IndyCar Category

By Aaron Bearden, Open Wheel Editor ELKHART LAKE, Wisconsin — Road America served as a true start to the second half of the 2018 Verizon IndyCar Series season, giving teams and drivers a chance to start fresh and make a statement for the ensuing seven races. Robert Wickens found himself facing the same dilemma he saw at the start of the year – an on-track incident with Alexander Rossi. The pair came together on the opening lap of Sunday’s Kohler Grand Prix, with Wickens getting the worst of it and dropping back afterRead More

By Aaron Bearden, Open Wheel Editor ELKHART LAKE, Wisconsin — Josef Newgarden was forced to keep challengers at bay throughout a caution-free 55 laps at Road America. He did so with ease. Newgarden surged to the early lead from pole and held the top spot through varying pit strategies to win Sunday’s Kohler Grand Prix. The victory was Newgarden’s 10th-career Verizon IndyCar Series win, and his third triumph of 2018. It also served as a healthy dose of redemption for the Tennessean after falling just short of victory at Road America in 2017.Read More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer ELKHART LAKE, Wisconsin — Ryan Hunter-Reay was the fastest Honda during qualifying ahead of Sunday’s Kohler Grand Prix but that wasn’t good enough to get him on the front row at Road America for the tenth race in the 2018 Verizon IndyCar Series season. The No. 28 DHL Honda was second fastest in the first group of knockout qualifying, only bested by Andretti Autosport teammate Alexander Rossi. Rossi would set the fastest time in the second round of knockout qualifying while Hunter-Reay would be third fastestRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer ELKHART LAKE, Wisconsin — Robert Wickens has not raced at Road America since 2007 but the Verizon IndyCar Series rookie didn’t look like he was out of place as he pushed his No. 6 Lucas Oil Honda to fifth position in qualifying for Sunday’s Kohler Grand Prix. Fifth was the number of the day for the Canadian. Wickens was fifth in his group during the first round of qualifying and repeated that performance in the second round to advance to the Firestone Fast Six. “I thoughtRead More

By Aaron Bearden, Open Wheel Editor Josef Newgarden will lead the Verizon IndyCar Series field to green in Sunday’s Kohler Grand Prix at Road America. Newgarden survived to the Fast Six and bested Team Penske teammate Will Power with a time of 1:42.2026 to claim the Verizon P1 Award in IndyCar qualifying from Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. The result was Newgarden’s third pole of 2018, giving him more poles this season than in his six prior years of IndyCar competition combined. “It’s nice when you have the car to do it,” Newgarden said afterward.Read More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer ELKHART LAKE, Wisconsin — Friday has come and gone for the Kohler Grand Prix and the Verizon IndyCar Series and its support ladder had many interesting tidbits coming out of Road America. Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden topped both practice sessions with an overall Friday best lap of 1 minute, 42.6279 seconds for an average speed of 140.804 mph. However, behind Newgarden in each session were a large amount of Hondas ready to pounce on the defending series champion. Honda had four of the top five positionsRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer ELKHART LAKE, WI — Alfonso Celis Jr. is making his Verizon IndyCar Series debut in Sunday’s Kohler Grand Prix at Road America but the Mexican racer found that the tire barriers are unforgiving. The No. 32 Juncos Racing Chevrolet found a new home against the Turn 13 tire barrier after Celis pushed hard to find extra time during his fourth lap of Friday’s second practice session. The resulting contact broke off the rear wing and damaged the car’s suspension. Celis had tested at the 4.048 mileRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer After a much-needed week off, the Verizon IndyCar Series returns to Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin for the tenth race in the 2018 schedule, the KOHLER Grand Prix. Road America made a welcome return to the IndyCar calendar in 2016 and has quickly become one of the largest race day crowds on the schedule. Will Power and Scott Dixon have won the last two races at Road America and both have twice visited victory lane this year. Power swept the Indianapolis Motor Speedway rounds ofRead More

By Josh Farmer, Contributing Journalist Racing is a moving target. You might hit close to the bullseye a few times, but often you find yourself collecting points around the dartboard. Enter Texas Motor Speedway, which has been one of the hardest marks for the Verizon IndyCar Series to hit since switching to the Dallara DW-12/V6 Turbocharged engine package 2012. Also, throw in the track’s resurfacing and reconfiguration which saw the banking in  Turns 1 and 2 reduced from 24 to 20 degrees and you have a challenge to nail downRead More

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor IndyCar has struggled to get the balance right at Texas Motor Speedway since the advent of the DW12 six years ago. Races have alternated from frenetic pack racing to strung out fields with little passing. Last year’s race was the most intense and out of control I’ve ever personally witnessed after years of enjoying IndyCar at TMS. With the arrival of the universal aerokit for 2018, expectations were high that IndyCar might finally rediscover their mojo on the high banked 1.5 mile oval. Yet after practiceRead More