Carlos Munoz Tag

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer PORTLAND, Oregon — In a less than ideal 2018 Verizon IndyCar Series season, Gabby Chaves managed to give Harding Racing his best finish of the year with a 13th place finish in Sunday’s Grand Prix of Portland. After starting 21st, Chaves found himself in 11th place following the first lap mayhem involving James Hinchcliffe, Graham Rahal, Ed Jones, Scott Dixon, Zach Veach and Marco Andretti. The 2014 Indy Lights champion ran in the top 10 in the early third of the race before his first pitRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer PORTLAND, Oregon — In the midst of a partial 2018 Verizon IndyCar Series season program, Meyer Shank Racing’s Jack Harvey surprised many by nearly advancing out of the first round of qualifying for Sunday’s Grand Prix of Portland and will start 13th. Harvey set a fast lap of 57.9620 seconds (121.983 mph) around the 1.964-mile road course and the No. 60 AutoNation/SiriusXM entry in conjunction with Schmidt Peterson Motorsports will have its best start of the season on Sunday. “I think testing so far has goneRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer PORTLAND, Oregon — Opportunities come in the strangest of forms. For Carlos Muñoz, the thought of his next chance in the Verizon IndyCar Series wasn’t supposed to come at the expense of an injury of another – Robert Wickens. After spending time over the last few seasons racing for Andretti Autosport and A.J. Foyt Racing, Muñoz saw himself without a full-time ride this season. The 26-year-old has only competed in the Indianapolis 500, where he finished 7th for Andretti. This past Wednesday, it’ll change as he’llRead 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 Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer Per Schmidt Peterson Motorsports, Robert Wickens has been transferred to IU Health Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis after spending 12 days at the Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest. The Canadian will soon undergo further surgery on his lower extremities that were injured in his August 19th crash at Pocono Raceway. On Lap 7 of the ABC Supply 500, Wickens was alongside Ryan Hunter-Reay heading to the Tunnel Turn when the two had contact, sending Wickens into the catch fencing and spinning around in the air. James Hinchcliffe, PietroRead More

By Josh Farmer, Contributing Journalist Schmidt Peterson Motorsports has named Carlos Munoz as the substitute driver for the injured Robert Wickens in the final two races of the Verizon IndyCar Series season at Portland and Sonoma. The Colombian will be making his second start of the season. Raced for Andretti Autosport in the 102nd Indianapolis 500 presented by PennGrade Motor Oil, where he finished seventh. Wickens suffered multiple injuries in a crash in the ABC Supply 500 at Pocono Raceway two weeks ago. He remains at the Lehigh Valley Hospital – CedarRead More

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 Aaron Bearden, Contributing Writer Carlos Munoz’s planned return to Andretti Autosport didn’t start with a trip to the race shop or a discussion at the track. Instead it began with a wedding. “Funny story because Marco (Andretti) invited me to his wedding,” Munoz said in a Tuesday INDYCAR teleconference. “I went to the wedding. I start talking to J-F (Thormann) and Michael (Andretti) about what they’re going to do next year. They said they’re going to do six cars in the Indy 500, all in-house. I say, ‘Whoa, thatRead More

By Aaron Bearden, Contributing Writer After being replaced by Tony Kanaan at AJ Foyt Racing, Carlos Munoz is returning to his old Verizon IndyCar Series home at Andretti Autosport – at least for one race. Andretti announced on Monday that Munoz will compete for the team in the 102nd Running of the Indianapolis 500. The Columbian will pilot the team’s No. 29 Honda entry in the legendary 500-mile event, joining former Indy 500 winners Alexander Rossi and Ryan Hunter-Reay, along with Marco Andretti, Zach Veach and fellow temporary addition StefanRead More