coronavirus Tag

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer From Spa-Francorchamps to Indianapolis, Ben Hanley and his entire DragonSpeed squad has had an extremely tumultuous 2020 campaign due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The 35-year-old racer out of Manchester, England didn’t found out that he was going to compete in his second Indianapolis 500 until August 5th – four days before opening day of practice. Where exactly was Hanley when he got the news? Competing in the 4 Hours of Spa with DragonSpeed as the race marked Round 2 of the European Le Mans Series whereRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer The time has come. The Greatest Spectacle in Racing is near and while many folks want to commentate about the obvious absence of fans in the stands, there’s still a few things they can look forward to in the 104th renewal of the Indianapolis 500. For the first time since 1987, an Andretti will lead the field to the green flag as Marco, who’ll be competing in his 15th Indy 500, is hoping to cap off an amazing month at IMS with a Borg-Warner Trophy. Should he winRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer With the 104th Indianapolis 500 Presented by Gainbridge being four days away, all the talk have focused on NTT IndyCar Series drivers regarding their feelings about going through the COVID-19 pandemic, especially races like the 500 going on without fans. On Wednesday, it was finally the executives turn to shed light on their very tumultuous year as Mark Miles, Doug Boles and Jay Frye reflected on their road to the 104th Indy 500, but also the current championship campaign which has completed its first six ofRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer For the third time this season, a NASCAR Cup Series driver has tested positive for COVID-19. This time, it’s July Texas winner Austin Dillon, who’ll miss Sunday’s Go Bowling 235 at the Daytona International Speedway road course. Taking over Dillon’s ride will be journeyman Kaz Grala, who’ll make his Cup debut in the No. 3 American Ethanol Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE. Grala is no stranger to road racing as some of his best drives have came at the left and right turns, including last Saturday’s XfinityRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer The final set of races have been confirmed by NASCAR Thursday with several changes to the playoffs and some series returning to race tracks once more or the first time in a long while. The Cup Series was the least affected with the announcement as all 10 playoff venues remain the same despite rumors of Las Vegas and Texas swapping dates due to the the former hosting the Electric Daisy Carnival. The quest for the championship will begin at Darlington Raceway (Sept. 6) and will wrapRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Team Stange Racing, LLC announced via Facebook on Wednesday their intentions of not participating in the 104th Indianapolis 500 Presented by Gainbridge. With alarming concerns of not having 33 entries due to the COIVD-19 pandemic, there have been a few drivers and teams being rumored of having a last-minute entry for the 500-mile race that’ll commence Sunday, August 23 behind closed doors. However, the one-off NTT IndyCar Series entry won’t be among those entering to fill up the 33-car quota this year and will concentrate onRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer For the first time in the history of the Indianapolis 500, there won’t be fans surrounding the 2.5-mile circuit as the extremely unpopular yet difficult decision was confirmed Tuesday morning. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway issued the following statement regarding this month’s race: “It is with great regret that we announce the 104th Running of the Indianapolis 500 will take place on Aug. 23 without fans. This tough decision was made following careful consideration and extensive consultation with state and city leadership. “As dedicated as we wereRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer For the first time since 1946, America Open Wheel Racing won’t be visiting the West Coast following the cancellations of both the Grand Prix of Portland and the WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca doubleheader Monday. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the NTT IndyCar Series confirmed they won’t be heading to those two venues and will leave the month of September without racing. The first removed was Portland International Raceway, originally scheduled to have its third straight grand prix weekend on September 11-13. The Oregon circuit issued aRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer The latest batch of updates on the 2020 Formula One World Championship calendar were announced Friday with the addition of three new venues while also losing its four events on the Americas region. The three confirmed sites being added marks the return of the Nurburgring and Imola to the F1 calendar and a first-time visit to Portimao in Portugal. After a seven-year absence, the Nurburgring will be hosting the Eifel Grand Prix for the first time on October 9-11, two weeks after the Russian Grand PrixRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Attendance for the next month’s 104th Indianapolis 500 Presented by Gainbridge has been reduced from 50% down to 25% following Tuesday’s announcement from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. In addition of the attendance being reduced for the August 23rd event, two more confirmations were made. The first being that ticket sales will no longer be permitted after Friday in order to make the attendance limit feasible. More importantly, face coverings are required for everyone who attend the 500-mile race. Penske Entertainment Corp. President and CEO Mark MilesRead More