Indianapolis Motor Speedway Tag

By Kirby Arnold, Staff Writer  INDIANAPOLIS – Six months ago, I wasn’t sure this day would happen. Or to be precise, could happen.  The COVID-19 pandemic was strangling the world last December, and nobody knew how to loosen that grip or when it would. Positive test numbers climbed at an alarming rate, and while some people got over it fairly easily, many got really sick. And people died, some I knew personally, and it scared the you-know-what out of me. A vaccination was on its way, but when?  Frankly, when I got my first vaccination on Valentine’s Day and the secondRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer INDIANAPOLIS – “Helio! Helio! Helio!” The Indianapolis Motor Speedway were chanting the name of Helio Castroneves, who won the 105th Indianapolis 500. In one of largest sports gathering since the pandemic, they witnessed history as Castroneves joined AJ Foyt, Al Unser, and Rick Mears as the only four-time Indy 500 winners. This triumph not only marked the 46-year-old’s first Indy 500 win in 12 years, but Meyer Shank Racing’s maiden INDYCAR victory. The organization that was once solely known for sports cars, showcased they gotRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer INDIANAPOLIS – “I tried everything. It hurts. But to be honest, it’s good to lose against probably one of the best. Well, it’s one of the best, probably the best. Yeah, it’s Helio.” Alex Palou indeed tried everything he could to get and fend off Helio Castroneves. But when Castroneves made the race-winning pass with two to go, Palou saw the Indy dream evaporate. As Castroneves brought home his fourth Indianapolis 500 victory, Palou wound up a crushing runner-up. “I didn’t expect that a secondRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor The 105th running of the Indianapolis 500 ended with only two cautions, both of which came as a result of issues on pit road. Stefan Wilson spun on pit road on lap 35 to bring out the first caution, with the second involving Graham Rahal shortly after leaving pit road on lap 119. Rahal had come to the attention of his Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing crew for his third pit stop of the day, but the crew failed to get the left rear tire fully secureRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer INDIANAPOLIS – What started off as a three-man rookie class, one man stood out throughout the Month of May. That man being Scott McLaughlin, who wins this year’s Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year honors. Far from an ideal race indeed, but the 20th place finisher will leave IMS with an accolade. His fellow rookie competitors Pietro Fittipaldi finished a lap down in 25th while RC Enerson failed to qualify. After the race McLaughlin described his Indy 500 debut as a “pretty awesome experience.” “ReallyRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor At Indianapolis, the smallest mistake can have wide reaching repercussions and an early race incident on pit road by Stefan Wilson would cause a ripple effect that would involve two of the biggest names in the field – pole sitter Scott Dixon and Alexander Rossi. The issues began as green flag pit stops were underway on lap 35 and Wilson was bringing his No. 25 Andretti Autosport Honda to the attention of his crew.  As soon as he reached the start of the pit road speedRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer INDIANAPOLIS – A 1-2-3 finish at the Indianapolis 500. Never been done. Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing did score a first and a third in last year’s 500, won by Takuma Sato won. Graham Rahal got a career-equal result of third. Spencer Pigot on the other hand, had a noble run but his day was cut short after a violent Turn 4 crash. It ended the race, securing the other RLL competitors track positions. A P1 and P3 finish has been done in the past withRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer INDIANAPOLIS – No matter what happens in the 105th Indianapolis 500, Paretta Autosport are already making their mark in the NTT IndyCar Series. Simona De Silvestro may be piloting the No. 16 Rocket Pro TPO/MoneyLion Chevrolet, but the journey goes even further. The awe inspiring employees back at the shop, who spend countless hours preparing an Indy 500 machine, have their stories. For Lauren Sullivan and Chelsea Pechenino, their difference making mindsets have gotten them far into the engineering careers. Sullivan is the team’s AeroRead More

By Kirby Arnold, David Morgan and Luis Torres In a leadup into Sunday’s 105th Indianapolis 500, Motorsports Tribune had a roundtable discussion about seven questions regarding the race. More than just about who’ll win the race, our writers gave their thoughts on some themes that defined this Month of May. Without further ado, here’s what Kirby Arnold, David Morgan and Luis Torres’ responses: This year’s lead up to the 105th Indianapolis 500 has had a lot of unknowns. There could be as many as 8-12 guys who can win theRead More

By Kirby Arnold, Staff Writer INDIANAPOLIS – A generation has passed since anyone witnessed a driver win the Indianapolis 500 for the fourth time. The most recent was 1991 when Rick Mears joined A.J. Foyt and Al Unser in the four-timer club.  If that makes you realize you’ve been around a long time, how do you think Helio Castroneves feels?  The 46-year-old won the 500 in 2001, 2002 and 2009, and driving for powerful Team Penske it seemed he not only was speeding toward a fourth victory, five (or more) seemed entirely possible.  He’s still waiting.  In the 11 Indy 500sRead More