in the right direction.
 
From the pole position, Scott Sharp led the field to green in the No. 1 Tequila Patrón HPD. Sharp battled with the leaders and settled into a steady second place pace. The second caution flag of the race took place on Lap 24, which started as a debris caution and turned into an extended caution in order to repair the race track from an earlier incident. Taking advantage of the caution, Sharp pitted for fuel, tires and a driver change to Ryan Dalziel. This stop was earlier than the team anticipated and altered fuel strategy for the balance of the race.

“We had a really good car; we had a great weekend," added Sharp. "We had great practice sessions and the front row for the start. We were a little bit worried. The long straightaways and the power advantage the DPs have, as usual, enables them get through traffic better. Somehow we used a lot of fuel on the No. 1 HPD in the middle of the race and made us have to pit early and take on more. A couple of the DPs didn’t pit and those that did, pitted later and took less fuel, which made for a shorter pit stop. Fifth was the best we could do in that kind of scenario."
 
Dalziel began running lap times quicker than the leaders and reached a race-high of third place. He pitted again on Lap 65 and Lap 98, both for fuel and tires. The third and final pit stop, for seven seconds of fuel, took place with less than 10 minutes left. Dalziel was running fourth at the time of the stop and returned in seventh position. In the end he was able to improve two positions and finish fifth.

“When we run the same top speed as the GT cars, we have to take bigger risks on the brakes to pass them," commented Dalziel. "It’s risk the DPs don’t have to take because they can pass them in a straight line. It is the nature of the rules and the P2. We have to pass them on the straights and that’s been the struggle for us this year. I think today was probably one of the harder ones to take based on the potential we had. If the whole race was green, maybe that would have helped us a little bit. That first long yellow really hurt us.”
 
Ed Brown took the opening stint for the No. 2 Tequila Patrón HPD. Brown held his ground on the front row against the hard-charging field. In a similar strategy to the No. 1 machine, Brown pitted on Lap 26 for tires, fuel and a driver change to Johannes van Overbeek  in hopes of setting a different fuel strategy from the rest of the field, yet similar to the sister No. 1 machine.

“It was a frustrating day," Brown added. "The team did a great job on both cars. We had a problem-free race, nerve-wracking because when you’re playing the fuel game that makes it even more intense. Both cars did really well. It is a hard fight out there on track."
 
During his stint, van Overbeek also needed to pit twice – on Lap 68 and then again on Lap 106. The last stop came with two laps to go and van Overbeek running second. Four seconds of fuel later, he returned to the track and finished seventh.

“Both cars finished the race, so that’s a step in the right direction," concluded van Overbeek. "It is still a bit frustrating. To have two cars on the front row and then to finish fifth and seventh is a little bit anticlimactic.” 
 
Next up for Extreme Speed Motorsports is the Continental Tire Road Race Showcase at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisc. on Aug. 8-10.

David Ostella was poised for a podium finish but settled for fourth place in the Prototype Challenge class Friday in the Brickyard Grand Prix at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Ostella, from Maple, Ontario, qualified the No. 38 Dash Neighborhood/Phillips 66 car fourth Thursday after a strong last-lap effort. Due to a penalty assessed to another team, Ostella's co-driver, James French, started the two-hour, 45-minute  TUDOR United SportsCar Championship race in third position.

 "I have to work on getting quick times earlier, but I'm on pace with (pole sitter) Colin (Braun) both in qualifying, and then in the race we were right there," Ostella said. 

French took the lead early in the race. After a quick pit stop for fuel, he re-entered the race in fourth and fought back to second before handing the car to Ostella. French was thrilled with his first performance with the team. 

"Honestly, the moment I heard I was in the lead position I had a little celebration, but I still had a lot of pressure on me this race," French said. "There was a lot of pressure from the guy behind me, and I could tell he had more pace than I did. I was trying to hold him off the best I could. Then the long yellow flag came out, and David did an awesome job. It was an awesome first stint for me. Honestly, it was a lot of fun." 

After the stop, Ostella returned to the track in fifth place. He then began what has become his trademark methodical climb through the field on the 14-turn, 2.435-mile road course that incorporates part of the famous IMS oval.

Verizon IndyCar star Josef Newgarden, the only American to ever win in the famed Formula Ford Festival at Brands Hatch, has been confirmed to participate in the Sports Car Club of America Formula F 45th Anniversary at Barber Motorsports Park, August 9-10. Newgarden will race on Sunday in a Honda-powered Piper Formula F, and participate as a speaker in the Formula F birthday celebration on Saturday night.

