Helio Castroneves Tag

As the NFL is gearing up for the season, and NASCAR is ready for its Chase for the Championship, the Verizon Indycar Season is winding down, as planned, before Labor Day. The final race on the schedule, The Go Pro Grand Prix of Sonoma, will take place this weekend, with a season champion being crowned on Sunday afternoon. With any luck, we will have a longer season in 2016 and beyond, but, I’ll write about that on another day. It will undoubtedly be a subdued celebration on Sunday as theRead More

Helio Castroneves captured his 45th IndyCar pole for Sunday’s ABC Supply 500 at Pocono Raceway and leads an all Team Penske 1-2-3. Teammate Simon Pagenaud set the pace with a 220.485 two lap average that was just a scant .1 mph clear of Will Power. Charlie Kimball initially laid down the fastest warmup lap of the day. A fast warmup lap would lead to disaster as Kimball lost it in turn 3 and hit the outside wall head on and briefly went airborne. The rear of the #83 Chevrolet grazedRead More

Helio Castroneves claimed his second pole at Iowa Speedway and his third pole of the season. From the start of qualifying, it looked as if Chip Ganassi Racing were as gold as they were in practice as Tony Kanaan set a big two lap average of 183.125 mph that distanced himself from the field. Castroneves went out five cars after Kanaan and responded with an even quicker two lap average of 183.480 mph. “The Hitachi car was certainly strong,” said Castroneves. “We proved (last week) that when we have aRead More

April 22, 1975 – Oct. 31, 1999 5 CART Wins 12 CART Podiums 1995 Indy Lights Champion Greg Moore was as much a champion off the track as he was on the track. No matter the circumstances he was someone who was humble, jovial, and always had a smile on his face, but once that visor was closed he was as fierce as they come. That character carried through his peers and it continues even in today’s IndyCar. The Canadian born driver began racing go karts in 1986, and inRead 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

Will Power edged teammate Helio Castroneves and set a lap record in qualifying in the final minutes of the Firestone Fast Six to take the pole for race 1 at the Raceway at Belle Isle. Power elected to wait until the final few minutes to take his shot at the pole while Helio Castroneves, Juan Pablo Montoya, Takuma Sato and Simon Pagenaud all took to the track right away. Castroneves laid down a lap of 1:16.1200 that looked relatively safe to keep the pole but Power was not to beRead 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

The sun begins to rise at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and with it are 33 drivers preparing for a day that could alter everything that defines their career. Drivers that have never won “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” have a chance to change their path. While the ones who have tasted milk in Victory Lane and kissed the bricks have a chance to cement an even greater career in their quest to become one of the all-time greats. Helio Castroneves, a three-time Indy 500 champion, came within a foot of winningRead 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

The Month of May has arrived in full force as the drivers of the Verizon IndyCar Series are logging thousands of practice laps in preparation for qualifying this weekend. Every running of the Indianapolis 500 generates compelling and memorable stories that become a part of Brickyard folklore. For every driver that drinks the milk on Sunday afternoon, there are 32 drivers that walk away disappointed, thinking about what might have been. There are three non-winners in the field this year who were at the wrong end of a thrilling finishRead More