All posts by Christopher DeHarde

By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar & Road to Indy Writer Sebastien Bourdais’s commitment to racing is unparalleled. So much so that he was disappointed with finishing 10th in Saturday’s Bommarito Automotive Group 500 at Gateway Motorsports Park – his first Verizon IndyCar Series race after suffering massive injuries during qualifying for the Indianapolis 500. Bourdais qualified 19th in the final oval race of the season and was running 14th for much of the first stint of the race. By stopping late under the first caution, Bourdais was able to stretch his firstRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar & Road to Indy Writer The pressure was on Sebastian Saavedra. His part time Verizon IndyCar Series drive for Schmidt Peterson Motorsports was coming to an end after Saturday’s Bommarito Automotive Group 500 at Gateway Motorsports Park and the Colombian qualified 21st out of 21 cars. His crew stayed until midnight to make massive setup changes and it worked, resulting in an 11th place finish. “It was fine because I still didn’t know the place,” Saavedra said. “I felt like those first 20 laps I was stillRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar & Road to Indy Writer MADISON, Illinois — He led when the race went green and an aggressive move later made all the difference as Josef Newgarden earned his third Verizon IndyCar Series victory in the last four races as he took the checkered flag in the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 at Gateway Motorsports Park on Saturday night. The race started under yellow as Tony Kanaan spun on the pace lap in Turn 2 from his 17th starting position. When the green flag came out, Newgarden tookRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar & Road to Indy Writer A thrilling final three lap shootout nearly allowed Juan Piedrahita to earn his first win in the Mazda Road to Indy but it was Santiago Urrutia who walked away from Gateway Motorsports Park with another victory in his sophomore Indy Lights season. The race began with a first lap yellow flag after Belardi Auto Racing teammates Aaron Telitz and Shelby Blackstock had contact resulting in Telitz’s retirement from the event. Soon after the green flag came out for the restart there wasRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar & Road to Indy Writer MADISON, Illinois — After losing the bonus point for pole to Anthony Martin, Victor Franzoni stormed back to victory at the Pro Mazda Championship presented by Cooper Tires race at Gateway Motorsports Park. The race began with a two car incident between Brendan Puderbach and Jeff Green that saw them spin but not hit any walls. A brief yellow was called but the cars went back to green quickly. The 55 lap race then became a seesaw battle between Franzoni and MartinRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar & Road to Indy Writer MADISON, Illinois — After Friday’s practice and qualifying in preparation for Saturday’s Bommarito Automotive Group 500 at Gateway Motorsports Park, several Verizon IndyCar Series drivers praised the newly-paved track surface for its smoothness. “It’s silky smooth and they should copy and paste this surface onto a lot of the tracks,” said Chip Ganassi Racing driver Max Chilton. The track recently made the decision to repave after several drivers suffered tire failures during a test in early May. The repave was completed inRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar & Road to Indy Writer MADISON, Illinois — Looking ahead to the 2018 Verizon IndyCar Series, temporary Schmidt Peterson Motorsports driver Sebastian Saavedra rediscovered his passion for IndyCar racing while filling in for Mikhail Aleshin on the streets of Toronto. “I mean, as of right now I want to stay here,” Saavedra said after qualifying for Saturday’s Bommarito Automotive Group 500 at Gateway Motorsports Park. “I was a bit more sports car prone before Toronto, then we did Toronto and that passion for speed just came toRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar & Road to Indy Writer Jack Harvey couldn’t catch a break. After losing two tiebreakers in the 2014 Indy Lights points standings and losing the 2015 Indy Lights championship in the final two races, the 2012 British Formula 3 champion didn’t have a Verizon IndyCar Series drive for 2016 or 2017 until this year’s Indianapolis 500. However, that situation has changed for Harvey as he has picked up the seat in the No. 7 Honda for Schmidt Peterson Motorsports at Watkins Glen International and at Sonoma RacewayRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar & Road to Indy Writer After being a lap down and needing both his front and rear wings changed, Will Power managed to turn an off-strategy run into another Verizon IndyCar Series win at Sunday’s ABC Supply 500 at Pocono Raceway. Tony Kanaan led the first lap as the field had many drivers gaining or losing several positions in the first ten laps. Helio Castroneves gained ten positions very quickly while Josef Newgarden gained eight positions in the first seven laps. However, Castroneves faded to 13th byRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar & Road to Indy Writer His results don’t show it, but Spencer Pigot’s on track performances for Ed Carpenter Racing so far this season on the road and street courses (and Juncos Racing at Indianapolis) show that he is deserving of a full time ride in the  Verizon IndyCar Series. Pigot has the pedigree to be competitive in IndyCar. A two-time champion in the Mazda Road to Indy (Pro Mazda Championship in 2014, Indy Lights in 2015), he has transitioned solidly in North America’s top open wheelRead More