The 2014 Saddlemen Rookie of the Year Award will go to the eligible rider who earns the most points in GoPro Daytona SportBike as well as the eligible rider who earns the most points in AMA Pro Flat Track's Grand National Championship. 

Tomas Puerta has all but locked up the $5,000 prize Saddlemen generously provides that goes along with earning the award in AMA Pro Road Racing's GoPro Daytona SportBike class. The Colombian sits 11th in the standings and has accumulated 46 more points than the next best contestant, Tucker Lancaster. It would be a long-shot for Lancaster to make up the difference in points with just one round of GoPro Daytona SportBike action remaining, which is set to be held at New Jersey Motorsports Park in Millville, N.J., Sept. 13-14, 2014. 

For anyone remotely familiar with AMA Pro Road Racing, Puerta's success this season hasn't been that surprising. The 21-year-old is the reigning SuperSport national champion and rides for one of the most sought-after race teams in the business today - RoadRace Factory/Redbull - and plays teammate to Jake Gagne, the current GoPro Daytona SportBike points leader. He's likely already banking on his money for this year's Saddlemen Rookie of the Year Award, and there's no telling how far he'll go next year with a full season at this level under his belt. 

In AMA Pro Flat Track Grand National Championship competition, Wyatt Maguire's 11th place finish at Grays Harbor Raceway last weekend was enough to put him ahead of Shayna Texter by a mere three points in the standings. If Maguire holds on to earn the most points out of all of the class-rookies this season, a lineup that features the likes of Texter, Justin Maloney, and Cody Johncox, he would be the recipient of the $5,000 award that goes along with winning the 2014 Saddlemen Rookie of the Year Award. 

"I'm definitely striving towards the award and it would mean a lot to me if I were to win it," said Maguire. "It enables us rookies who are out of the championship chase to have something to compete for. There are a lot of battles going on right now. Week-in and week-out we're all competing for it. Last weekend's 11th place finish was pretty cool and I hope to keep the momentum rolling at Sacramento." 

Maguire's main competition for the Rookie of the Year honor, Texter, won the Sacramento Mile in the Pro Singles class last year, so he will need to be on game in he wants to stay in front. 

Saddlemen has been helping AMA Pro Racing reward some of the best up-and-coming stars of motorcycle racing by sponsoring the Rookie of the Year award for the last four seasons. Saddlemen is also the official seat and luggage of AMA Pro Road Racing and AMA Pro Flat Track.

Fans can watch the Saddlemen Rookie of the Year Award battle heat up in Grand National Championship competition this weekend when AMA Pro Flat Track heads to Sacramento, Calif. for the Sacramento Mile on July 26. For tickets and more information on the event, please visithttp://www.sactomile.com/tickets/ or call 1-844-722-6453. All of the action will be streamed LIVE onFansChoice.tv. 

The next time AMA Pro Road Racing takes to the track will be August 8-10, when Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson Series competitors roll their thundering Harley's off the trucks at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Ind. 

Extreme Speed Motorsports (ESM) threw down the gauntlet in practice and qualifying today at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. For the first time in ESM history, both of the Tequila Patrón-sponsored Honda Performance Development ARX-03b prototypes will start from the front row and side-by-side for Friday’s Brickyard Grand Prix.It seems appropriate that the Tequila Patrón-sponsored race cars qualified 1-2, especially on National Patrón Tequila Day.

 David Ostella put the Performance Tech Motorsports machine fourth on the grid in the Prototype Challenge class of the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship on Thursday at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. 

"It was good; I'm happy with qualifying and being so close to the front," Ostella said. "Only four-tenths off Colin (Braun), who got the pole. I think I'm still struggling with qualifying. I'm not happy with how long it takes me to get up to speed. So I'll be working on that. I'm happy with the performance." 

Ostella's best qualifying lap was more than a second quicker than his top practice time Friday. He qualified just .359 of a second behind Braun's track-record lap.  

It was Ostella's best qualifying performance this season in the No. 38 Dash Neighborhoods/Phillips 66 car. Ostella competed on the historic IMS oval in the Firestone Freedom 100 for Indy Lights in 2011 and 2012, but this was his first day on the new 14-turn, 2.439-mile road circuit at IMS that incorporates part of the famous Indy oval. That mixture creates a complex setup challenge due to the circuit's intricate turns and fast straightaways, said Performance Tech Lead Engineer Ty Sayman.

