All posts by Aaron Bearden

By Aaron Bearden, Open Wheel Editor Colton Herta’s winning ways continued on to Road America. Herta charged to the front from third in the opening laps and held off a mid-race challenge from Andretti Autosport Patricio O’Ward to secure his fourth-consecutive Indy Lights victory for Andretti-Steinbrenner Racing. “This is the fourth race we’ve won in a row, so we obviously have a package working,” Herta said afterward. “It’s been fun. These cars race amazingly – we don’t have a lot of aero understeer, so you can stay behind a car closely,Read More

By Aaron Bearden, Open Wheel Editor Josef Newgarden will lead the Verizon IndyCar Series field to green in Sunday’s Kohler Grand Prix at Road America. Newgarden survived to the Fast Six and bested Team Penske teammate Will Power with a time of 1:42.2026 to claim the Verizon P1 Award in IndyCar qualifying from Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. The result was Newgarden’s third pole of 2018, giving him more poles this season than in his six prior years of IndyCar competition combined. “It’s nice when you have the car to do it,” Newgarden said afterward.Read More

By Aaron Bearden, Open Wheel Editor MADISON, Ill. — Sheldon Creed’s march toward the ARCA Racing Series championship saw another positive swing at Gateway Motorsports Park. Creed claimed the General Tire Pole award and dominated the majority of the night to claim Friday’s PapaNicholas Coffee 150. The win was Creed’s second-career triumph, coming just 14 days after his maiden ARCA win at Michigan International Speedway. The result also came in a new machine for MDM Motorsports, giving the team another shot of confidence as their Toyotas continue to show strong performance. “ThisRead More

By Aaron Bearden, Open Wheel Editor MADISON, Ill. — Zane Smith lost ground to championship leader Sheldon Creed at Gateway Motorsports Park, finishing seven laps down in 16th while Creed drove off to a dominant victory in the PapaNicholas Coffee 150. That’s okay, though. Smith isn’t worried about it. “I’d rather have wins than championships in this kind of racing,” Smith told Motorsports Tribune. “I’m just going for wins, and that’s what I was doing.” Smith was battling with Gus Dean inside of the top five on Lap 75 when heRead More

By Aaron Bearden, Open Wheel Editor MADISON, Ill. — Christian Eckes was the only driver capable of keeping pace with Sheldon Creed throughout a challenging night at Gateway Motorsports Park. But after contact with Creed on the race’s final restart, Eckes found himself mired in traffic. He could only watch on as the ARCA Racing Series points leader drove off to a dominant win in the PapaNicholas Coffee 150. Eckes was battling Creed for the top spot in the high lane on a Lap 79 restart when light contact betweenRead More

By Aaron Bearden, Open Wheel Editor Carlin were one of many organizations that struggled through the first race of the doubleheader weekend weekend at Belle Isle Park. But on Sunday the group rebounded with the best performance of their young Verizon IndyCar Series existence. Charlie Kimball and Max Chilton each tallied their best finishes of the year in Race 2 of the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix, lifting Carlin to new heights and giving the 2018 newcomers momentum as they head into the final race of a five-week grind at Texas Motor Speedway. Kimball ledRead More

By Aaron Bearden, Open Wheel Editor The bumpy, narrow Raceway at Belle Isle Park is challenging for even the best in the Verizon IndyCar Series. It’s no surprise, then, that series newcomer Santino Ferrucci was challenged in his IndyCar debut. Ferrucci took advantage of an off-weekend for Formula 2 and Formula One – where he is a reserve driver for Haas F1 Team – to make the voyage to Detroit and compete at the 2.35-mile Belle Isle Park for Dale Coyne Racing. The 20-year-old hopped in the team’s No. 19 HondaRead More

By Aaron Bearden, Open Wheel Editor One week removed from a disappointing Indianapolis 500 effort, Helio Castroneves found himself with the Verizon IndyCar Series once more at Belle Isle Park. But this time Castroneves was a spectator – supporting his teammates after competing in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s Chevrolet Sports Car Classic. The weekend could have been a challenge if the 2018 Month of May had been the Brazilian’s last. A strong No. 3 Chevrolet and spirited drive ended in defeat for the three-time Indy 500 champion when he crashedRead More

By Aaron Bearden, Open Wheel Editor DETROIT – The Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix was a Honda-dominated affair. Hondas took both Verizon IndyCar Series poles, won both races and led the majority of the laps in-between, leaving the Bowtie’s biggest “highlight” to be a crashed Corvette pace car in the parade laps before Sunday’s race. It was a difficult weekend for Chevrolet, just down the road from their Detroit corporate offices in Belle Isle. But Indianapolis 500 winner Will Power helped the manufacturer salvage something good out of the doubleheader. Power deliveredRead More

By Aaron Bearden, Open Wheel Editor DETROIT — It all happened so fast. One moment Alexander Rossi found himself in the lead, poised to go three-for-three in wins following poles in his young Verizon IndyCar Series career, fending off Andretti Autosport teammate Ryan Hunter-Reay and holding onto the series points lead in the process. The next moment he was in the Turn 3 runoff area, his race ruined. “Honestly I have no idea,” Rossi said when asked what happened. Rossi led a race-high 46 laps in the 70-lap Race 2 of the Chevrolet DetroitRead More