All posts by Luis Torres

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer MONTEREY, California – Felix Rosenqvist being justifiably upset was an understatement at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. After being the fastest man during Saturday’s final practice, the NTT IndyCar Series Rookie of the Year points leader faced a controversial penalty in Group 2 of qualifying. Rosenqvist’s No. 10 NTT Data Honda was given a penalty which resulted his two fastest laps that would’ve advance him into the next round revoked due to causing a local yellow and impeding another competitor’s lap. As a result, he would haveRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer MONTEREY, California – There’s a new Indy Lights team in town and it’s the prestigious squad out of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada known as Exclusive Autosport. The successful developmental team announced Saturday at WeatherTech Laguna Seca that they’ll be running in three Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires (USF2000, Indy Pro 2000 and Indy Lights) divisions in 2020. Their expansion into Lights was possible after acquiring a Dallara IL-15 chassis and their new red and white livery will debut at the Chris Griffis Memorial Test atRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer MONTEREY, California – Felix Rosenqvist will head into the final qualifying session Saturday afternoon with tremendous optimism after setting the fastest time of final practice for the Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. The NTT IndyCar Series Rookie of the Year points leader set a time of 1:10.4065, beating the Team Penske trio of Josef Newgarden, Will Power and Simon Pagenaud as the last 45-minute session was chaotic. Although no stoppages occurred, several drivers struggled finding the perfect lap at the 2.238-mileRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer MONTEREY, California – Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing announced Saturday that Takuma Sato will stay with the team in 2020. Sato’s 2019 season has no doubt been his strongest of his 10-year NTT IndyCar Series career, scoring wins at Barber Motorsports Park and World Wide Technology Raceway, the most he’s won in a season. In addition to his victories, he has two more podiums to his name and led the field to the green flag twice at Barber and Texas Motor Speedway, which has played an intricateRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer MONTEREY, California – In the closing minutes of Friday afternoon’s practice, Ryan Hunter-Reay maximized his red compound Firestone tires to set a scorching time of 1:09.9105, putting him on top of the board at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. Hunter-Reay dethroned rookie points leader Felix Rosenqvist by 0.0200 seconds and when comparing his No. 28 DHL Honda after Thursday’s two test sessions, Hunter-Reay felt better about it but his concern shifted towards the tricky nature of the 2.238-mile circuit. His goal is to avoid making any mistakesRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer MONTEREY, California – The three NTT IndyCar Series Rookie of the Year title contenders swept Friday morning’s practice charts at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca with Colton Herta being both fastest and snake bitten by “The Corkscrew” to close out the 45-minute session. Herta’s time of 1:10.7335 was just 0.0719 seconds faster than rookie points leader Felix Rosenqvist. Santino Ferrucci rounds out the top-three as he was 0.1502 seconds behind. In the closing seconds of practice, Herta’s rear of his No. 88 Capstone Turbine Corporation Honda lockedRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer MONTEREY, California – From second fastest in Thursday morning’s two-hour testing session to fastest in the four-hour afternoon session, 19-year-old Colton Herta once again got people noticing his raw talent. This time being at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca where he set the top overall time of 1:10.0720, out performing Will Power by 0.4663 seconds. The rookie felt he was able to get a proper feel on the Firestone tires which was his goal in the combined six-hour session. “It means a lot. We’re all trying to goRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer MONTEREY, California – For the second straight year, Andretti Autosport’s Ryan Hunter-Reay could play a major role on the NTT IndyCar Series championship despite being seventh in points. That’s because his teammate Alexander Rossi is one of four drivers competing for the championship in Sunday’s Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. Last year at Sonoma Raceway, Rossi lost the title battle while Hunter-Reay finally captured that elusive victory. It proved to be a huge deal for Hunter-Reay coming out of “Wine Country”Read More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer First seven rounds of the 2019 Formula One World Championship – underwhelming to the bordeom. Last seven rounds however – sheer utter chaos with minimal boredom. From the rise of Charles Leclerc at Spa and Monza to the beautiful rally by Max Verstappen at Hockenheim. There was a lot to digest during the second leg of the F1 campaign and it’s time to recap my seven most memorable moments. The Instant Classic That Was Hockenheim I’ve already said it awhile back, but the German Grand PrixRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Like many racing fans across the country, I saw the NASCAR documentary Blink of an Eye, which is based on the 2011 autobiography about Michael Waltrip, at my movie theater which is literally a two-minute walk from home. After the roller coaster ride about Waltrip’s career leading up to the ill fated 2001 Daytona 500 and the aftermath of Dale Earnhardt’s death, I hate to be that guy, but the Paul Taulieb film had several production flaws. Let’s begin with audio. It started with the tragicRead More