Aaron Bearden Tag

By Aaron Bearden, Open Wheel Editor LEXINGTON, Ohio — Notes, Quotes, Stories and Takeaways from the Road to Indy on Saturday at Mid-Ohio Indy Lights Talent, Drama… And Respect Among Andretti Autosport Teammates Make no mistake – Patricio O’Ward and Colton Herta want nothing more than to beat each other for the Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires championship this year. But peel beneath their competitive fire and you’ll see something other than intensity and drive shared between the Andretti Autosport duo. Respect. “I think it’s a win-win situation for both ofRead More

By Aaron Bearden, Open Wheel Editor LEXINGTON, Ohio — Rinus Veekay put together a dominant Saturday at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course to claim the Pro Mazda Presented by Cooper Tires championship lead. Veekay scored the pole and led wire-to-wire to claim Saturday’s Cooper Tires Pro Mazda Mid-Ohio Grand Prix Race 1. The Juncos Racing prospect took the checkered flag 2.8753 seconds clear of BN Racing’s David Malukas in what proved to be a comfortable win in a caution-free event. Robert Megennis rose from fifth to claim the final spot on theRead More

By Aaron Bearden, Open Wheel Editor LEXINGTON, Ohio — Andretti Autosport teammates Patricio O’Ward and Colton Herta found themselves in a familiar place in Saturday’s Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires race – battling amongst themselves for a trip to victory lane. This time it was O’Ward that took the checkered flag. O’Ward led wire-to-wire and kept Herta at bay over the final run to the finish to win Cooper Tires Mid-Ohio Grand Prix Race 1. The win was the Mexican’s sixth in 13 races this season, putting him twoRead More

By Aaron Bearden, Open Wheel Editor LEXINGTON, Ohio — With the 2018 Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda title already secured, Kyle Kirkwood returned to the field on Saturday and continued the systematic beatdown that netted him the title midway through the summer. Kirkwood led every lap after starting second to claim his eighth-consecutive USF2000 victory in Saturday’s Cooper Tires Mid-Ohio GP Race 2. Pabst Racing’s Lucas Kohl followed in second, with Exclusive Autosport’s Igor Fraga completing the podium. Rasmus Lindh and Calvin Ming rounded out the top five,Read More

By Aaron Bearden, Open Wheel Editor The final Verizon IndyCar Series practice before qualifying at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course was led by a familiar face to the region – Ohio’s own Graham Rahal. Rahal laid down a circuit of 1:05.207 to pace the tour’s third practice session of the weekend for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. The hometown favorite has one career win at Mid-Ohio, coming back in 2015. Defending IndyCar champion Josef Newgarden followed in second, with Team Penske teammate Will Power following in third. Alexander Rossi and Scott DixonRead More

By Aaron Bearden, Open Wheel Editor Tequila Patron is leaving the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship (WTSCC) at the end of the 2018 season, terminating sponsor relationships with both a team and the series. The alcohol brand has served as the title sponsor of the Tequila Patron North American Endurance Cup (NAEC) – a special four-race competition comprised of the 24 Hours of Daytona, 12 Hours of Sebring, Sahlen’s Six Hours of the Glen and Petit Le Mans – since 2014, where it also became IMSA’s Official Spirits Partner. Michelin willRead More

By Aaron Bearden, Open Wheel Editor When Joe Graf Jr. took the checkered flag fifth at Iowa Speedway, it would be natural to assume that he would be happy with the run. Graf had never seen the 7/8-mile oval before, after all, and he had just one top five in his previous six ARCA Racing Series results. But when he climbed out of his No. 77 Ford, the Chad Bryant Racing (CBR) rookie was less than pleased. “No I’m not,” Graf told Motorsports Tribune when asked if he was content withRead More

By Aaron Bearden, Open Wheel Editor Harrison Burton’s in an interesting stage of his budding racing career. At 17 years old, the son of NASCAR veteran Jeff Burton is too young to leap up to the Camping World Truck Series full-time. Burton has already conquered the K&N Pro Series East – he’s the defending champion – and his nine-race Truck schedule for Kyle Busch Motorsports kept him from picking another tour to to contest for the championship in 2018. The North Carolinian is an upcoming prospect with wins ranging from Bristol Motor SpeedwayRead More

By Aaron Bearden, Open Wheel Editor MDM Motorsports driver Chase Purdy brought home his fourth-consecutive top five in Saturday’s Fans With Benefits 150. But unlike his other results, Purdy was far from content to be so close to his first ARCA Racing Series victory at Iowa Speedway. Purdy surged in the final run to the checkered flag to claim a third-place finish in ARCA’s lone 2018 trip to Iowa – a strong run, but one that fell short of what the Mississippian believed he was capable of that night. “It’s aRead More

By Aaron Bearden, Open Wheel Editor Chandler Smith came to Iowa Speedway without experience on larger ovals and unsure of what to expect. He nearly left the track with the checkered flag. Smith rose through the field over the course of the 150-lap event and shadowed ARCA Racing Series points leader Sheldon Creed to the finish en-route to a second-place result in Saturday’s Fans With Benefits 150. The run was Smith’s fourth top five and fifth top 10 in five-career ARCA starts. “This is my first time ever being on aRead More