Indianapolis 500 Tag

By Phillip Schmitz, Staff Writer The NTT IndyCar Series will get their first taste of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway this week with the series holding a two day open test this Thursday and Friday in preparation for the 107th running of the Indianapolis 500 next month. Fans are allowed to attend the open test in person at the speedway on both days. If unable to attend, the open test will be streamed live on Peacock.  Day one of testing, April 20th, will be a mix bag of events to open theRead More

By Phillip Schmitz, Staff Writer FORT WORTH, Tex. — For the first time since 2009, Takuma Sato isn’t a full time driver in the NTT IndyCar Series, racing just the oval portion of the 2023 schedule for Chip Ganassi Racing in the No. 11 Niterra Honda entry. Sunday marked Sato’s first race of the season at Texas Motor Speedway — a weekend that started out strong for him. He was eighth fastest in morning practice and qualified sixth for the PPG 375. However, once the race began, so did Sato’s problems.Read More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor MADISON, Ill. – After hinting that an announcement about his future would be coming soon, official word came down Friday that Helio Castroneves will remain as the driver of the No. 06 Meyer Shank Racing Honda in 2023. The four-time Indianapolis 500 winner first joined the team on a part-time basis before moving into a full-time role this season – his first full-time season since 2017. “Keeping Helio onboard wasn’t really a question for us,” team owner Mike Shank said. “We’ve built a really strong relationshipRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor INDIANAPOLIS – With the laps winding down in Sunday’s 106th running of the Indianapolis 500, Pato O’Ward could do nothing but helplessly watch Marcus Ericsson inch closer and closer to racing immortality. Sitting in the runner-up position, a few seconds in arears of Ericsson’s Honda, if nothing changed in the closing stages of the race, O’Ward would fall agonizingly short of a career-defining win. All he needed was a chance. When Jimmie Johnson crashed with six laps to go, bringing out the yellow and subsequently theRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor INDIANAPOLIS – Tony Kanaan came into Sunday’s 106th running of the Indianapolis 500 as a driver with nothing to lose. As a part of a five-car stable for Chip Ganassi Racing, in a special one-off appearance to pilot the No. 1 Honda, it was win or go home for the Brazilian driver and when the checkered flag flew, he nearly pulled it off. After charging up through the top-10 following his last pit stop, Kanaan settled into third-place, but was too far back to be withinRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor INDIANAPOLIS – Heralded rookies Romain Grosjean and Jimmie Johnson came into their first attempt at running the Indianapolis 500 looking to bring home a solid finish, but both found out the hard way just how tough racing in the NTT IndyCar Series at 16th and Georgetown can be. Both drivers showed speed throughout the Month of May, qualifying inside the top-12 and running well in the practices leading into Sunday’s 106th running of the Greatest Spectacle in Racing, but when the green flag dropped it wasRead More

By INDYCAR INDIANAPOLIS – Marcus Ericsson won the 106th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge in a wild scramble after a late red flag Sunday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, earning his first career victory in “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.” Ericsson, from Kumla, Sweden, won under caution in the No. 8 Huski Chocolate Chip Ganassi Racing Honda after Sage Karam crashed in Turn 2 on the final lap. Before the race-ending incident, Ericsson and Pato O’Ward were locked in a fantastic duel for the lead after the restart with two lapsRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor INDIANAPOLIS – Scott Dixon has done it all in the NTT IndyCar Series, but Indianapolis Motor Speedway remains an enigma for the six-time champion as he would once again fall short of making a return to Victory Lane at the Racing Capital of the World. Entering Sunday’s 106th running of the Indianapolis 500, the 2008 winner of the race was looking to parlay his record-breaking qualifying run into a drive that would snap his 14-year winless streak and for the majority of the race, it lookedRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor INDIANAPOLIS – Jimmie Johnson is already part of an exclusive club with a membership of three, having won seven NASCAR Cup Series championships, but if all goes to plan on Sunday, he could be joining another elite fraternity of drivers – those that have won both the Daytona 500 and the Indianapolis 500. Currently, only two legendary drivers, Mario Andretti and AJ Foyt, have accomplished the feat of winning the biggest race in open wheel and the biggest race in stock cars. Johnson will be lookingRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor INDIANAPOLIS – Helio Castroneves will have his work cut out for him if he is to win a record-breaking fifth Indianapolis 500 on Sunday, but the defending winner of the race is ready for the challenge that lies ahead. When the driver of the No. 06 Meyer Shank Racing Honda crossed the Yard of Bricks last year to capture his fourth Indy 500 win, he joined the likes of A.J. Foyt, Al Unser, Sr., and Rick Mears as the only drivers to ever win the “GreatestRead More