Andretti Autosport Tag

By Josh Farmer, IndyCar Reporter. INDIANAPOLIS – NAPA Auto Parts will serve as the primary sponsor for of the #98 Andretti Autosport Honda driven by rookie Alexander Rossi for the 100th Running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by PennGrade Motor Oil. This will mark the first foray into Indy Car racing for the auto parts giant. “Andretti Autosport symbolizes the excellence NAPA AUTO PARTS has maintained for nearly 100 years,” said Tip Tollison, president of NAPA Balkamp in Indianapolis. With this being the 100th Running of the Indianapolis 500, IRead More

By Josh Farmer, IndyCar Reporter Ryan Hunter-Reay’s Honda came to a halt in turn four for an apparent engine issue just around 4:09 p.m. Hunter-Reay had set the 10th quickest speed of the day (226.495) up until that point and was the quickest car on track yesterday. This is Honda’s second engine issue of the week with Schmidt Peterson Motorsports’ Mikhail Aleshin losing an engine yesterday. Honda Performance Development delivered a fresh Honda powerplant shortly after the car was towed back to the team’s garage and the team is swapping outRead More

By Josh Farmer, IndyCar Reporter Andretti Autosport and Honda swept the top fourpositions during opening practice for the 100th Running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Penngrade Motor Oil The leader of the pack was Marco Andretti, who clocked a lap with an average speed of 228.978 mph. His lap was just a tick faster than Carlos Munoz, who timed in at 228.945 mph while 2014 Indy 500 champ Ryan Hunter-Reay followed behind in third place. Alexander Rossi was the quickest rookie of the day while Indy-only starter Townsend Bell had the sixthRead More

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Englishman Dean Stoneman made light of bitterly cold, windy conditions today at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course to win another exciting Mazda Grand Prix of Indianapolis Presented by Cooper Tires. The cancer survivor and former FIA Formula 2 champion took the lead soon after an early full-course caution, then held off a variety of challengers to claim a richly deserved victory for Andretti Autosport. Santiago “Santi” Urrutia, winner of last year’s Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires, guided Schmidt Peterson Motorsports with Curb-Agajanian’s distinctive SoulRead More

By Frank Santoroski, Staff Writer Round four for the Verizon IndyCar Series is now in the books, with Team Penske’s Simon Pagenaud taking his second consecutive win on the season. Allow me to share some of my observations from the weekend. 1 ) Frenchy Can Drive Yes, I know that some racing purists hate this movie, but Talladega Nights  ranks as one of my guilty pleasures, and I have probably watched this film a dozen times. Comparisons between Simon Pagenaud and the Jean Girard character have been abundant since PagenaudRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Simon Pagenaud dominated early and came back late to score back-to-back wins in the Verizon IndyCar Series. Capturing his first win for team owner Roger Penske last weekend at Long Beach, the Frenchman scored the pole at Barber Motorsports Park and extended his championship lead in what has been a phenomenal start to the season following a thrilling finish in the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama. A spin on the pace laps by Mikhail Aleshin followed by a run-off by Jack Hawksworth delayed the startRead More

By Frank Santoroski, Staff Writer This coming weekend the Verizon IndyCar Series will return to the Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, AL, as they continue their 2016 season. The race weekend is slated for April 22-24, 2016. About the Race The Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama is round four of sixteen for the Verizon IndyCar Series in 2016. The event is held on a permanent road course, the first of five such races on the calendar. The defending race winner is Ed Carpenter Racing’s Josef Newgarden. The young driverRead More

By Josh Farmer, IndyCar Reporter & NASCAR Contributor LONG BEACH, Calif. – California Pizza Kitchen will support Townsend Bell’s efforts with Andretti Autosport in the 100th Running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by PennGrade Motor Oil. This will be the first time that the Beverly Hills based restaurant chain will serve as a sponsor in motorsport. “Being a California native, I cannot think of a better fit than California Pizza Kitchen to join our team for the 100th Running of the Indy 500,” said Bell. “It’s awesome to represent aRead More

By Josh Farmer, IndyCar Reporter & NASCAR Correspondant Team Penske was on top once again during practice at Long Beach, but this time it was Will Power who paced the field. The two-time Long Beach winner bettered his time from this morning to set the fastest lap of the day at 01:07.5992s. “It was a bit of a good setup,” said Power. “I learned some stuff with Juan and now we’re progressing well. This is a track where I have struggled the last couple of years in qualifying, starting way backRead More

By Frank Santoroski, Staff Writer For the 42nd consecutive year, the streets of Long Beach have come alive with the sounds of high-powered race cars screaming through the city streets, as the drivers of the Verizon IndyCar Series held their first practice for Sunday’s Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. At the end of the session, we saw a familiar sight: Penske-Chevrolet cars taking the top two spots. Juan Pablo Montoya, who took his first career CART race win at Long Beach some seventeen years ago, led the session withRead More