Honda Tag

By Brian Eberly, Contributing Writer NEWTON, Iowa— Heading into Sunday afternoon’s Verizon IndyCar Series Iowa Corn 300 at Iowa Speedway, Spencer Pigot had just five top-10 results in 32 starts, with his best career finish a seventh-place showing at Mid-Ohio in 2016. An unexpected lack of rear grip cost Pigot a lot in qualifying and his No. 21 machine lined up back in the 18th position on the 22-car starting grid. But after a solid 300 laps at the 7/8-mile oval, he had earned his first podium result, crossing the stripeRead More

By Brian Eberly, Contributing Writer NEWTON, Iowa — Battling four-wide with 15 laps to go in Sunday’s Iowa Corn 300 at Iowa Speedway, Robert Wickens got around Spencer Pigot for the third position and everything looked set for the Canadian duo to share the podium as his Schmidt Peterson Motorsports teammate James Hinchcliffe was poised to earn the team’s first victory of the 2018 season. That all changed when the caution flag flew for just the second time of the race with seven laps to go when Ed Carpenter got sidewaysRead More

By Aaron Bearden, IndyCar Editor INDIANAPOLIS — Now that they’ve implemented their new aero kits, the Verizon IndyCar Series are setting their sights on a power boost. INDYCAR announced Saturday that the American open wheel series will make the switch to 2.4-liter, twin-turbocharged V-6 engines in 2021. The new regulations will stay in place through 2026, with an aim of reaching more than 900 horsepower during push-to-pass overtake activation. “Our drivers have been asking for more horsepower and thanks to the hard work of Chevrolet, Honda and the INDYCAR engine group,Read More

By Josh Farmer, Contributing Writer LONG BEACH, California — Robert Wickens is off to a fast start to his Verizon IndyCar Series career. The first two Verizon IndyCar Series races for the 29-year-old Canadian show the talent he possesses. He had a near win in the bag at St. Petersburg, but collided with Alexander Rossi on a restart with two laps to go and had to settle for 18th. He followed that up with an impressive run at the ISM Raceway, leading 44 laps before being passed late by Josef Newgarden.Read More

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor Sunday’s Bahrain Grand Prix was the most thrilling in the desert kingdom in years as a high speed game of chess between Ferrari and Mercedes kept the winner in doubt until the final corner of the final lap. In the end Sebastian Vettel pulled off a magnificent victory as he nursed badly worn tires to the finish after switching from a planned two stop strategy to a one stopper. Valtteri Bottas closed on him in the Mercedes, but was unable to unseat his German rival. BehindRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer Alexander Rossi overcame an early costly mistake and stormed back through the field to finish third in Saturday night’s Desert Diamond West Valley Casino Phoenix Grand Prix at ISM Raceway. After starting fourth, the No. 27 Andretti Autosport driver got around Team Penske’s Will Power for third place, where he stayed until the first round pit stops under yellow on Lap 43. Unfortunately, Rossi slid in his pit box, hitting the left front tire changer and necessitating a green flag pit lane drive-thru penalty. He was suddenlyRead More

By Josh Farmer, Contributing Writer For the second year in a row, Ryan Hunter-Reay recovered from a mechanical problem on the parade lap to finish fifth in today’s Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. Hunter-Reay qualified eighth on Saturday, but started today’s race from the pit lane as his No. 28 DHL Honda’s electrical control unit malfunctioned on the lap leading up to the green flag. The Andretti Autosport driver was saved by a yellow flag on lap three as Charlie Kimball stalled on course. That allowed him to catch up and alterRead More

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor The 2018 Formula One season is finally upon us. After the long winter break, all 10 teams hit the track this morning at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in Barcelona, Spain. While the full picture of who is competitive, who has got it right, and who has got it wrong won’t fully form till the end of testing next week, there are meaningful things we can gleam just from breaking down the first day’s running. The biggest caveat in doing so are two variables that made today’s runningRead More

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor McLaren debuted their new 2018 Formula One car today, the MCL33, which represents a fresh start for the brand with Renault power after three seasons of misery with Honda power unit failures. To symbolize this new beginning the car makes a bold return to McLaren’s classic papaya orange color, a nod to company founder Bruce McLaren, who proudly painted his cars in the standout color during the team’s early years of the 1960s. The car is a clear evolution of the MCL32 that came before it,Read More

By INDYCAR INDIANAPOLIS (Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2018) – INDYCAR has landed a lead engineer from a championship-winning manufacturer as its new managing director of engine development. Darren Sansum joins INDYCAR after a successful stint at Toyota Racing Development, which has won the past two manufacturer championships in NASCAR’s Cup series. Sansum brings considerable experience to INDYCAR, having also worked for Ford Motor Company, Cosworth Technology and Ilmor Engineering. At INDYCAR, Sansum will oversee engine development and competition between Honda and Chevrolet in the Verizon IndyCar Series effective Feb. 6. “DarrenRead More