alexander rossi Tag

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer INDIANAPOLIS— Alexander Rossi will need time. The No. 27 NAPA Auto Parts Honda starts 32nd in Sunday’s Indianapolis 500 after a slowly deflating tire on his pole day qualifying run slowed him. Two drivers -Jim Rathmann in 1957 and Mario Andretti in 1981- have finished second after starting 32nd and on Media Day Rossi was candid about how he’ll plan his attack on race day. “I’ll probably talk to Mario, I don’t think Jim’s race will be on YouTube,” said Rossi. “I don’t know what theyRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer INDIANAPOLIS — Alexander Rossi will start the 102nd Running of the Indianapolis 500 after a rough outing during Sunday’s qualifications at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The run came as a shock since the Californian qualified 0.0342 of a second outside the Fast Nine during Saturday’s Bump Day of qualifications. The 2016 Indianapolis 500 champion’s speed of 227.454 would have put him on the fourth row of the grid had he maintained it. However, subsequent laps of 226.608 mph, 224.152 mph and 221.619 mph dropped his four lap averageRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer INDIANAPOLIS– With Pole Day qualifying beginning soon for the Indianapolis 500, it’s time for some random qualifying predictions. Final Row: Conor Daly, James Davison, Zachary Claman De Melo. This is based on Carlin’s earlier no-tow speeds during the week being higher on the time sheet and that Davison and Daly will not put their equipment at too much risk to make the show. Rahal found .3 mph yesterday and if that goes across all three cars, they might have pulled themselves off the back row. RowRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer INDIANAPOLIS — Wednesday practice came and went for the 35 drivers entered to qualify for 33 spots in this year’s Indianapolis 500 and Marco Andretti was on top of the time sheet. The 2006 Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year turned a fastest lap of 227.053 mph in his No. 98 Andretti Autosport Honda but on the unassisted draft chart Andretti was only tenth fastest. Tony Kanaan was fastest on the unassisted lap chart with a lap of 223.048 mph. “Checking off the boxes right now,Read 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 — 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 David Morgan, NASCAR Editor, IndyCar Contributor BIRMINGHAM, Alabama – Josef Newgarden will have the best view in the house when Sunday’s running of the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama gets the green flag after laying down the fastest lap in qualifying to take the pole. Rocketing around the 17-turn, 2.38-mile road course, Newgarden’s lap of 1 minute, 07:441 seconds (122.773 mph), was quick enough to put him at the top of the board in the Fast Six. His Team Penske teammate, Will Power, will start alongside on theRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer BIRMINGHAM, Alabama — The final practice session for Sunday’s Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama finished with a familiar face on top of the time sheet. Team Penske’s Will Power went around the 2.3-mile natural terrain road course with a fastest lap of 1 minute, 07.3430 seconds. Robert Wickens was second followed by Scott Dixon, Ryan Hunter-Reay and Alexander Rossi. It’s interesting to see where many teams are on Saturday compared to where they were on Friday. Power was in the top four positions in allRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer BIRMINGHAM, Alabama — Ryan Hunter-Reay has had some success before at Barber Motorsports Park. The 2012 Verizon IndyCar Series champion was victorious at Barber in 2013 and 2014 and is looking for another win at Barber after qualifying in fourth position. In 2018, the Floridian has taken a bit of a backseat to current points leader Alexander Rossi. Rossi currently leads the points standings with a pair of third place finishes and a victory. While Rossi has been the one grabbing all of the headlines, Hunter-ReayRead More