Helio Castroneves Tag

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer INDIANAPOLIS — Pole Day has come and gone in preparation for the 102nd Running of the Indianapolis 500. There were surprises and interesting happenings during the day so let’s take a look at them. First of all, Ed Carpenter scored his third Indianapolis 500 pole with a four-lap average of 229.618 mph, almost a full mph higher than Simon Pagenaud starting second. It was interesting to see Helio Castroneves fall so much on his Fast Nine qualifying attempt. The fastest driver in yesterday’s runs, the speedRead More

INDIANAPOLIS – The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is like a second home to Ed Carpenter. The Verizon IndyCar Series team owner/driver, who grew up and still lives in Indianapolis, showed his lasting affinity for the cathedral of motorsports by winning the Verizon P1 Award in pole day qualifying for the 102nd Indianapolis 500 presented by PennGrade Motor Oil. Driving the No. 20 Fuzzy’s Vodka Chevrolet for his namesake team, Carpenter thrilled the hometown crowd by putting together a sensational four-lap, 10-mile run at 229.618 mph in the Fast Nine Shootout featuringRead 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 Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer INDIANAPOLIS– With Pole Day qualifying beginning soon for the Indianapolis 500, it’s time for some random qualifying predictions. Final Row: Conor Daly, James Davison, Zachary Claman De Melo. This is based on Carlin’s earlier no-tow speeds during the week being higher on the time sheet and that Davison and Daly will not put their equipment at too much risk to make the show. Rahal found .3 mph yesterday and if that goes across all three cars, they might have pulled themselves off the back row. RowRead More

By INDYCAR INDIANAPOLIS – The first day of qualifying for the 102nd Indianapolis 500 presented by PennGrade Motor Oil was its typical emotional roller coaster. It was filled with nail-biting four-lap attempts, rain delays that ruined strategies, last-minute bids to bump into the field of 33 and ultimate heartbreak for those left on the outside looking in. The cars and drivers that will start the race on May 27 were established in qualifying on Saturday. Two drivers – Verizon IndyCar Series regular James Hinchcliffe and Indy-only pilot Pippa Mann –Read More

By IMSA Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Fans of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship will have a few “home teams” to root on this weekend in qualifications for the 102nd Indianapolis 500. The 35-car entry list includes a host of regular IndyCar drivers who have competed in WeatherTech Championship races over the years, and a handful of drivers and teams who are active participants in IMSA this year. Leading the way is Helio Castroneves, who got his month of May off to a fantastic start at Mid-Ohio on MayRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer INDIANAPOLIS — Graham Rahal led Thursday’s practice ahead of the 102nd Running of the Indianapolis 500 in the second-busiest day of track activity so far. Rahal’s No. 15 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda turned 102 laps but the fastest was the second lap at 226.047 mph. That lap was assisted with a tow but Rahal unfortunately could not get a proper solo run in and was 34th on the unassisted speed chart. “Every qualifying sim I did today everybody came out in front of me, saidRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer INDIANAPOLIS — Helio Castroneves’s brief return to open wheel racing has so far been a success after the new sports car driver finished sixth in Saturday’s INDYCAR Grand Prix at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course as teammate Will Power scored Team Penske’s 200th IndyCar win. After an early stop, Castroneves was able to advance through the field on fresher tires as others pitted. “It was just like I never left, it was a great strategy from the team,” said Castroneves. “We started on the blacks,Read More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer INDIANAPOLIS — Friday practice for the Verizon IndyCar Series concluded in preparation for Saturday’s INDYCAR Grand Prix at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course and Will Power is the man to beat. The No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet topped the time sheet in both sessions with a fastest lap of 1 minute, 10.0866 seconds in the first session. Andretti Autosport’s Alexander Rossi was second in the No. 27 NAPA Auto Parts Honda while the Ed Carpenter Racing rookie Jordan King was third in the No.Read More

By IMSA Wire Service LEXINGTON, Ohio – The Acura Sports Car Challenge at Mid-Ohio was all about Acura Team Penske from the first practice session of the weekend on Friday through the checkered flag on Sunday’s two-hour, 40-minute IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship race. Every pre-race practice session ended with both of the team’s Acura ARX-05 Daytona Prototype international (DPi) cars sitting 1-2 on the time charts. In Saturday’s qualifying session, Helio Castroneves took the Motul Pole Award in the No. 7 Acura DPi, nipping teammate Dane Cameron in the No.Read More