All posts by Christopher DeHarde

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer LONG POND, PA — A massive incident on Lap 8 of the ABC Supply 500 has brought out the red flag in the 14th race of the 2018 Verizon IndyCar Series season. Ryan Hunter-Reay and Robert Wickens were racing in the upper portion of the field when the two had contact with Wickens’s right front and Hunter-Reay’s left rear. The No. 6 Lucas Oil Honda was going low on the No. 28 DHL Honda and after contact in the Tunnel Turn, Hunter-Reay spun backwards into theRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer LONG POND, PA — Sunday’s ABC Supply 500 at Pocono Raceway for the Verizon IndyCar Series has the potential to be a great race but quite unpredictable. Saturday’s afternoon practice session was rained out so everyone only had an hour of practice before the race. INDYCAR approved a new wicker for use on the front wings and most competitors took advantage of using it. Conor Daly has no wicker on the right front wing while each of the three Penske cars has the elongated original wickerRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer The first major domino of Verizon IndyCar Series silly season has fallen. Chip Ganassi Racing today announced that Scott Dixon has signed a multi-year extension to remain with the team in the No. 9 Honda entry. Dixon is the longest tenured driver in the teams’ history and is third on the IndyCar wins list with 44 wins. He is the current IndyCar points leader. “I’ve grown a lot as a person and as a driver throughout the years,” said Dixon. “It’s due to thanks and admirationRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer ELKHART LAKE, Wisconsin — If it weren’t for bad luck, Robert Alon and the JDC/Miller Motorsports crew wouldn’t have had any luck as the No. 85 ORECA LMP2 machine went from leading early to eventually finishing 12th in Sunday’s Continental Tire Road Race Showcase at Road America for the IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship. After leading early, Alon pitted under the second full course yellow of the race. It was on that pit stop that he hit a tire from his teammate’s stall and was penalizedRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer ELKHART LAKE, Wisconsin — After dealing with the headaches at Lime Rock Park, Patrick Long and Christina Nielsen rebounded to win the GT Daytona class in Sunday’s Continental Tire Road Race Showcase for the IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship. The No. 58 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R qualified on pole position and led early before pitting during the second full course yellow of the race. After staying in the top five for the vast majority of the rest of the race, Nielsen took advantage ofRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer ELKHART LAKE, Wisconsin — Dirk Mueller was running in second place midway through the Continental Tire Road Race Showcase and looked to be on his way to a podium finish but a rear suspension failure wasn’t part of the plan for the championship leaders in the GT Le Mans class. The No. 66 Chip Ganassi Racing Ford GT went to the pits after taking the Turn 5 alternate exit to get to the paddock and had to deal with a drive-thru for working under a carRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer ELKHART LAKE, Wisconsin — After a fiery start to Friday practice, the No. 22 Nissan DPi of Extreme Speed Motorsports was top of the time sheet in Sunday morning warmup ahead of the Continental Tire Road Race Showcase at Road America for the IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship. Pipo Derani went around the 4.048 mile road course with a fast lap of 1 minute, 53.030 seconds for an average speed of 128.928 mph. Second fastest was the No. 7 Acura Team Penske entry of Ricky Taylor,Read More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer ELKHART LAKE, Wisconsin — Christian Fittipaldi announced at Road America that the 2019 Rolex 24 at Daytona will be his final competitive professional race as the 47-year-old will turn his attention outside the race car as the teams’ full time Sporting Director as they compete in the WeatherTech Sports Car Championship. Fittipaldi has had a racing career full of variety. Winning the 1991 International F3000 championship opened his world to Formula One where he raced for three years before going to the U.S. in 1995. FittipaldiRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer ELKHART LAKE, Wisconsin — After finishing last of all cars still running at the recent Northeast Grand Prix at Lime Rock Park, Patrick Long made a statement by claiming the GT Daytona pole ahead of Sunday’s Continental Tire Road Race Showcase at Road America for the WeatherTech Sports Car Championship. Long set his fast lap early in the session going around the 4.048 mile natural terrain road course with a fastest lap of 2 minutes, 6.593 seconds to average 115.115 mph in the No. 58 WrightRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer ELKHART LAKE, Wisconsin — On Friday, IMSA had their annual State of the Series event at Road America ahead of the Continental Tire Road Race Showcase. I found that it was a home run of an event and shows the strength that the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship now has in American motorsports. IMSA announced the WTSCC schedule and although a date or two was shifted a week, the calendar remained virtually identical to the 2018 calendar. Some championships have changed venues and others are shifting others aroundRead More