All posts by Luis Torres

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer INDIANAPOLIS – “Helio! Helio! Helio!” The Indianapolis Motor Speedway were chanting the name of Helio Castroneves, who won the 105th Indianapolis 500. In one of largest sports gathering since the pandemic, they witnessed history as Castroneves joined AJ Foyt, Al Unser, and Rick Mears as the only four-time Indy 500 winners. This triumph not only marked the 46-year-old’s first Indy 500 win in 12 years, but Meyer Shank Racing’s maiden INDYCAR victory. The organization that was once solely known for sports cars, showcased they gotRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer INDIANAPOLIS – “I tried everything. It hurts. But to be honest, it’s good to lose against probably one of the best. Well, it’s one of the best, probably the best. Yeah, it’s Helio.” Alex Palou indeed tried everything he could to get and fend off Helio Castroneves. But when Castroneves made the race-winning pass with two to go, Palou saw the Indy dream evaporate. As Castroneves brought home his fourth Indianapolis 500 victory, Palou wound up a crushing runner-up. “I didn’t expect that a secondRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer INDIANAPOLIS – What started off as a three-man rookie class, one man stood out throughout the Month of May. That man being Scott McLaughlin, who wins this year’s Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year honors. Far from an ideal race indeed, but the 20th place finisher will leave IMS with an accolade. His fellow rookie competitors Pietro Fittipaldi finished a lap down in 25th while RC Enerson failed to qualify. After the race McLaughlin described his Indy 500 debut as a “pretty awesome experience.” “ReallyRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer INDIANAPOLIS – A 1-2-3 finish at the Indianapolis 500. Never been done. Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing did score a first and a third in last year’s 500, won by Takuma Sato won. Graham Rahal got a career-equal result of third. Spencer Pigot on the other hand, had a noble run but his day was cut short after a violent Turn 4 crash. It ended the race, securing the other RLL competitors track positions. A P1 and P3 finish has been done in the past withRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer INDIANAPOLIS – If you were to ask Rick Mears about his racing career, you’ll learn right away he never dreamt about competing at Indianapolis. Racing happened to be a family recreation until a snowball effect kicked into high gear. Once retiring from racing in 1992, Mears was a four-time winner of the Indianapolis 500. Safe to say, he made a good living in racing. When he was strapping into multiple types of vehicles, Mears concentrated on what’s in front of him. Any distractions would driftRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer INDIANAPOLIS – No matter what happens in the 105th Indianapolis 500, Paretta Autosport are already making their mark in the NTT IndyCar Series. Simona De Silvestro may be piloting the No. 16 Rocket Pro TPO/MoneyLion Chevrolet, but the journey goes even further. The awe inspiring employees back at the shop, who spend countless hours preparing an Indy 500 machine, have their stories. For Lauren Sullivan and Chelsea Pechenino, their difference making mindsets have gotten them far into the engineering careers. Sullivan is the team’s AeroRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer INDIANAPOLIS – Rain may have put a damper at Indianapolis Motor Speedway Friday morning. 156 minutes later, the fans got to see the 33-car field partake on Carb Day for Sunday’s Indianapolis 500. Even if it was a cold one on a high 50-degree afternoon, there was plenty of action. The delayed two-hour session came to a close 10 minutes shy of completion due to rain. When it was over, the cold was felt all over IMS. That’s because Scott Dixon was fastest at 228.323Read More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer INDIANAPOLIS – Since 1965, the Andretti family name has become synonymous to Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Outside the years of 1979, 1996-2000, 2004-05, at least one has competed in the Indianapolis 500. Those keeping score, that’s 49 of out the last 58 years. For Marco Andretti, it’ll be his 16th start in The Greatest Spectacle in Racing, equaling his father Michael’s starts. This bears the question of how much longer until the Andretti name no longer competes at Indy as a driver? During Indy 500 MediaRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer INDIANAPOLIS – Carb Day is the final opportunity for 33 drivers getting their cars well-adjusted before Sunday’s 105th Indianapolis 500. As obvious as it sounds, there’s a wild card that’ll change everyone’s approach. This weekend’s weather conditions will be cooler as a cucumber. All throughout the Month of May, hot conditions were the total norm. Now, temperatures will be in the high 60s. It’s bound to create more grip on the 2.5-mile circuit, thus creating exciting racing. How do the competitors feel about the suddenRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer INDIANAPOLIS – Five races into the NTT IndyCar Series campaign, Arrow McLaren SP’s No. 7 team have struggled. This isn’t new for this particular squad. Last year, Oliver Askew was barely hanging onto the top-20 in points. This year, more of the same with Felix Rosenqvist. Only difference is that the Swede racer hasn’t quite sealed the deal. The pace has been there, but not the ideal results compared to last year. He was ninth in points after five races with Chip Ganassi Racing. PatoRead More