All posts by Joey Barnes

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief The roster of talented drivers for Team Penske in both the Verizon IndyCar Series and Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series prepared for a race of their own this week and it involved marshmallows and saying the words “chubby bunny.” It is as hilarious as it sounds as IndyCar drivers Helio Castroneves, Will Power, Simon Pagenaud and Josef Newgarden were more than up to the task against NASCAR’s trio of Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney. All in good fun as Easter is coming up, butRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief FORT WORTH, Texas – Texas Motor Speedway’s repave and reconfiguration are officially complete and on Monday, both NASCAR and IndyCar joined in on the fun. The 1.5-mile oval began the process in January with the aim to add extensive draining to help with its irrigation issues that plagued it the past few years. None more apparent than last year when IndyCar underwent a 70-plus day red flag rain delay, with the race being completed on August 27 in a thriller won by Graham Rahal by justRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief There are times in motorsports that you just need to sit back and appreciate the moment. Yesterday, we witnessed one of racing’s greatest champions remind the world of his capabilities and put everyone on notice that he’s still one of the best to ever compete in an Indy car. Every headline imaginable that would be perfect for a Hollywood movie took place on the streets of St. Petersburg. The ‘little team’ at Dale Coyne Racing that reunited a decade old all-star team and a former four-timeRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief One of the most talked about newcomers to the Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires series, Colton Herta, paced the final few minutes of qualifying en route to his maiden pole for the second race of the St. Petersburg doubleheader weekend. The driver of the No. 98 Andretti-Steinbrenner Racing Mazda set a time of 1 minute, 06.5465 seconds. Last year’s championship runner-up, Santi Urrutia, will start alongside Herta in his No. 5 Belardi Auto Racing Mazda/Dallara IL-15. Dalton Kellett occupies the third spot with rookie PatoRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Pato O’Ward will see his Mazda Road to Indy career continue for at least one more round as Team Pelfrey confirmed him in Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires for spring training test at Homestead-Miami Speedway and the St. Petersburg season opener on March 10-12. The 17-year-old Mexican raced for Team Pelfrey last season, finishing runner-up in the Pro Mazda Championship presented by Cooper Tires to then-teammate Aaron Telitz. O’Ward has enjoyed phenomenal success over the off-season, having claimed a Rolex 24 at Daytona win inRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Kimi Raikkonen put Ferrari at the top of the timesheets of day two of testing at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. The 37-year-old Finn logged 108 total laps with the SF70H on Tuesday, with his best clocked at 1:20.960 – edging out Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton by 0.023 of a second. One significant note is that Raikkonen scored his best lap on the soft compound Pirelli tires, while Hamilton, who put in 66 laps, put his lap in on the super-soft compound. Valtteri Bottas split time with HamiltonRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Michael Waltrip had a puncher’s chance and gave it his best shot on Sunday. The two-time Daytona 500 champion announced last month that the 59th edition of ‘The Great American Race’ would be his last in Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series competition. However in his 30th appearance of the event, the 53-year-old Kentucky native made the most the moment and drove to an impressive 8th place finish at the same track that broke his 462-race winless streak. After starting the day in 30th,Waltrip avoided disaster in theRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief The final team to launch their 2017 Formula 1 car, Scuderia Toro Rosso certainly did not disappoint. The Faenza-based outfit unveiled the STR12 on pit lane at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya with a new livery concept that features mostly blue and silver, complimented with a hint of red. One of the biggest changes for upcoming season at Toro Rosso is the power unit, which switches from Ferrari to Renault – similar to that of senior team Red Bull Racing. At first glance, the STR12 sees similarities toRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Readying for their sophomore campaign, Haas F1 Team have revealed their 2017 challenger to the Formula 1 grid with the VF-17. Electing to showcase their second ever car via online on Sunday following filming day at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya the day prior, the VF-17 features a darker livery than last year’s model. The chassis is built by Italian manufacturer Dallara and features a thumb-like nose with sidepods similar to that of Ferrari’s SF70H, but slightly less aggressive as the main opening doesn’t have as deep ofRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief A tripleheader of launches on Sunday kicked off with Red Bull Racing officially showcasing its 2017 Formula 1 challenger – the RB13. The Milton Keynes-based team has put a hit out on Mercedes with its latest creation, having shown an aggressive design that features a sharkfin, common on every team’s new car minus Mercedes (although they are still debating the T-wing concept and sharkfin). However, what makes the RB13 unique is the slot opening in the tip of the nose. The Christian Horner-led squad took toRead More