ganassi Tag

By Frank Santoroski, Staff Writer The nominees for the annual ESPY awards were announced recently and there will be four different racing series represented in the category of Best Driver. The ESPY awards (Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly Award) are presented by ABC/ESPN and will be broadcast live on July 13, 2016. WWE wrestling personality, John Cena, will host the awards ceremony. The Best Driver category has been a part of the ESPYS since its inception in 1993, with Briton Nigel Mansell being the first winner. Nominees are selected byRead More

By Frank Santoroski, Staff Writer When the Verizon IndyCar series announced Watkins Glen International as a replacement venue for the failed Boston Grand Prix, there was immediately speculation as to what type of speeds we might see. The iconic 3.4 mile road course was recently repaved and now offers an ultra-smooth driving surface. Five drivers took to the track, located in upstate New York, participating in a test session to supply Firestone technicians with data to allow for tire compound selection.  During the five-hour session, all five drivers posted timesRead More

By Frank Santoroski, Staff Writer The 42nd annual Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach for the Verizon IndyCar Series is now in the books. Team Penske’s Simon Pagenaud took the win, followed closely by Target Chip Ganassi driver Scott Dixon. He are five takeaways from the latest edition of one of IndyCar’s crown-jewel events. 1 ) Simon sez After a decidedly lackluster first season with Team Penske, that left him 11th in the final standings, Simon Pagenaud is off to a ferocious start in 2016. His two second-place finishes, combinedRead More

By Frank Santoroski, Staff Writer AVONDALE, AZ. April 2, 2016 – Heading into tonight’s Desert Diamond West Valley Phoenix Grand Prix, Honda teams are left scratching their heads as Chevrolet-powered cars swept the first ten grid positions led by Penske Racing’s Helio Castroneves. After completing a two-day test in February, all the Verizon IndyCar Series teams reported that track conditions were remarkably different upon returning to the 1.022 mile oval.  The track had hosted the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in the interim and, despite a power-washing of the surface, quiteRead More

By Frank Santoroski, Contributing Writer Heading into qualifying this afternoon, Penske Racing’s Will Power set the fastest time in the final practice session for the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, the opening round of the 2016 season for the Verizon IndyCar Series. Power, a two-time winner of the event, crashed heavily in Friday morning’s practice, and came back to lead the afternoon session which was interrupted for track repairs. Today’s session went forward without incident, save for a brief red-flag to retrieve the Andretti Autosport Honda entry of RyanRead More

By Frank Santoroski, Contributing Writer In the midst of the excitement that is the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500, the fact that 2016 also marks the 20th anniversary of the open-wheel split is not lost on me. Speaking as someone who lived through the formation of CART, the glory days in the 1980s and 1990s, and the slow painful death of the series, I have a vested interest in what happens next. Will the Media attention around the 100th running be enough to bring growth in viewership? Will the growthRead More

By Adam Tate, Managing Editor IndyCar stalwart Chip Ganassi Racing has just signed former Marussia Formula One driver Max Chilton for the 2016 IndyCar season. The move effectively replaces Sage Karam and once again brings Ganassi up to four cars. Chilton will drive the No. 8 Chevrolet alongside Ganassi’s strong line up of current champion and long time team leader Scott Dixon, veteran Tony Kanaan and Charlie Kimball. Chilton who in addition to his two season for F1 backmarker Marussia has also contested GP2, Le Mans and most recently Indy Lights, whereRead More

Back in April, I was engaged in a round table conversation with some of my fellow motorsports journalists discussing the Grand Prix of Long Beach. It was Joey Barnes of Tribute Racing who made the comment, “There’s no such thing as an exciting win by Scott Dixon.” I pondered that statement for a moment, and then replied. “I guess I’d have to agree. Dixon always makes it look too easy, he reminds me of the Professor, Alain Prost in that respect.” On Saturday night at the Texas Motor Speedway, ScottRead More

Fresh off of an exciting Indianapolis 500, the stars and cars of the Verizon IndyCar Series have arrived in Detroit, Michigan for a double-header weekend: The Chevrolet Indy Dual in Detroit presented by Quicken Loans. Held in the birthplace of American automobile manufacturing, the event itself has an on-and-off history and a checkered past. Many drivers, past and present, have a love-hate relationship with Detroit. he first incarnation of the Detroit Grand Prix was held in 1982 as a Formula One race. A temporary street course was built in theRead More

Adam Tate, Josh Farmer and Joey Barnes of Tribute Racing preview the 99th Indianapolis 500 live from Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Scott Dixon put the Target Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet on pole, can the 2008 Indy 500 winner take home his second Borg-Warner Trophy? The defending Verizon IndyCar Series champion, Will Power, starts alongside and takes aim at his first 500 win. Chevrolet had the upperhand over Honda in qualifying, will they in the race? Plus, Hinchcliffe’s injury and Briscoe climbs in as SPM’s super-sub. Click the link for all thisRead More