All posts by Josh Farmer

By Josh Farmer, IndyCar Reporter AVONDALE, Ariz. – Cast off, gloves on. JR Hildebrand is glad to be back this weekend at Phoenix Raceway. Hildebrand was forced to sit out last week’s Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama after he broke his left hand in a last-lap accident with Mikhail Aleshin at the 43rd Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach three weeks ago. If breaking a bone in his left hand wasn’t bad enough, the incident came just three months into his full-time return to the Verizon IndyCar Series. “It’sRead More

By Josh Farmer, IndyCar Reporter AVONDALE, Ariz. – Helio Castroneves rose to the occasion and claimed his second straight pole for the Desert Diamond West Valley Phoenix Grand Prix at the Phoenix Raceway. Driving the No. 3 REV Group Team Penske Chevrolet, the Brazillian pulled off a blistering fast 194.905 mph two-lap average to claim his 49th career Indy car pole. By doing so, Castroneves eclipsed his previous single lap track record of 19.0997 with an even quicker lap of 18.8701 seconds (194.975 mph). Castroneves was a clear .1728 secondsRead More

By Josh Farmer, IndyCar Reporter INDYCAR revealed the first fully rendered images of the 2018 universal body kit for the Verizon IndyCar Series next season. This comes just two weeks removed from the announcement that engine manufacturers Honda and Chevrolet as well as tire supplier Firestone announced that they would remain with the series as part of a multi-year agreement. The car features a more traditional streamlined Indy Car look compared to the aero kit and the Dallara DW12 bodywork. The turbo intakes have been moved to the sidepods which now leaves anRead More

By Josh Farmer, IndyCar Reporter Will Power logged the quickest lap of today’s Verizon IndyCar Series open test at Barber Motorsports Park during a wild final hour. With the help of the push-to-pass, the driver of the No. 12 Verizon Chevrolet and two-time Barber winner led a flurry of activity and unseated Max Chilton in the final seconds of the test with a blistering lap of 1 minute 07.7518 seconds around the 2.38-mile road course. The lap was nearly a half second quicker than Takuma Sato’s fast time posted in theRead More

By Josh Farmer, IndyCar Reporter With his win in last Sunday’s Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, Sebastien Bourdais has put himself in a unique category in recent Verizon IndyCar Series history. The win, his 36th all-time which moved him up to sixth on the all-time list ahead of Bobby Unser, makes the Frenchman the only driver to have won each year since 2014. Although the season just started, so there is time for others to catch up. Bourdais won four straight Champ Car championships from 2004-07. Despite not finding theRead More

By Josh Farmer, IndyCar Reporter The Hyatt hotel chain announced they will once again serve as an associate sponsor for Graham Rahal in the Verizon IndyCar Series. Rahal’s No. 15 Honda will feature branding from Hyatt’s loyalty program – World of Hyatt starting at this weekend’s season opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. The World of Hyatt program allows users to earn free nights to be used at any of the company’s 698 properties across 56 countries. “We’re excited to be working with World of Hyatt for a second seasonRead More

By Josh Farmer, IndyCar Reporter Age: 32 Years in IndyCar: 6 Wins: 9 Podiums: 20 Career Laps led: 718 2016-17 Team: Team Penske Simon Pagenaud has emerged as one of the sport’s greats after winning  2017 Verizon IndyCar Series championship. Coming off a less than stellar finish of 11th in the 2015 points in his debut season for Team Penske, the Frenchman was unstoppable right from the green flag at St. Petersburg. Three straight wins at Long Beach, Barber and the IndyCar Grand Prix on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway RoadRead More

By Josh Farmer, IndyCar Reporter Simon Pagenaud is ready to attack and defend his crown when the Verizon IndyCar Series gets back in action on the Streets of St. Petersburg this weekend. Six months removed from winning his first title, Pagenaud has a feeling of satisfaction of clearing this hurdle in his career. “It has been a relief,” he said. “It also helped me grow into a different position mentally. I feel a lot more clear in my head because I’m not stressing about getting my first championship. “We alwaysRead More

By Josh Farmer, IndyCar Reporter Age: 36 Years in IndyCar: 10 Wins: 29 Podiums: 55 Career Laps led: 3069 2016-17 Team: Team Penske Will Power’s 2016 Verizon IndyCar Series campaign proved that no matter the circumstance, you can never bet against him. The driver of the No. 12 Verizon Chevrolet for Team Penske rebounded from missing the season opener at St. Petersburg due to an inner ear infection to nearly steal the championship away from teammate Simon Pagenaud. A win at Detroit on June fifth kicked off a six-race hotRead More

By Josh Farmer, IndyCar Reporter Age: 41 Years in IndyCar: 19 Wins: 29 Podiums: 90 Career Laps led: 5595 2016-17 Team: Team Penske Consistency and level-headedness defined Helio Castroneves in the 2016 Verizon IndyCar Series. Although the Brazilian went winless for the second straight season, he still was one of the competitive forces to be reckoned with. He finished inside the top 10 nine times and qualified in the top 10 14 out of 16 races. Only his teammate and eventual champion Simon Pagenaud had a better qualifying average. OtherRead More