All posts by Christopher DeHarde

By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar & Road to Indy Writer SPEEDWAY, Indiana- For Saturday’s INDYCAR Grand Prix at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course, there are many variables to look at heading into the first race of the month of May for the Verizon IndyCar Series. Let’s take a look at different storylines and who to look out for. Juan Pablo Montoya Montoya was sidelined with the arrival of Josef Newgarden to Team Penske and only has a schedule of the Grand Prix and the Indianapolis 500. Well, Montoya qualified fifth despiteRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar & Road to Indy Writer SPEEDWAY, Indiana — Two races, two poles, two fastest laps, leading every lap and winning both races. What more could you ask for out of Oliver Askew? The Floridian won the second race of the weekend for the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship powered by Mazda at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course and in doing so earned his fifth win in a row out of six races in the 2017 season. Behind Askew, there was a multi-car collision that eliminated the carsRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar & Road to Indy Writer Friday had two practice sessions and qualifications for the Verizon IndyCar Series in preparation for the INDYCAR Grand Prix and there was one constant on top of the time sheets. Will Power. The 2014 IndyCar champion won the pole for Saturday’s race and was fastest in both practice sessions. Behind him was anybody’s guess but usually it was a Team Penske duo behind him. In qualifying, it was Helio Castroneves and Josef Newgarden in second and third. Newgarden led Juan Pablo Montoya inRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar & Road to Indy Writer SPEEDWAY, Indiana- After earning his first Indy Lights victory at Barber Motorsports Park, Andretti Autosport driver Nico Jamin scored his second Indy Lights win of 2017 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course on Friday afternoon. Starting on pole, Jamin was able to keep ahead at the start and hold off teammate Colton Herta early in the race before managing a closing gap to Zachary Claman De Melo late in the going. For Claman De Melo, the start was abysmal. He fellRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar & Road to Indy Writer SPEEDWAY, Indiana — At the track where he made his Pro Mazda Championship presented by Cooper Tires debut two years ago, Victor Franzoni earned his first Pro Mazda win in dramatic fashion by out-dueling series points leader Anthony Martin. The Juncos Racing driver started on the pole but lost the lead at the start to Martin. The Cape Motorsports driver held the lead for the next few laps while Franzoni gradually closed the gap. On Lap 5, Franzoni got alongside Martin andRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar & Road to Indy Writer SPEEDWAY, Indiana — In what has become his trademark this year, Oliver Askew led from pole and won the first Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship powered by Mazda race of the weekend at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. At the start there was a three car incident between Parker Thompson, Kory Enders and Kris Wright, eliminating Enders and Wright on the spot and making Thompson pit for brief repairs. The race restarted with just under 12 minutes to go and Askew gotRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar & Road to Indy Writer Juncos Racing has announced that Spencer Pigot will pilot the No. 11 Chevrolet-powered entry in the 101st running of the Indianapolis 500. The Mazda Road to Indy stalwart team have decided to step up to running in the Indianapolis 500 this year ahead of a planned full time run in the Verizon IndyCar Series in 2018. Pigot has run for Juncos Racing for several seasons. He won the 2014 Pro Mazda title and was crowned Indy Lights champion in 2015 for Ricardo Juncos’sRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar & Road to Indy Writer Fernando Alonso completed his rookie test at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in preparation for the 101st running of the Indianapolis 500.  The Spaniard ran 110 laps with a fastest lap of 222.548 mph (40.4408 seconds). To get to that speed, however, the two-time Formula One World Champion had to pass his rookie orientation at Indianapolis by running 10 laps between 205-210 mph, 15 laps between 210-215 mph and then 15 laps over 215 mph. The minimum number of laps to complete is 40Read More

By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar & Road to Indy Writer BIRMINGHAM, Alabama- Starting 18th in a field of 21 cars on a track where passing is difficult doesn’t lend itself to a great day in the Verizon IndyCar Series. For Andretti Autosport’s Alexander Rossi, the No. 98 Honda found its way to finishing in fifth place at Sunday’s Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama thanks to some clever pit work. Under the first major green flag run of the race, Rossi made his first pit stop on Lap 14 from 19th position,Read More

By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar & Road to Indy Writer BIRMINGHAM, Alabama — Well, he certainly was the driver to watch at Barber Motorsports Park and Sunday proved it for Josef Newgarden as he won the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama, the third race in the 2017 Verizon IndyCar Series season. The newest driver at Team Penske, The Tennessee native considers Barber to be his home track, and by scoring his second win and third podium in the last three years at Barber, showed that he’s got the inside scoop onRead More