IndyCar Category

By Aaron Bearden, Contributing Writer Simon Pagenaud’s yellow Menards livery is already the brightest in the Verizon IndyCar Series paddock. But after another unfortunate run-in – this time on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course – the Frenchman fears he may need to resort to an even brighter hue for his No. 22 Chevrolet. “I guess my car isn’t bright enough,” Pagenaud joked after the race. “It seems like people keep running into it.” Pagenaud rolled off seventh in the INDYCAR Grand Prix, but quickly found himself mired at the back ofRead More

By Aaron Bearden, Contributing Writer Zachary Claman de Melo isn’t sure if he’ll be in the No. 19 Honda for the Indianapolis 500. But the rookie made his case for a Month of May drive with his best Verizon IndyCar Series performance to date on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. Claman de Melo avoided any on-track incidents and put together a consistent drive to earn a career-best 12th-place finish in Saturday’s INDYCAR Grand Prix. “I’m really happy with the result,” he told Motorsports Tribune. “We probably could have beenRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer INDIANAPOLIS — Scott Dixon did not have the best setup in his car for qualifying ahead of Saturday’s INDYCAR Grand Prix at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course and that showed when he ended up 18th on Friday. That result required a lot of car setup changes. “Dampers, springs, geometry, closed cambers, it was pretty much everything,” said Dixon. “I think we actually threw in a kitchen sink on most of them, too. It was definitely a lot of changes. There was no session we didn’tRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer INDIANAPOLIS — Alexander Rossi had to save critical amounts of fuel late in the INDYCAR Grand Prix at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course but it was a familiar experience as he brought his car home fifth. Starting eighth, Rossi managed to get to sixth on the opening lap thanks to Jordan King and Simon Pagenaud’s second turn incident. Passing James Hinchcliffe soon after the track went back to green, Rossi stayed fifth until the opening cycle of pit stops. After leading two laps, Rossi thenRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer INDIANAPOLIS — Helio Castroneves’s brief return to open wheel racing has so far been a success after the new sports car driver finished sixth in Saturday’s INDYCAR Grand Prix at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course as teammate Will Power scored Team Penske’s 200th IndyCar win. After an early stop, Castroneves was able to advance through the field on fresher tires as others pitted. “It was just like I never left, it was a great strategy from the team,” said Castroneves. “We started on the blacks,Read More

By INDYCAR INDIANAPOLIS – Will Power etched his name further into the INDYCAR Grand Prix record books while extending the legacy of team owner Roger Penske in Indy car history. Power won the Verizon IndyCar Series race on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course for the second straight year and third time overall – each victory coming from the pole position. Power’s triumph by 2.2443 seconds over Scott Dixon also marked Indy car win No. 200 for Team Penske, nearly double that of any other team. “It’s amazing,” said Power, driverRead More

By Aaron Bearden, Motorsports Editor Defending Verizon IndyCar Series champion Josef Newgarden seemed poised for another podium to open the Month of May at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Then the Tennessean did something that’s been rare for him in recent years. He made a mistake. Newgarden was battling Sebastien Bourdais for third on Lap 56 of the 85-lap INDYCAR Grand Prix when an ill-advised dive under the Frenchman in Turn 12 led the Team Penske ace into a spin that resulted in a full-course yellow and a drop to the back of the field.Read More

By Aaron Bearden, Contributing Writer Scott Dixon led the way in the morning warmup ahead of the fifth-annual INDYCAR Grand Prix at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Dixon’s top lap of 1:10.8157 stood .0214 seconds ahead of polesitter Will Power to lead the way in the final on-track session for the Verizon IndyCar Series ahead of this afternoon’s race. Ryan Hunter-Reay, Jordan King and Max Chilton rounded out the top five, with Tony Kanaan, Zachary Claman de Melo, Josef Newgarden, Sebastien Bourdais and Simon Pagenaud completing the top 10. Two cars found issue during the brief session. TheRead More

By INDYCAR INDIANAPOLIS – Will Power has been unbeatable at the INDYCAR Grand Prix when starting the Verizon IndyCar Series race from the pole position. The Team Penske driver is looking to make it 3-for-3 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course on Saturday after collecting the Verizon P1 Award in qualifying. Power, who won the race from the pole in 2015 and ’17, earned the first starting position for a third time with a lap of 1 minute, 9.8182 seconds (125.761 mph) in the Firestone Fast Six climactic roundRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer INDIANAPOLIS — Robert Wickens has been the rookie to beat in the 2018 Verizon IndyCar Series. The Canadian put his car on pole at the season-opener in St. Petersburg and qualified second for Saturday’s INDYCAR Grand Prix only behind Will Power. The No. 6 Lucas Oil Honda for Schmidt Peterson Motorsports qualified on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course with a lap of 1 minute, 9.9052 seconds for an average speed of 125.604 mph. Teammate James Hinchcliffe qualified fourth. “I’m a bit gutted with P2,” saidRead More