All posts by Christopher DeHarde

By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar & Road to Indy Writer Victor Franzoni and Anthony Martin have had one of the most memorable battles for a Pro Mazda championship in a long time. Martin, driving for Cape Motorsports, is the current Pro Mazda points leader. Martin’s won five races, five pole positions, has four fastest lap times and has led the most laps in six races to earn 259 points. Martin’s most stirring victory so far would have to be at Road America in the second race of that weekend. Franzoni started inRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar & Road to Indy Writer JR Hildebrand was moving through the Verizon IndyCar Series field during Sunday’s Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. The California native had gained the most positions in the field until a caution for Ed Jones’s stalled car on Lap 67 put his strategy in disarray as he was unable to come into the pits for service until the field had packed up behind the pace car. “We ended up just going a lap long when that yellow came out,” saidRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar & Road to Indy Writer Conor Daly has undergone several changes this year in the Verizon IndyCar Series. He changed teams. He changed manufacturers. He even changed his diet to become vegan around two weeks ago, losing about ten pounds in the process. Whatever else he might have changed must have helped because on Sunday he finished 10th in the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, scoring AJ Foyt Racing’s first top ten on a permanent road course since Mid-Ohio in 2016. Daly started 11thRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar & Road to Indy Writer LEXINGTON, Ohio — Will Power and Graham Rahal were just trying to catch Josef Newgarden all day long but ended up falling short during Sunday’s Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course for the Verizon IndyCar Series. Power and Rahal had great performances, finishing second and third respectively. However, both had points of contention with how road and street course races tend to play out. Later in the race, Ed Jones stalled on track which caused a full course yellow onRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar & Road to Indy Writer LEXINGTON, Ohio — In a performance that redeemed him for 2014, Josef Newgarden pulled off a dominant drive to win Sunday’s Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and with it, picked up the Verizon IndyCar Series points lead. It was a clean start as polesitter Will Power held off teammate Newgarden as the entire field got through the first lap without incident. The largest gainer in the field in the opening few laps was Marco Andretti, up four positions inRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar & Road to Indy Writer LEXINGTON, Ohio — Nico Jamin started second and with five previous victories was hoping for a win at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in the Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires. The Frenchman’s wish was granted in Sunday’s race. It was a chaotic start as teammates Jamin and Colton Herta had light contact while fighting for the lead on the first lap of the race. Jamin led the first lap, but eventually Herta got around to lead a lap. Further back in theRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar & Road to Indy Writer LEXINGTON, Ohio — Anthony Martin was challenged on Saturday. After finishing second to Victor Franzoni, Martin knew he had to win on Sunday, and win on Sunday he did in the final Pro Mazda Championship presented by Cooper Tires race of the weekend at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Martin started on pole with Franzoni in third. Martin made a statement early, setting fastest lap after fastest lap, while Franzoni had to get around Team Pelfrey’s Carlos Cunha for second. Cunha didRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar & Road to Indy Writer LEXINGTON, Ohio — Graham Rahal was fastest in the Sunday morning warmup for the Verizon IndyCar Series’s Honda Indy 200 Sunday afternoon. Rahal turned a fastest lap of 1:05.0239 on his 16th lap out of 23 turned. His No. 15 Rahal/Letterman/Lanigan Racing Honda will start the race in fourth place. Team Penske driver Helio Castroneves would be second fastest, .2768 seconds behind Rahal’s time. He will start fifth. Andretti Autosport occupies the rest of the top five with Marco Andretti ahead ofRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar & Road to Indy Writer LEXINGTON, Ohio — Santiago Urrutia has had a roller coaster of an Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires season full of happiness, frustration and every emotion except for victory until Saturday’s race at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Urrutia claimed his first Indy Lights victory of the season at the 2.258 mile road course and his fourth at the track in five races, counting his previous starts in Indy Lights and in the Pro Mazda Championship presented by Cooper Tires. Urrutia started onRead More

LEXINGTON, Ohio — Victor Franzoni took advantage of a lapped traffic slip-up by Anthony Martin to get the lead with mere minutes remaining in Saturday’s Pro Mazda Championship presented by Cooper Tires race at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course to win and extend his slim points lead. Martin led the race from pole but Franzoni was not far behind. The pair then gapped the field so much that the lead was over 20 seconds to third place. However, everything changed as the leaders approached Franzoni’s Juncos Racing teammate Jeff Green. GreenRead More