LONG BEACH, Calif. (April 17, 2009)- Vision Racing drivers Ryan Hunter-Reay and Ed Carpenter completed the first day of practice on the streets of Long Beach in preparation for Sunday's Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, finishing seventh and 21st respectively.

Running seventh quick today in the No. 21 William Rast/Vision Racing Dallara/Honda/Firestone machine, Hunter-Reay is coming off a second place finish in the IndyCar Series season-opener at St. Petersburg and his debut with the team.

He will be making his fourth attempt at Long Beach, only this time will be his first in an Indy car Previously, Hunter-Reay has driven the streets of Long Beach three times for three different teams in the Champ Car World Series. His best finish here is seventh, scored two times in 2003 and 2004. His best start came in 2004 when he qualified sixth. His debut at Long Beach came in 2003 with American Spirit Team Johansson where he started 12th and finished seventh. The next year he drove for Herdez Competition, started sixth, and finished seventh.

Hunter-Reay's No. 21 machine is featuring a new look this weekend as sponsor William Rast has stepped up to be the car's primary sponsor for Sunday's race. The Los Angeles, Calif. based clothing company known for their premium jeans will ride along with Hunter-Reay as he looks to score back-to-back podium finishes to start the 2009 season in style.

Carpenter, who is making his debut on the streets of Long Beach this weekend was 21st on the speed charts. His previous best road/street course finish in the IndyCar Series is a sixth place finish at Watkins Glen International in 2006.

In the first race of the season at St. Petersburg, Carpenter started 22nd and drove as high as third place on lap 70 as the leaders cycled through pit stops and was running in 15th spot when he came in for his final pit stop on lap 71. Leaving the pits on cold tires, an uncharacteristic mistake put him off line and into the marbles in Turn three, ending his day in the tire barrier. Carpenter was credited with an 18th place finish.

Like Carpenter, Vision Racing will also be making the team's first attempt on the streets of Long Beach.

IndyCar Series practice resumes tomorrow morning at 10:25 a.m. with qualifying set to commence at 2:10 p.m. local time.

Sunday's 85 lap/167.28 mile Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach will air live on Sunday, April 19 at 3:30 p.m. ET on VERSUS, as well as IMS Radio Network, XM IndyCar Series Racing Channel 145, XM Sports Nation Channel 144 and on the web at www.IndyCar.com. VERSUS will also air a live qualifying show on Saturday at 6:00 pm EST.

Qualifying/Practice Results and Quotes: (April 17, 2009)

Ed Carpenter - No. 20 Menards/Vision Racing Dallara/Honda/Firestone

Top Time in Practice: 1:12.5171

Top Speed in Practice: 97.698 mph

Overall Rank in Practice: 21st on speed chart

No. of Laps: 56

On practice:

"It was okay. I wish I was a little higher on the speed chart, but I like the circuit. It's tough coming to a place that I've never been to before. A lot of the guys have raced just about something here, so I'm definitely glad that I have Ryan [Hunter-Reay] to lean on. It doesn't look very good just by looking at the speed charts, but we're closer time-wise than we were at St. Pete and there's a handful of cars out there that if I were just pick up a tenth of a second or two then we're going to start picking up spots on the grid. Overall, I feel better about it, but I have a lot more to gain and I should improve another chunk tomorrow and we'll see if we can't start moving up a little bit."

Ryan Hunter-Reay - No. 21 William Rast/Vision Racing Dallara/Honda/Firestone
Top Time in Practice: 1:11.0263
Top Speed in Practice: 99.749 mph
Overall Rank in Practice: 7th on speed chart
No. of Laps: 44

On practice:
"It was a good start to the weekend. We went through quite a few changes that will benefit us tomorrow in qualifying. We have a good amount of changes to do again tomorrow for practice just prior to qualifying, so really just going through our checklist and things are good. We were in position two or three with just a couple of minutes to go in the second session and we kind of finished early so it was a good day."
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Vision Racing Fast Facts:

         TAKING THE VISION TO LONG BEACH: The IndyCar Series will race on the streets of Long Beach for the first time in the grand prix's 35 years. Thus, Vision Racing will also be making its first attempt at Long Beach as will driver Ed Carpenter. However, team driver Ryan Hunter-Reay raced the course three previous times (2002-2005) while driving in the Champ Car World Series.