AMA Pro SuperSport action from the Buckeye SuperBike Weekend a Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course was typical of the class for up-and-coming stars of tomorrow and fast club aces. In other words, it was a full grid's worth of battles and unpredictable skirmishes at the front. 

Dustin Dominguez of Houston Superbikes took two wins as the Oklahoman's hot streak extended. Each time out, he topped TOBC Racing's Hayden Gillim as both races were held on Sunday due to track conditions unconducive to racing the day before. With the riders making their bids for the series championship, the New Jersey round will be another winner-take-all showdown in the final chapter of 2014. 

The weekend began as a test for three men fighting for the points lead as Corey Alexander (HVMC/Celtic Racing) remained out in front as the teams entered Ohio. Alexander was great early in the season. The reigning East champion, looked nearly unbeatable at Daytona and was almost as strong at Elkhart Lake despite a training accident that put his participation in doubt. However, a subpar Alabama round left Gillim and Dominguez rallying closer. 

Mid-Ohio would go be a turning point as Dominguez and Gillim left Alexander behind. 

In Race 1, Gillim had the early lead but Dominguez made a great pass on lap two and made it stick. Gillim made a nice move to rip the lead away on lap four but Dominguez repeated his earlier ploy - outbraking Gillim on the main straight. He then cut a blazing lap and when Dominguez encountered lapped traffic, he didn't have Gillim's No. 69 machine directly on his Yamaha's tail anymore. From then on, the Oklahoman held the point position. 

"With these races being so short and there's so many riders, I didn't know if there was going to be a red flag so I tried to lead every lap," said Dominguez. "We've finally got this thing the way we wanted it and have been getting good results ever since." 

Dominguez had another good race in the second affair. He led Gillim, but the Kentuckian seemed poised on his tail and in good position to make a late-race move. Gillim nearly crashed with a lap and a half to go, avoiding a highside heading onto the main straight. 

Gillim tried to rally on the final lap. He made an ambitious move and the two touched. Neither rider fell, and Dominguez pulled away for a 3.510-second victory after 11 laps.

 "Mid-Ohio has always been one of my favorite tracks. I knew going into the weekend I had to win both races to have a shot at the championship," Dominguez said. "This was the biggest weekend for me not just because I won both races, but because now I'm two points out of the championship and have good momentum going into the last race of the year. All the glory to God and can't thank my team and sponsors enough for providing me a bike and opportunity to win races. I'm ready to prove I have what it takes to win this championship." 

Gillim took two second place finishes on the day. He was disappointed not to win but made the most of a day when he never really got his bike sorted.

"With us getting so little track time before the race, I really didn't have a good setup," said Gillim after Race 1. "I had hardly any weight on the rear so in every turn I was out sideways." 

He clearly found some answers for Race 2 but wasn't totally satisfied. 

"We were still having some issues with grip," said Gillim, pointing out his near-crash with two to go. "The last lap, I put my head down and pushed as hard as I could. (Dominguez) made a little mistake. Coming into Thunder Valley, I was right next to him I felt like I might have made the pass but I didn't want to risk taking us both out. I'm glad we could give the fans watching a good race. I'm looking forward to New Jersey and (I) have the points lead so it should be fun." 

Gillim dueled with Alexander for the East crown at New Jersey last year and the outcome was in doubt until the checkered flag, so he has experience in a championship shootout. The Suzuki pilot holds a slim two-point margin after Ohio. 

Alexander lowsided in the Keyhole on lap five of the first race - a tough blow for his championship hopes. In Race 2, he had to pull off before the race started due to an issue with his brakes. 

"I guess bad luck comes all at once when it does come," said Alexander. "This weekend started off rough just from the weather alone, which cut down the whole weekend to essentially one day. With that said, I felt we had a really good bike and a lot of potential to do really well. Unfortunately the unpredictable track surface caught us out in Race 1 which ultimately caught us out in Race 2 with a brake failure induced by the crash. With such a short schedule it puts a lot of pressure on the whole team to get everything together in a big hurry, and very little time for the riders to get a feel for everything. It's unfortunate for the team, the sponsors and myself to be plagued with such bad luck especially with such high potential and a strong start to the season. The only thing we can do is move forward and hope to dominate at our home track, New Jersey Motorsports Park, in September. Thanks, to all of the sponsors and people who made this season possible. It is unfortunate when things don't go as expected as we owe it to all of you to get a good result." 

Alexander dropped down to fourth in points after his troubles. 

