All posts by Motorsports Tribune

By Road to Indy A little more than a month after the conclusion of a hard-fought 2017 season, teams and drivers from all three levels of the Mazda Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires will officially begin preparations for the 2018 campaign this weekend. At least 40 drivers representing more than 16 nations and 11 different teams will grasp an opportunity to drive on the 2.439-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway Grand Prix road course located in Speedway, Ind., during the seventh annual Chris Griffis Memorial Test on October 21/22. TheRead More

Schmidt Peterson Motorsports announced today its lineup for the 2018 Verizon IndyCar Series season. Oakville, Ontario native James Hinchcliffe has renewed his contract with the Indianapolis-based team in a multi-year extension, and the 2011 IndyCar Rookie of the Year’s teammate will be countryman and friend Robert Wickens, a native of Guelph. The duo marks the first all-Canadian lineup in North American open-wheel racing since 2004 (Champ Car; Forsythe Racing: Paul Tracy, Patrick Carpentier). “Not only am I really excited to be able to say I’ll be back with SPM for nextRead More

By Road to Indy The Mazda Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires today unveiled its 2018 calendar of events. The most effective driver development program in the world with over $3.5M in scholarships and awards on offer will continue its momentum at premier road course, street circuit and oval venues in support of the Verizon IndyCar Series. The highly acclaimed platform – comprised of Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires, the Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires and the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda – willRead More

The 2017 Formula One season has been one of the more intense as fans have enjoyed a battle between Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel, two well established titans of the past decade. However, with Ferrari’s recent struggles, all looks lost for Vettel to wage a proper battle. The group weighs in on that, plus several other topics as this weekend’s United States Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas draws ever closer. The obvious question first, with Lewis Hamilton’s lead of 59 points over Sebastian Vettel and a collapsing FerrariRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service TALLADEGA, Ala. – On the Longest Day at Talladega—in a war of attrition that required three red flags and left 14 cars running at the finish—Brad Keselowski powered his No. 2 Team Penske Ford past the No. 31 Chevrolet of Ryan Newman on the final lap to win Sunday’s Alabama 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. Two laps after the final restart on Lap 186 of 188, Keselowski and teammate Joey Logano ganged up on Newman, who held the runner-up position after Keselowski shot past him. TrevorRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service TALLADEGA, Ala. – The massive wreck in Turn 1 that gobbled up a pack of trucks in overtime at Talladega Superspeedway spared a part-time driver with one win on his career resume and a lower-budget team fighting for the final spot in the Round of 6 of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series’ Playoff. The part-timer, Parker Kligerman, charged to the front past pole winner, series leader and race runner-up Christopher Bell after the final restart and had the lead in Saturday’s Fred’s 250Read More

By INDYCAR Consistency and stability, plus the return of a favored track in the Pacific Northwest, highlight INDYCAR’s announcement of the 2018 Verizon IndyCar Series schedule that again contains 17 races. Sixteen of the 17 races from this year’s exciting and momentum-building season return in 2018, with most falling in the same spot on the calendar to further capitalize on their date equity. The newcomer to next year’s schedule is Portland International Raceway, which hosted Indy car races under CART and Champ Car sanction from 1984-2007, including what is stillRead More

Frank Santoroski and the Drafting the Circuits panel — Joey Barnes, Gray Warren & Richard Youden — breaks down Charlotte, previews Talladega, and has an in-depth debate regarding the pluses and minuses of the F1 safety car. Credits: Host – Frank Santoroski DTC Panel – Joey Barnes, Gray Warren, & Richard Youden Producers – Anthony Arnold & Keith Hayes Special thanks to Whoobazoo for hosting the DTC Podcast. Social Media: Follow DTC on Facebook Follow DTC on Twitter Follow Whoobazoo on Twitter Note: Also heard on iHeartRadio and iTunes.Read More

By Road to Indy The map of Belardi Auto Racing’s 2017 Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires season might just look like a Richter Scale, with spectacular highs and punishing lows punctuating the year. In the end the team and its three drivers – Shelby Blackstock, Santiago Urrutia and Aaron Telitz – came back from numerous adversities to take four victories and 14 podium finishes, earning their first team championship. The Indy Lights team is at the heart of its program but Brian Belardi admits that his thoughts have begunRead More

By Indianapolis Motor Speedway Bill Puterbaugh, the 1975 Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year, passed away Monday, Oct. 9 at his home on the west side of Indianapolis. He was 81. Puterbaugh, who was originally from Roxana, Illinois, and raced out of the St. Louis area for several years until moving to Indianapolis in the late 1960s, made three consecutive Indianapolis 500 starts from 1975-77. He was very proud of the fact that he never dropped out of one. After placing seventh as a rookie in the rain-shortened 1975 race,Read More