IndyCar Category

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer INDIANAPOLIS — Friday practice for the Verizon IndyCar Series concluded in preparation for Saturday’s INDYCAR Grand Prix at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course and Will Power is the man to beat. The No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet topped the time sheet in both sessions with a fastest lap of 1 minute, 10.0866 seconds in the first session. Andretti Autosport’s Alexander Rossi was second in the No. 27 NAPA Auto Parts Honda while the Ed Carpenter Racing rookie Jordan King was third in the No.Read More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer INDIANAPOLIS — Thursday has come and gone for the 2018 INDYCAR Grand Prix weekend at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course and despite all the on track action being devoted to the Mazda Road to Indy, the Verizon IndyCar Series had some news of its own. Alfonso Celis announced that he would be racing an Indy car for Juncos Racing at Road America. Celis raced at Barber Motorsports Park for Juncos Racing in Indy Lights, finishing seventh and eighth in his two races. Zachary Claman DeRead More

By Aaron Bearden, Contributing Writer Alfonso Celis Jr. is set for his Verizon IndyCar Series debut. Juncos Racing announced Thursday that Celis, 21, will pilot their No. 32 Chevrolet in the June 24 Kohler Grand Prix at Road America. As a result, the Mexican driver will forego the rest of his scheduled Indy Lights season. “Although this comes as a surprise for our Indy Lights team, this is another step forward with our IndyCar program,” Junos Racing owner Ricardo Juncos said. “Alfonso (Celis Jr.) has proved he is ready to make this moveRead More

By Aaron Bearden, Contributing Writer Zachary Claman de Melo will be back in the No. 19 Paysafe Honda for Dale Coyne Racing (DCR) at Indianapolis Motor Speedway – at least for the road course race. DCR announced Thursday that Claman de Melo will replace the injured Pietro Fittipaldi in this weekend’s INDYCAR Grand Prix, adding an additional race to the Canadian’s schedule after three prior starts this season. He was originally slated to be out of the car until Detroit. The call-up comes after Fittipaldi was injured in a qualifying crash forRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer INDIANAPOLIS — Ed Jones has had a lot of changes in his time in the Verizon IndyCar Series. After spending his rookie 2017 Verizon IndyCar Series season with Dale Coyne Racing, the 2016 Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires champion signed with Chip Ganassi Racing for the 2018 season. Instead of working with four time champion Sebastien Bourdais, now four time champion Scott Dixon takes up the teammate role. “Obviously they both work tremendously hard and have a huge amount of experience and know exactly whatRead More

By Josh Farmer, Contributing Writer Dale Coyne Racing driver Pietro Fittipaldi suffered “suspected fractures to both legs” in a substantial crash during qualifying for this weekend’s FIA World Endurance Championship event at Circuit Spa-Francorchamps. The 21-year-old Brazillian lost control of his No. 10 DragonSpeed BR1 Gibson LMP1 while entering Spa’s famed “Eau Rouge” section and crashed heavily into the tire barriers. The incident forced a 35-minute delay to on-track activities as Fittipaldi was extricated from his car and taken to the track’s medical center before being airlifted to a local hospital.Read More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer INDIANAPOLIS — With the beginning of the Month of May comes rookie orientation for the four that will attempt to qualify for the 102nd Running of the Indianapolis 500 on May 27th and the accompanying veteran refresher tests for those attempting to qualify at Indianapolis that don’t compete full time in the Verizon IndyCar Series. Rookie orientation consists of three speed phases with 10 laps between 205-210 mph, 15 laps between 210-215 mph and another 15 laps above 215 mph. The laps do not have toRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer INDIANAPOLIS — In the first official test day ahead of the 2018 Indianapolis 500, Tony Kanaan set the fastest speed with a lap of 226.181 mph in the late afternoon. Behind the A.J. Foyt Racing driver in the second session was Team Penske’s Simon Pagenaud, Andretti Autosport’s Marco Andretti and Harding Racing’s Gabby Chaves. In the morning test, Andretti was quickest with a lap of 223.997 mph ahead of defending Indianapolis 500 winner Takuma Sato and 2008 Indianapolis 500 champion Scott Dixon. This was the firstRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief The Verizon IndyCar Series is four races into their 2018 season and the universal aero kit has elevated the spectacle with improved passing and elevated the overall racing product by putting the car back into the drivers’ hands. Marco Andretti (Andretti-Herta Autosport), Scott Dixon (Chip Ganassi Racing), Graham Rahal (Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing) and rookie Robert Wickens (Schmidt Peterson Motorsports) are among those that have enjoyed a solid start to the year and break down why the new car is such a game-changer for the sport. OurRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer BIRMINGHAM, Alabama — Ryan Hunter-Reay has a hit or miss relationship with Barber Motorsports Park and during the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama, the Floridian came out of Monday’s conclusion with a second-place finish. The 2013 and 2014 Barber winner started fourth which became third after Will Power hydroplaned on the main straight and crashed on Lap 16. The race was postponed to Monday following Lap 22. When racing resumed Monday, the No. 28 Andretti Autosport DHL Honda remained in third until pitting on LapRead More