All posts by Christopher DeHarde

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer Through triumph and shortcomings, the NTT IndyCar Series and IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship soldiered through 2019 to finish their campaigns with solid champions crowned and the rest of the respective fields picking up the pieces ahead of a new year and a new decade. From Daytona and St. Petersburg to Road Atlanta and WeatherTech Raceway, IMSA and IndyCar had some very good, and at times, tumultuous dealings both on and off track. Let’s take a look back at some of the best and worst of 2019.Read More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer The Road to Indy’s biggest rivalry over the last three seasons will continue in the 2020 NTT IndyCar Series. Ed Carpenter Racing has announced that Rinus VeeKay (simplified version of van Kalmthout) will join the team as the full season driver of the No. 21 Chevrolet. VeeKay’s rise through the Road to Indy mirrors that of his biggest rival, Oliver Askew. The pair raced against each other in USF2000 in 2017, Indy Pro 2000 in 2018 and Indy Lights in 2019. VeeKay won 16 races duringRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer & Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief For the first time since November 1945, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway has a new owner. The Board of Directors at Hulman & Company have announced the sale of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, INDYCAR and IMS Productions to a subsidiary of Penske Corporation named Penske Entertainment Corp. “We’re very excited to be in a place where our process took us to a point where we as a family all agreed we needed to have a conversation with Roger Penske,” said Tony George, ChairmanRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer After months of speculation, Arrow McLaren Racing SP have confirmed Oliver Askew and Patricio O’Ward as their driver lineup for the 2020 NTT IndyCar Series season. The team confirmed that the two most recent Indy Lights champions will pilot their Arrow Electronics Chevrolet entries in what will be the youngest driver lineup in the IndyCar paddock. By hiring Askew and O’Ward, the team had to release James Hinchcliffe from his driving duties after switching manufacturers from Honda to Chevrolet. “It’s a dream come true to beRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer BRASELTON, Georgia — Lamborghini could only win one championship in GTD class competition, and win they did. Paul Miller Racing, Magnus Racing and Precision Performance Motorsports could deliver the GTD Manufacturer’s Championship to the Italian make with their Huracan GT3 entries, but there was one big obstacle. Meyer Shank Racing’s pair of Acura NSX GT3 Evos have been the car to beat during the 2019 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. While the No. 86 NSX of Trent Hindman and Mario Farnbacher won the team and driver titlesRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer BRASELTON, Georgia — For about 15 minutes during Saturday’s Motul Petit Le Mans, Risi Competizione had no idea what was going on with its GTLM class-winning Ferrari 488 GTE. A computer failure meant that the team lost all telemetry data to the car, but the team were able to rectify the problem during the 10-hour contest at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta. “We lost all kinds of things, but that’s motor racing,” said team owner Giuseppe Risi. “It’s the strength of the team. I’m extremely proud ofRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer BRASELTON, Georgia — Some crafty pit strategy has given some teams the first batch of Michelin Endurance Cup points in the 2019 Motul Petit Le Mans. With five minutes left before the four hour mark, Action Express Racing had the No. 5 Cadillac DPi in the lead, but Mike Conway pitted, as did Tristan Nunez in the No. 77 Mazda Team Joest entry and Simon Pagenaud in the No. 6 Acura Team Penske machine. The pole-sitting No. 31 Action Express Racing Cadillac led with Felipe NasrRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer BRASELTON, Georgia — Qualifying for Saturday’s Petit Le Mans featured some welcome returns to the top of the time sheets with a few surprises thrown into the mix. Felipe Nasr gave co-driver Pipo Derani an early birthday present by qualifying the No. 31 Action Express Racing Cadillac DPi on  pole position. Nasr set a new lap record for DPi cars with a lap of 1 minute, 8.457 seconds around the 2.54 mile circuit. Ricky Taylor qualified second in the No. 7 Acura Team Penske DPi, justRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer All that’s left is 10 hours. Saturday’s Motul Petit Le Mans will conclude the 2019 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship at the newly-renamed Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta circuit near Braselton. The 2.54 mile road course will see many endings besides the championship, so let’s dive straight into that before we get into the classes. The Ford GT and Corvette C7.R will be making their final starts as factory programs in the GTLM class. Ford has decided to shutter the GT project while Chevrolet is moving onto theRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer MADISON, Illinois — Michael Cannon is frustrated. “You always remember the ones that got away, like this is one that got away,” said Cannon. “A car that’s that fast shouldn’t finish fourth, that car should be P1.” Santino Ferrucci’s race engineer for Dale Coyne Racing was happy with another top-five finish. But after leading 97 laps, the veteran engineer wanted more than fourth place. “There were 1-2 things he had concerns about after [Friday] evening’s practice and it looks like we fixed them,” said Cannon. “JustRead More