All posts by Luis Torres

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer SONOMA, California — It was a share of laughs and soaking in the greatest opportunity that a racer has worked their heart and soul for – reaching the highest ladder in American open wheel racing. That was the story behind Harding Racing teammates and INDYCAR debutants Colton Herta and Patricio O’Ward’s Friday press conference at Sonoma Raceway. The Road to Indy alumni were teammates at Andretti Autosport in Indy Lights, and just wrapped up an intense championship battle which wrapped up two weeks ago at PortlandRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer SONOMA, California — The answer is simple, it’ll take chaotic circumstances, and having a picture perfect weekend for championship contenders Alexander Rossi, Josef Newgarden and Will Power to prevent Scott Dixon from capturing his unprecedented fifth Verizon IndyCar Series championship at Sonoma Raceway. Among the three title chasers, Rossi is the closest to Dixon, trailing the points leader by 29 points and in many people’s eyes, the best among the three in terms of catching Dixon. Heading into Saturday, he has the most work to doRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer SONOMA, California — In attempt of keeping continuity at Ed Carpenter Racing, the owner-driver confirmed at Friday’s press conference at Sonoma Raceway that Spencer Pigot will retain his ride in the No. 21 Chevrolet for 2019, and debunked rumors by announcing that he’ll run on all five ovals on the IndyCar Series schedule. After spending the past two seasons sharing a ride with Carpenter, the former Indy Lights champion will wrap up first full-season Sunday, looking to continue has his second-half stride stride. Among his seasonRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer SONOMA, California — At this time last season at Sonoma Raceway, Andretti Autosport and Group One Thousand One reached an agreement with Zach Veach of Stockdale, Ohio on a full-time Verizon IndyCar Series deal. Fast forward to Friday morning’s press conference, where Veach and Group One Thousand One announced an exciting partnership expansion with EverFi, Inc., which will allow both entities to share their passion for education on a technology level across multiple markets. EverFi is a digital education company based in Washington D.C., and isRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Kasey Kahne will sit out the next three Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races, beginning in Sunday’s South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Also announced Tuesday was Regan Smith taking driving duties for Leavine Family Racing’s No. 95 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for at least those three events. The 18-time Cup winner sat out the Big Machine Vodka 400 at the Brickyard due to lingering heat exhaustion, the first time he’s ever missed a Cup race in his entire 15-year career. Smith finished onRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Fourteen rounds done, seven to go, and since my first installment, there’s been so many changes across all 10 Formula 1 constructors and its 20 drivers. A few would-be contenders have gone by the wayside like Fernando Alonso and Red Bull, and others have flourished after a quiet or abysmal opening leg such as Kimi Raikkonen and Haas F1. We even saw a hot mess behind closed doors, resulting a new constructor and have so far been tremendous. In my latest installment of “Heptagon Viewpoints,”Read More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer For the second time in the last four starts, Ryan Preece has failed to finish after crashing into the Turn 2 tire barriers in the Lilly Diabetes 250 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway Monday, resulting in a red flag. On the 80th lap, Preece restarted alongside Tyler Reddick in row three, but the inside lane got the push, and he couldn’t challenge Reddick. Therefore, his challenger became John Hunter Nemechek at the South Short Chute. Preece was able to get an advantage over Nemechek and was runningRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer There won’t be a playoff berth four-peat for the soon-to-be departing Chip Ganassi Racing driver Jamie McMurray. Needing a win to make the playoffs, McMurray was on the cusp of stealing a win, running inside the top-five, but had to settle for seventh in Monday’s Big Machine Vodka at the Brickyard at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the highest among drivers who failed to qualify for the postseason. The regular season finale saw its turning point on Lap 145 when McMurray stayed out for valuable track position, afterRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer For the first time in the history of the Brickyard 400, the defending champion won’t compete in the 160-lap contest. Due to lingering effects of extreme heat exhaustion from last Sunday’s Bojangles’ Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway in South Carolina, Leavine Family Racing announced Thursday that Kasey Kahne has been ruled out to compete in the No. 95 WRL General Contractors Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. Regan Smith has been tapped to replace Kahne at Indianapolis Motor Speedway for his first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series start thisRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer As a person who’s watched the Verizon IndyCar Series on a regular basis since 2007, I’ve always wondered what my INDYCAR experience would be like. This past weekend at Portland International Raceway, I had the privilege of covering the series return in the Pacific Northwest, but it also brought some flashbacks of my days at the University of Idaho. Compared to my first NASCAR race as a credentialed media member at Sonoma Raceway in June, my first-ever INDYCAR experience was like jumping into a big pound,Read More