All posts by Christopher DeHarde

By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar & Road to Indy Writer In an Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires season that saw a ton of unpredictability with seven different winners, one thing was predictable: consistency from one driver would win the championship. That consistency came from Juncos Racing’s Kyle Kaiser. Kaiser entered his third season in Indy Lights and his fourth Mazda Road to Indy season with Juncos Racing (fifth MRTI season overall). His second Indy Lights campaign was a big improvement over his first with two wins and only two finishes outsideRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar & Road to Indy Writer A week before the 2017 Pro Mazda Championship presented by Cooper Tires was set to begin, Victor Franzoni was working as a go-kart mechanic during the SuperKarts! USA WinterNationals at NOLA Motorsports Park. During that weekend, a deal was put together that would affect his future in motorsports. Jeff Green bought the two Pro Mazda cars that Ricardo Juncos owned and tested at Homestead-Miami Speedway. After that test, Green wanted a teammate for the 2017 season and Franzoni was the top choice.Read More

By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar & Road to Indy Writer In the course of one year, Oliver Askew went from karting to earning a scholarship to race in the Pro Mazda Championship presented by Cooper Tires in 2018. Not bad. For the Jupiter, Florida native, the road was a long one. He had to endure the scrutiny of the judges ahead of the Team USA Scholarship panel, the Team USA shootout and then the Formula Ford Festival in England and the Walter Hayes Trophy Race. After Askew finished second in the finalsRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar & Road to Indy Writer Simon Pagenaud didn’t know he was going to do a four stop strategy until his engineer sent him a text. It ended up being the move that earned him the final Verizon IndyCar Series race victory of 2017 in Sunday’s GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma. “My engineer texted me when I was at the Verizon dinner,” said Pagenaud. “And he said, ‘We’re going to do four stops.’ I’m like, what? Four stops never worked here; why would we do four stops? HeRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar & Road to Indy Writer In a Verizon IndyCar Series qualifying session that demanded perfection, Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden met that demand with a near-perfect lap for pole position ahead of Sunday’s IndyCar season finale, the GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma. Newgarden’s lap of 1:15.5205 was a new track record as the Tennessee native edged out Penske teammates Will Power, Simon Pagenaud and Helio Castroneves in the Firestone Fast Six. Takuma Sato and Scott Dixon line up fifth and sixth. Qualifying began with the first round whichRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar & Road to Indy Writer In preparation for the final round of the 2017 Verizon IndyCar Series at Sonoma Raceway, practice for the GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma came to a close with the final session on Saturday. 2016 IndyCar champion Simon Pagenaud turned the fastest lap on the 2.385 mile road course in Saturday’s third practice session with a fastest lap of 1:16.0329 ahead of second place Scott Dixon’s lap of 1:16.1454. Championship contenders Will Power, Josef Newgarden and Helio Castroneves were third through fifth andRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar & Road to Indy Writer Zach Veach is coming home. After racing with Andretti Autosport in the Mazda Road to Indy in 2010-2014, the Ohio native will compete full time for the Indianapolis-based team in the 2018 Verizon IndyCar Series. Veach will be piloting the No. 26 Honda replacing the departing Takuma Sato in a four car lineup. Sponsors are yet to be announced. “I’ve been thinking about this day since St. Petersburg in 2010 when I sat beside Michael Andretti announcing that I’d be competing inRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar & Road to Indy Writer Spencer Pigot has been confirmed by Ed Carpenter Racing as the driver of the team’s No. 21 Chevrolet for the entire 2018 Verizon IndyCar Series schedule, replacing JR Hildebrand. Pigot had competed in the No. 20 Fuzzy’s Ultra Premium Vodka Chevrolet for the team on road and street courses while the eponymous team owner raced the No. 20 car on the ovals. Pigot earned this role after racing the 2016 Indianapolis 500 for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. Pigot’s car will be primarilyRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar & Road to Indy Writer Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing today announced that Indy Lights driver Zachary Claman DeMelo will make his Verizon IndyCar Series debut at the GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma on September 17th. In anticipation of a multi-car effort for next season, RLLR will have Claman De Melo pilot the No. 16 Honda sponsored by Paysafe as a teammate to the team’s full time driver Graham Rahal. “I’m thrilled to be driving for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing for my (Verizon) IndyCar Series debut at theRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar & Road to Indy Writer WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. — Spencer Pigot has found himself on the wrong foot with strategy calls this year on road and street course races in the Verizon IndyCar Series but the Ed Carpenter Racing driver finally got on the good side on strategy early in Sunday’s INDYCAR Grand Prix at the Glen at Watkins Glen International. Pigot pitted under the first caution after James Hinchcliffe’s car was stalled on track and was one of four cars to do so with Takuma Sato,Read More