alexander rossi Tag

By Josh Farmer, Contributing Journalist SONOMA, California – Scott Dixon may have lost the battle in qualifying, but he is focusing on winning the war against Alexander Rossi in tomorrow’s IndyCar Grand Prix of Sonoma. The driver of the No. 9 PNC Bank Honda for Chip Ganassi Racing was poised for his first Verizon P1 award of the year, but was bumped off the pole by Rossi’s Andretti Autosport teammate Ryan Hunter-Reay at the very last minute. Rossi would qualify sixth. Without earning the bonus point for winning the pole, Dixon’sRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer SONOMA, California — Neither of the IndyCar Series title contenders scored bonus points as Ryan Hunter-Reay snatched the Verizon P1 Pole Award for the INDYCAR Grand Prix of Sonoma at Sonoma Raceway Saturday. For the three drivers who are hunting down points leader Scott Dixon, their tasks became increasingly difficult after the New Zealander’s qualifying effort. He’ll start alongside Hunter-Reay in second, with Josef Newgarden following as the highest of the chasing trio after qualifying third. The reigning series champion kept his strong pace from FridayRead More

By Josh Farmer, Contributing Journalist SONOMA, California – Life just keeps getting better for Verizon IndyCar Series rookie Patricio ‘Pato’ O’ Ward. Two weeks removed from claiming the 2018 Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tire championship, O’Ward qualified fifth for his first Verizon IndyCar Series race in tomorrow’s IndyCar Grand Prix of Sonoma. The result has the 19-year-old from Monterrey, Mexico surrounded by former series champions, Indianapolis 500 winners and in the middle of a championship fight heading into his first IndyCar race. “I honestly don’t know what to think aboutRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer SONOMA, California — Ryan Hunter-Reay has consistently been the best of the non-title contenders these past two days and proved it with a time of 1:17.627, earning him his sixth career Verizon IndyCar Series pole for Sunday’s IndyCar Grand Prix of Sonoma at Sonoma Raceway. Not only it was a long-time coming for the former champion, scoring an elusive pole at the 2.385-mile road course, but its his first INDYCAR pole since Long Beach in 2014. The Floridian was congratulated with a hug and a kissRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer SONOMA, California — The answer is simple, it’ll take chaotic circumstances, and having a picture perfect weekend for championship contenders Alexander Rossi, Josef Newgarden and Will Power to prevent Scott Dixon from capturing his unprecedented fifth Verizon IndyCar Series championship at Sonoma Raceway. Among the three title chasers, Rossi is the closest to Dixon, trailing the points leader by 29 points and in many people’s eyes, the best among the three in terms of catching Dixon. Heading into Saturday, he has the most work to doRead More

By INDYCAR SONOMA, California – Practice day at the INDYCAR Grand Prix of Sonoma did little to suggest a favorite among the four remaining contenders for the 2018 Verizon IndyCar Series championship. After two practices Friday in preparation for the season finale at Sonoma Raceway, points leader Scott Dixon was third on the combined-session timesheet. He was sandwiched by Team Penske teammates Josef Newgarden and Will Power, each 87 points behind the four-time champion and holding glimmering hopes for the title. Alexander Rossi, 29 points out of the lead, cameRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer PORTLAND, Oregon — Four drivers remain eligible for the 2018 Verizon IndyCar Series championship crown but if anyone is going to beat Scott Dixon, it might take divine intervention at this point. Dixon was involved in the first lap incident that took out Marco Andretti and Ed Jones and delayed Graham Rahal and James Hinchcliffe. Once the metaphorical and literal dust cleared, Dixon drove back to the pits without losing a lap. Later in the race he was clocked at 50.2 mph in the pits whenRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer PORTLAND, Oregon — Friday practice has come and gone for the Verizon IndyCar Series ahead of Sunday’s Grand Prix of Portland and the time sheets saw numerous names flying up and down in unexpected places. While it’s expected to see Sebastien Bourdais near the top and he in fact led the opening session, the midfield was full of happy surprises. Santino Ferrucci was 12th fastest in the opening session in his first IndyCar race since the Chevrolet Duel in Detroit. Ahead of Ferrucci was Jack HarveyRead More

By INDYCAR PORTLAND, Oregon – Will Power continued to show he’s serious about getting back into Verizon IndyCar Series title contention by posting the fastest lap of Friday’s second practice session at Portland International Raceway. The winner of last week’s race at Gateway Motorsports Park turned a lap of 57.4053 seconds (123.166 mph) in the No. 12 Team Penske Verizon Chevrolet to best the field of 25 entrants in that session. Power will head to Saturday’s qualifications seeking his fourth pole of the season and the 54th of his career. PowerRead More

By Josh Farmer, Contributing Journalist MADISON, Illinois – A late fuel gamble in Saturday’s Bommarito Automotive Group 500 allowed Alexander Rossi to close the championship fight with Scott Dixon to 26 points. The driver of the No. 27 Napa Auto Parts Honda finished second behind Will Power by going 71 laps on his final tank of Sunoco E85 fuel. Having won the 100th Running of the Indianapolis 500 on fuel strategy, Rossi is no stranger to making fuel gambles work. While he didn’t pull off the win, he found a silverRead More