His teammate on the HVMC/Celtic Racing squad, Wyatt Farris, earned third in Race 1 after a duel with Conner Blevins. He leapfrogged his stable mate in the points, too. Farris was second in Daytona but off the podium since then. 

"I'm happy to get back on the podium with a third, and bring home a fifth for the Celtic/HVMC Suzuki team and our sponsors," said the Californian. "Even though they may not be quite the results I'm looking for, or the results we know we can get, any time you're on the podium it's a good day. I'm going to use this seven-week break to work on a few things, and head to New Jersey looking to improve our results." 

Conner Blevins (Excel Machine Racing) earned his first AMA Pro podium in Race 2. 

"We had a rough start to the season, but my dad has gotten the bike working really well now," said Blevins, who battled with Farris in Race 1 and finished fourth. "Also, the new tires that Dunlop brought this weekend were great, lots of grip and they looked really good at the end of the races." 

Kaleb De Keyrel had been building momentum and earned a double podium in Alabama. The De Keyrel Racing pilot was just a little short of repeating that pace but still earned two nice finishes with sixth and fourth. 

J.C. Camacho showed nice speed once again, earning fifth and eighth. The Texan has been solid all year and spent most of the time in the top ten, showing he can duel with the best in class. The House of Paint Designs racer is a lock to do well in the final points standings and is seventh heading into the final round. 

Tuned Industries' Jason Aguilar (9-6) and Harv's Harley-Davidson pilot Cody Wyman (7-9) also garnered a pair of top tens in Ohio. Two surprise finishers jumped up this weekend as well. Jimmy Merck (Merck Factory Racing) was seventh in Race 2 after bagging 11th in Race 1. Frankie Gillim, Hayden's older brother, made the most of his appearance in Ohio and took 10th in Race 2. 

Youngster Nick McFadden (TOBC Racing) was tenth in the opener. 

It's all on the line for New Jersey. It has been an unpredictable season, one that saw Alexander look like a lock to win the title while Dominguez and Gillim had some low moments. With two aggressive, tough riders going for the honor of the number one plate, expect fireworks.

Following the AMA Pro Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson Series' Indianapolis doubleheader Aug. 8-10, the AMA Pro Road Racing season will come to its conclusion and the 2014 champions will be decided at the Kawasaki Devil's Showdown at New Jersey Motorsports Park in Millville, N.J., Sept. 13-14.

FansChoice.tv is the official home for live streaming coverage of AMA Pro Road Racing and AMA Pro Flat Track events in 2014. The site also provides coverage of IMSA's development and single-make series, and NASCAR's touring and weekly series.

X Sports Pro Racing is giving away a brand new 2014 Honda CRF450R, courtesy of American Honda Motor Co., to benefit the Asterisk Mobile Medical Center. The contest is open to anyone who purchases a raffle ticket online from now until Saturday, Aug. 15, 2014. The winner will be announced at the inaugural Indiana National in Crawfordsville, Indiana on Saturday, Aug. 16. 

The prize, a 2014 Honda CRF450R, resembles the Team Honda Muscle Milk machine ridden by Factory Honda riders Trey Canard and Fredrik Noren in the 2014 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship. The bike includes a Yoshimura TI exhaust system, Team Honda/Muscle Milk graphics kit, Honda motorcycle stand and a full set of Fly Racing gear and helmet. Proceeds benefit the Asterisk Mobile Medical Center. The Asterisk Mobile Medical Center, and its dedicated staff, has been a mainstay at every Pro Motocross event for more than a decade, in providing on-site emergency medical services to professional motocross riders.  

Enter for your chance to win this unique prize package by logging onto http://bit.ly/Honda450 and purchasing your raffle ticket now. The winner does not need to be present to claim the prize. Tickets are only $10 each, and quantities are unlimited. So buy as many as you like - it's for a good cause.

The Asterisk Mobile Medical Center is an emergency care facility available at each Lucas Oil Pro Motocross event to staff, participants, and crew at no cost. The full 53-foot hospital trailer is staffed with qualified and experienced medical personnel and offers specialized equipment for our sport's unique injuries. The Asterisk Mobile Medical Center is provided to the racing community by Asterisk. Their operating budget is made possible by MX Sports Pro Racing, Road 2 Recovery Foundation, as well as individual riders and private donors. 

Round 8 of the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship heads to Washougal, Washington for the MotoSport.com Washougal National on Saturday, July 26. 

For event tickets and additional information, please visit www.promotocross.com and LIKE the Pro Motocross Facebook page and follow @ProMotocross on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive content and additional information on the latest Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship news.