All posts by Christopher DeHarde

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer (Editor’s note: This story originally indicated that Black Swan Racing would be withdrawing from the Rolex 24 at Daytona. The team subsequently acquired a chassis and as such, updates have been made.) DAYTONA — After an incident in Thursday’s morning practice session for the Rolex 24 at Daytona, Black Swan Racing was ready to withdraw from the first race of the 2020 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. However, Wright Motorsports has stepped in and the Black Swan Racing team is pulling an all-nighter to build a carRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer DAYTONA — A light morning rain could do little to slow Juan Pablo Montoya as the 2019 co-champion in the DPi class set the fastest lap in opening practice for the 2019 Rolex 24 at Daytona. The No. 6 Acura Team Penske ARX-05 went around the 3.56 mile road course in 1 minute, 49.917 seconds to average 116.597 mph. Olivier Pla was second fastest in the No. 77 Mazda Team Joest RT24P DPi with a lap time of 1 minute, 49.956 seconds while Tristan Vautier wasRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer The 2020 Rolex 24 at Daytona kicks off the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s seventh season since the sports car merger of 2014 and there are quite a few changes throughout the paddock. In Daytona Prototype International (DPi), the standard entry list from last season had 11 cars competing. This year, there are eight. Gone are the Juncos Racing Cadillac, the No. 5 Action Express Racing Cadillac and the Nissan from CORE Autosport. With CORE Autosport’s departure, only Cadillac, Mazda and Acura are represented in IMSA’s topRead More

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