         SETTING PRECEDENCE: In the opening weekend of the 2009 IndyCar Series season, Vision Racing completed the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg with two team bests thanks to debuting driver, Ryan Hunter-Reay. Driving the team's new No. 21 machine, Hunter-Reay drove from 14th to finish second in the race which is a new team high. That podium finish also put Hunter-Reay second in the championship point standings which is also the highest-ever ranking for a Vision Racing driver.

         BETTER LATE THAN NEVER: Vision Racing was pleased to announce the addition of race winning IndyCar Series driver, Ryan Hunter-Reay to the team's 2009 driver line up on March 31st; just days prior to the season-opening event at St. Petersburg. The late addition proved to be worth while as Hunter-Reay drove form 14th to finish a team-best second on the Streets of St. Pete. His arrival to the team makes for an all-American two-car IndyCar Series driver line up in Hunter-Reay and returning pilot, Ed Carpenter.

         HAPPY ANNIVERSARY: After forming and joining the Indy Racing League in 2005, Vision Racing will celebrate its fifth season of competition in 2009. Since the team embarked upon IndyCar Series competition, eight drivers have piloted five (Nos. 2, 20, 21, 22, 90) different team entries. Those drivers have combined for an additional 41 top-10 finishes, plus 10 top-five finishes, three more podium finishes and 41 laps led. Over the previous four years the quest for the team's first victory has been top priority and Vision Racing is confident that year five will be the season where that it happens. The Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach will be the team's 68th IndyCar Series event since their first season in 2005.

         FIND US ONLINE, ANYTIME: The 2009 season for Vision Racing will include the great social media experiment. Vision Racing has established itself in the realm of online social media and networking via accounts at Twitter.com, Facebook.com and YouTube.com this season; allowing fans, friends, followers and even members of the media the opportunity to closely follow and interact with the five-year IndyCar Series participant. In addition, RACERSITES.com is working on a redesign of VisionRacing.com which is set to launch in May 2009.

         NEW AND OLD FOR 2009: Vision Racing is fielding two cars, full-time for the second straight season. Ed Carpenter pilots the No. 20 car for the fifth straight year, while Ryan Hunter-Reay recently joined the team and drives the No. 21 machine. Team sponsors Menards, Johns Manville, and Lilly return while SONAX, IZOD and William Rast come aboard. Personnel-wise, Keven Kukulewicz returns as team manager while the engineering staff is again headed by Jeff Britton. Joining the team this year along with Hunter-Reay is engineer Neil Fife, while engineers Nathan O'Rourke and Robert Gue return to the team as well. IndyCar Series veteran and winner Bryan Herta is again serving as a road-course consultant for the team this season. Herta and his new Firestone Indy Lights (FIL) team, Bryan Herta Autosport (BHA) and driver Daniel Herrington has formed a technical partnership with Vision Racing and their new FIL team with driver James Davison. It marks Vision Racing's first FIL effort since 2005.

