All posts by Joey Barnes

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Action Express Racing took the overall victory for the 56th Running of the Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona, setting a new distance record for the event in the process. The trio of Filipe Albuquerque, Christian Fittipaldi and Joao Barbosa crossed the finish line with a total of 808 laps with their No. 5 Cadillac Dpi-V.R., which was enough to beat the current configuration’s previous record of 762 laps set in 1992. When the race began to settle in, it looked to be a contest between bothRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Force India and Sauber have withdrawn their anti-competitive complaints with the European Union. The first course of action from the two Formula 1 teams dated back to 2015, with grievances that alleged over unequal distribution of revenue, as well as the structure of the Strategy Group. Both teams have been encouraged by meetings with Liberty Media, which led to the dropped issue. The joint release can be seen below. — We have decided to withdraw the complaint we lodged with the European Commission in 2015 onRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Mercedes has revealed its plans to continue to support Pascal Wehrlein for the upcoming season despite not finding a place on the 2018 Formula 1 grid. The 23-year-old German captured the DTM championship in 2015, which helped elevate him in the Mercedes program and into a seat at Manor the following year. He managed to score Manor’s only point of the season with a 10th-place effort in the Austrian Grand Prix. Moving to Sauber in 2017, Wehrlein wasn’t able to contend a Grand Prix until theRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Juncos Racing have confirmed that its partnership with Chevrolet will carry forward into the 2018 Verizon IndyCar Series season. Kyle Kaiser, who captured the Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires championship with Juncos, is set to make his debut at ISM Raceway (formerly known as Phoenix International Raceway) as part of a four race effort for the upcoming season. Other events include the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, Indianapolis Grand Prix and 102nd Indianapolis 500 presented by PennGrade Motor Oil. The team will also runRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Keeping with tradition, Texas Motor Speedway has once again brought innovation to the fan experience. The 1.5-mile oval will be starting construction to create an area designated as the Restart BAR Zone Club, which will be located at the beginning of the dogleg on the frontstretch. The expectation is that the new indoor/outdoor lounge will be ready for use for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series comes to town April 6-8. The development comes roughly a year after the facility elected to undergo a reconfiguration andRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief In what has become a consistent series of unfortunate circumstances, the future of the Italian Grand Prix at Monza is once again in doubt. One of the most revered events on the calendar, the Italian circuit is the oldest and among the most historic in Formula 1. A three-year deal was agreed upon after lengthy negotiations in 2016 between Autombile Club of Milan, which own the circuit, and former F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone. Although its race date for 2018 is safe, political obstacles have endangered theRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Team Penske announced they have extended their partnership with Hitachi for the 2018 Verizon IndyCar Series campaign. A featured sponsor for the past five years with three-time Indianapolis 500 champion Helio Castroneves, Hitachi will move over to the No. 1 Chevrolet piloted by defending series champion Josef Newgarden for eight races for the upcoming season. Hitachi will also remain as an associate sponsor for Team Penske’s other entries – Simon Pagenaud, Will Power and No. 3 of Castroneves for his return in the 102nd Running ofRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Ferrari has revealed the signing of Daniil Kvyat as a development driver ahead of the 2018 Formula 1 season. The 23-year-old Russian moves over to the Italian squad after a difficult journey with Red Bull Racing and Toro Rosso. In 2014, Kvyat impressed with Toro Rosso before getting the call to the senior team the following season. However, in 2016 he was dropped back to Red Bull’s junior team in favor of Max Verstappen after the fourth race. Unfortunately, the demotions would continue in 2017 asRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief INDYCAR revealed that Kyle Novak will take over as race director for the Verizon IndyCar Series. In November, Brian Barnhart left the position to take over as President of Harding Racing, which competed in a part-time capacity in North America’s premier open wheel tour last season but is aiming for a full season campaign in 2018. Novak has spent time previously in a similar role during his time with IMSA, with various other endeavors within other frames of motorsports. The full release by INDYCAR can beRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Sahara Force India revealed that Nicholas Latifi has signed on as a reserve and test driver ahead of the 2018 Formula 1 season. The 22-year-old Canadian comes off an admirable Formula 2 (formerly GP2 Series) campaign last season, winning at Silverstone and bagging nine podium finishes en route to fifth in the championship standings with DAMS. Latifi was a test driver for Renault last season, notably completing over 200km when called upon for his first outing in a post-race session in Hungary. According to the teamRead More