All posts by Christopher DeHarde

By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar & Road to Indy Writer INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana — In eight laps, James Davison was already over 217 mph. The Australian was drafted overnight to replace the injured Sebastien Bourdais after a savage accident left the 2017 St. Petersburg winner on the sideline with multiple pelvic fractures and a fractured right hip. Davison was got back up to speed quickly during Mondays’s post qualifying practice and turned 44 laps within the first 80 minutes of practice. His fastest lap to that point was 223.670 mph, good enough forRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar & Road to Indy Writer INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana — Scott Dixon had two more cars to sweat out after turning in a four lap qualifying average of 232.164 mph for the 101st Running of the Indianapolis 500. Dixon had qualified on the provisional pole but the two cars that topped him in Saturday’s first round of qualifying for the Indianapolis 500 were still to come. Takuma Sato went to the plate and fired off some heart-stopping moments during his ten mile journey around the Indianapolis 500 but hisRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar & Road to Indy Writer INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana — Following Sebastien Bourdais’s accident in qualifying for the 101st Indianapolis 500, James Davison has been selected to replace the Frenchman in the No. 18 GEICO Honda for Dale Coyne Racing. Bourdais suffered a fractured right hip and several fractures to his pelvis after hitting the wall during his third lap in qualifying. Bourdais had posted the two fastest laps of the day before losing traction in Turn 2, hitting the wall. “It’s never easy when you have to replaceRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar & Road to Indy Writer Sunday is Pole Day for the 101st Indianapolis 500 and here we will have live web coverage of qualifications as we did Saturday. The No. 18 car now driven by James Davison will start 33rd. No. 40 Zach Veach for AJ Foyt Racing Lap 1: 223.913 mph Lap 2: 221.464 mph Lap 3: 222.000 mph Lap 4: 217.064 mph Average: 221.081 mph No. 63 Pippa Mann for Dale Coyne Racing Lap 1: 225.542 mph Lap 2: 224.875 mph Lap 3: 224.831 mphRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar & Road to Indy Writer INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana — In an Indianapolis 500 qualifying day marred by bad weather and a serious accident from a top qualifying contender, Ed Carpenter Racing’s eponymous team owner came out on top. Ed Carpenter’s No. 20 Fuzzy’s Ultra Premium Vodka Chevrolet was one of the last five cars to qualify for a chance to win the pole for the 101st Running of the Indianapolis 500 and poked the nose of his car to the top of the speed chart with a fourRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar & Road to Indy Writer INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana — Sebastien Bourdais was the fastest car in qualifying for the 101st Running of the Indianapolis 500, turning two laps that would have put the Frenchman on provisional pole until an incident on lap 3 ended his qualifying run. Bourdais turned laps of 231.472 mph and 231.595 mph and was in Turn 2 when the back end of his car got loose. The No. 18 Dale Coyne Racing driver steered to correct the car’s pitch but the tires gripped, sendingRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar & Road to Indy Writer INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana — Qualifications are beginning for the 101st Running of the Indianapolis 500 and here we will have live coverage of each attempt. Because of the weather, each car will only have one attempt to qualify on Saturday. First up is No. 63, Pippa Mann for Dale Coyne Racing. Lap 1: 225.773 mph Lap 2: 221.785 mph Lap 3: 214.643 mph Lap 4: 215.314 mph Average: 219.282 mph-Provisional Pole No. 22 Juan Pablo Montoya for Team Penske Lap 1: 229.038 mphRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar & Road to Indy Writer INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana- Predictions ahead of qualifications for the 101st Running of the Indianapolis 500 can be difficult to make. Many teams didn’t show their complete hand in practice while others have all of their cards on the table. Either way, an attempt will be made at predicting qualifying results. Last Row (in no particular order): Buddy Lazier, Jack Harvey and Zach Veach Lazier was seven mph slower than the next slowest car. Harvey has had numerous issues since day one and Veach hadRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar & Road to Indy Writer INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana- With the turbocharger boost raised for Fast Friday, the final pre-qualifying practice ahead of the 101st Indianapolis 500, Honda let their top chargers run wild as they secured 10 of the first 11 spots on the speed chart before rains came down to delay practice. Before the rain, Sebastien Bourdais drove his No. 18 Dale Coyne Racing Honda to the fastest lap with 233.116 mph his average around the 2.5 mile oval. The St. Petersburg resident was also fastest onRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar & Road to Indy Writer INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana – Dreyer and Reinbold Racing co-owner Dennis Reinbold is running 2013 Indy Lights champion Sage Karam in the 101st Indianapolis 500, but D&RR is an Indy-only team, so far. D&RR was full time in the Verizon IndyCar Series until the end of the 2012 season. After starting the 2013 season, the team stopped competing that season after the Indianapolis 500 and have been doing exclusively the Indianapolis 500 in open wheel racing competition the last three years. Karam has been theRead More