         ON ROAD/STREET COURSES: The team's best finishes on a road or street course is second, recently scored in the 2009 season-opener at St. Petersburg by Ryan Hunter-Reay in his debut with the team. It's is also the team's highest finish overall. Prior to Hunter-Reay's podium finish, the previous best road and street course drives include a fourth place finish scored by Paul Tracy in 2008 at Edmonton, and a pair of sixth place drives; one captured by Tomas Scheckter on the streets of St. Petersburg in 2007 and the other by Ed Carpenter in 2006 at Watkins Glen International

         2008 TEAM HIGHLIGHTS: Team drivers Carpenter, Foyt and Tracy have combined to give Vision Racing four top-five finishes and eight additional top-10 finishes in 2008 IndyCar Series competition. The team's best finish this season was a fourth place drive scored by Tracy. Carpenter (Homestead and Indianapolis) and Foyt (Iowa) each logged fifth place finishes as well. The team's best starting position for 2008 came at Kansas when Foyt started fifth. Carpenter's best start also came at Kansas when he took the green flag in the sixth spot.

         AS SEEN ON TV: Patrick Dempsey joined Vision Racing prior to the 2006 season, taking on a new role that has been making hearts race in a literal way as a team co-owner. Known for his scene-stealing turns in such '80s nostalgia classics such as Can't Buy Me Love and Loverboy, Patrick Dempsey continues to please America with his explosive charisma and versatile talent. Dempsey is the star of the ABC drama "Grey's Anatomy." Dempsey's no stranger to the racetrack when he's not in front of the camera. A true racer at heart, he's currently driving professionally in Grand American Cup class sports car racing with Hypersport. Patrick also attended the Skip Barber and Panoz Racing Schools and began racing in the Panoz GT Series in 2004. Dempsey finished an impressive third at the Panoz GT race in Road Atlanta in early May 2005.He also competed in the April 2005 Toyota Celebrity Race at Long Beach and the 2005 Baja 1000 with drivers Boris Said and Oriol Servia.

         A TEAM WITH A VISION: Vision Racing is owned and operated by Tony and Laura George as well as actor Patrick Dempsey of ABC's Grey's Anatomy and is based in Indianapolis, Indiana in a 32,000 square foot facility. The team competes full-time in the IndyCar Series and is entering its fifth season of IndyCar Series competition and second year of Firestone Indy Lights racing. Vision Racing continues to proudly perpetuate the legacy of the Hulman-George family through motorsports excellence, by demonstrating the traditions and heritage of the Indianapolis 500 and Indy car racing.
 

Ryan Hunter-Reay - No. 21 William Rast/Vision Racing Dallara/Honda/Firestone:
Birthday: December 17, 1980; Hometown: Ft.Lauderdale, FL  Residence: Dana Point, California
Has three prior starts at Long Beach with two top-ten finishes.

         AT LONG BEACH: Hunter-Reay will be making his fourth attempt at Long Beach, only this time will be his first in an Indy car as he will pilot the No. 21 William Rast sponsored Vision Racing machine this weekend. Previously, Hunter-Reay has driven the streets of Long Beach three times for three different teams in the Champ Car World Series. His best finish there is seventh, scored two times in 2003 and 2004. His best start came in 2004 when he finished sixth. His debut at Long Beach came in 2003 with American Spirit Team Johansson where he started 12th and finished seventh. The next year he drove for Herdez Competition, started sixth, and finished seventh. In 2005 he started 12th for Rocketsports and finished in the 13th spot.

         NEW LOOK FOR LONG BEACH: Hunter-Reay's No. 21 Honda powered Dallara will feature a new look for the grand prix at Long Beach as sponsor William Rast has stepped up to be the car's primary sponsor for that race. The Los Angeles, Calif. based clothing company known for their premium jeans, was founded by Justin Timberlake and Trace Ayala. The William Rast logo and moniker will brand the No. 21 machine as Hunter-Reay looks to score back-to-back podium finishes to start the 2009 season.

         SECOND IN POINTS: With Hunter-Reay's second place finish in the season-opener on the streets of St. Petersburg he found himself second in the IndyCar Series championship point standings. That is also a best-ever standing for a Vision Racing driver.

         TIRE-IFFIC MOVE: For his impressive run at St. Petersburg; driving all the way to the podium from the 14th spot, including a 37-lap stint on Firestone Firehawk "reds," Hunter-Reay was voted by the fans as having the Firestone "Tire-ific" Move of the Race. For his efforts and the honor, he receives $10,000.

