IndyCar Category

By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar & Road to Indy Writer Ed Carpenter Racing’s eponymous team owner has a pretty successful business model. After driving the teams’ sole car in 2012 and 2013, Carpenter contested the ovals in 2014, ceding the road and street courses to Mike Conway. After spending 2015 rebranded as CFH Racing thanks to a merger with Sarah Fisher and Wink Hartman, 2016 brought Spencer Pigot on to contest the road and street courses opposite Carpenter’s oval efforts in the No. 20 Fuzzy’s Ultra Premium Vodka Chevrolet. The team wouldRead More

 By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar & Road to Indy Writer INDIANAPOLIS — After a topsy-turvy race that saw two of his teammates eliminated before the finish and himself a lap down early, Max Chilton led the most laps en route to a fourth place finish at the 101st Indianapolis 500. Chilton was a lap down right before the savage incident that eliminated teammate and pole sitter Scott Dixon but was able to get back onto the lead lap when the lead lap cars pitted. The former F1 driver managed to grab theRead More

By Frank Santoroski, Staff Writer This coming weekend the Verizon IndyCar Series will return to the Raceway on Belle Isle for the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix, continuing the 2017 season. The race weekend will be the only double-header of the season featuring two full races. The event is slated for June 2-4, 2017. About the Race The Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix comprises rounds seven and eight of seventeen for the Verizon IndyCar Series in 2017.  The races are held on a temporary street circuit, two of five such races onRead More

By Frank Santoroski, Staff Writer The Month of May 2017 has now come and gone. Andretti Autosport’s Takuma Sato will see his image added to the Borg-Warner Trophy after coming home victorious in the 101st Indianapolis 500 presented by PennGrade Motor Oil. Let’s take a look back at some of the highlights. 1 ) A Popular Win  Sometimes you hear the saying, “It couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy,” and that holds true in this case. Sato is certainly one of the nicest guys in the paddock, despite thatRead More

 By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar & Road to Indy Writer INDIANAPOLIS — Chip Ganassi Racing’s Tony Kanaan had one of the more interesting races of guys who finished in the top five during the 101st Indianapolis 500. Kanaan led 22 laps early, hit debris in an accident, and had two teammates retire. But the 2013 Indianapolis 500 winner managed to come home fifth despite the challenges he faced. “I think we did okay. We had a damaged car, Kanaan said. “After one of the crashes I ran over some of the debrisRead More

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor After an incredible rookie performance at Indianapolis Motor Speedway this May, two time F1 Champion Fernando Alonso’s Indy 500 and Triple Crown dream ground to a halt with a late race engine failure this afternoon. Alonso led the race multiple times, for 27 laps, and had the highest average speed before his Honda engine let go as he was running in seventh place with 21 laps to go. He immediately pulled off and was greeted by a standing ovation from the 300,000 strong crowd when heRead More

By INDYCAR INDIANAPOLIS – Five years ago, Takuma Sato saw victory at the Indianapolis 500 slip through his grasp. Today, the driver who lives by the motto “no attack, no chance” took hold of opportunity and never let go. Sato won the 101st Indianapolis 500 presented by PennGrade Motor Oil by 0.2011 of a second over three-time winner Helio Castroneves. It is Sato’s second Verizon IndyCar Series win — the other coming at Long Beach in 2013 — and goes down as the sixth-closest finish in Indianapolis 500 history. “UnbelievableRead More

 By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar & Road to Indy Writer INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana — Jay Howard was being lapped by Ryan Hunter-Reay on Lap 53 when he hit the wall exiting Turn 1. His steering damaged, Howard’s car went across the track into the path of polesitter Scott Dixon, launching the 2008 Indianapolis 500 winner into the catch fencing on top of the inside wall with the rear of the car impacting first. The damage caused by the incident caused a red flag on Lap 55 at 1:09 pm with engines re-fired atRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar & Road to Indy Writer INDIANAPOLIS— A rookie team with a second year driver in the Indianapolis 500 would seem to be a match that wouldn’t produce much in terms of results. However, Juncos Racing and Spencer Pigot aren’t exactly new to each other. Pigot drove for Juncos Racing in karting in the 2000s, rejoining the team in 2014 to win the Pro Mazda championship. The Pasadena, California-born driver then won the Indy Lights championship with the team, becoming the only driver to win multiple championships inRead More

 By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar & Road to Indy Writer INDIANAPOLIS — McLaren-Honda-Andretti Honda’s Fernando Alonso had never driven on an oval before his private test on May 3rd. Some people would expect the two time world champion to have an easy time learning to drive the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. After all, with only four corners, one would expect it to be an easy track to learn on. “Not at all, not at all,” Alonso said. “This is a place that we didn’t repeat the same lap at any time in theRead More