         HOME TO HOME: Growing up in Florida, the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg could be considered a home race for Hunter-Reay. Now a resident of California, Hunter-Reay is considering this weekend's Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach to be another home circuit. He's hoping the familiarity Long Beach pays off as well as it did at St. Pete.

         MOST RECENTLY: In his debut for Vision Racing, driver Ryan Hunter-Reay handed the team their best career IndyCar Series result with a second place finish after 100 laps on the streets of St. Petersburg for the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. He started from the 14th spot.

         2009 SEASON: This is just the second full season in IndyCar Series competition for Hunter-Reay and the third season that he has participated in overall. After scoring an impressive second place finish in the season-opener, the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach will be Hunter-Reay's second event of the 2009 IndyCar Series season.

         A STRONG BACKING: Thanks to a strong supporting cast made up of personal sponsors IZOD and William Rast, Hunter-Reay has the opportunity to race in 2009. IZOD, the official apparel sponsor for the IndyCar Series, will continue a relationship established last season with Hunter-Reay as a personal sponsor.

         DID YOU KNOW?: Hunter-Reay is the only driver to have won races under each of the

CART, Champ Car and Indy Racing League banners.

         RYAN AT-A-GLANCE: The 2009 IndyCar Series season has Ryan Hunter-Reay and Vision Racing joining forces for the first time as a result of a last minute deal that came together in late March.  Joining the team in its fifth season, Hunter-Reay will pilot the No. 21 IZOD special in what will be just his second full season. Last season with Rahal Letterman Racing, Hunter-Reay recorded his first IndyCar Series victory at Watkins Glen International and added Rookie of the Year honors in the 92nd running of the Indianapolis 500. He was also named the Series' Rookie of the Year after just six races in 2007. Hunter-Reay is the only driver to have won races under each of the CART, Champ Car and Indy Racing League banners. He hopes to add more victories to his resume with Vision Racing in 2009.

o        Highest Career Start: 3rd - Watkins Glen International, 2008/Rahal Letterman Racing
o        Highest Career Finish: 1st - Watkins Glen International, 2008/Rahal Letterman Racing
o        Laps Led: 13
o        Top-5's: 2
o        Top-10's: 13
o        Starts: 24
o        Running at Finish: 19 (79%) 

Fast Stats - 2009 IndyCar Series Results

St. Pete 22 3 18 Contact 18

Ryan Hunter-Reay - No. 21 Vision Racing Dallara/Honda/Firestone:

VENUE START RAN AS
HIGH AS FINISH STATUS POINTS
STANDING
St. Pete 14 2 2 Running 2

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About Vision Racing:  Vision Racing is owned and operated by Tony and Laura George as well as actor Patrick Dempsey of ABC's Grey's Anatomy and is based in Indianapolis, Indiana in a 32,000 square foot facility. The team competes full-time in the IndyCar Series and is entering its fifth season of IndyCar Series competition. In the past calendar year, the team has scored nine top-ten finishes and five additional top-five finishes including a fifth place finish in the Indianapolis 500 by Ed Carpenter and a second place run by Ryan Hunter-Reay on the streets of St. Petersburg in the 2009 season opener. The team features returning IndyCar Series driver Ed Carpenter and welcomed veteran Ryan Hunter-Reay for 2009. Also new for 2009 is a return to the Firestone Indy Lights Series with driver James Davison, as well as a technical partnership with new FIL team Bryan Herta Autosport and driver Daniel Herrington. Vision Racing continues to proudly perpetuate the legacy of the Hulman-George family through motorsports excellence, by demonstrating the traditions and heritage of the Indianapolis 500 and IndyCar Racing.

www.VisionRacing.com  /  www.Twitter.com/VisionRacing  /  www.YouTube.com/VisionRacing  /  www.Facebook.com