James Hinchcliffe Tag

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer INDIANAPOLIS — Robert Wickens has been the rookie to beat in the 2018 Verizon IndyCar Series. The Canadian put his car on pole at the season-opener in St. Petersburg and qualified second for Saturday’s INDYCAR Grand Prix only behind Will Power. The No. 6 Lucas Oil Honda for Schmidt Peterson Motorsports qualified on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course with a lap of 1 minute, 9.9052 seconds for an average speed of 125.604 mph. Teammate James Hinchcliffe qualified fourth. “I’m a bit gutted with P2,” saidRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer INDIANAPOLIS — With the beginning of the Month of May comes rookie orientation for the four that will attempt to qualify for the 102nd Running of the Indianapolis 500 on May 27th and the accompanying veteran refresher tests for those attempting to qualify at Indianapolis that don’t compete full time in the Verizon IndyCar Series. Rookie orientation consists of three speed phases with 10 laps between 205-210 mph, 15 laps between 210-215 mph and another 15 laps above 215 mph. The laps do not have toRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer INDIANAPOLIS — In the first official test day ahead of the 2018 Indianapolis 500, Tony Kanaan set the fastest speed with a lap of 226.181 mph in the late afternoon. Behind the A.J. Foyt Racing driver in the second session was Team Penske’s Simon Pagenaud, Andretti Autosport’s Marco Andretti and Harding Racing’s Gabby Chaves. In the morning test, Andretti was quickest with a lap of 223.997 mph ahead of defending Indianapolis 500 winner Takuma Sato and 2008 Indianapolis 500 champion Scott Dixon. This was the firstRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer BIRMINGHAM, Alabama — Ryan Hunter-Reay has a hit or miss relationship with Barber Motorsports Park and during the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama, the Floridian came out of Monday’s conclusion with a second-place finish. The 2013 and 2014 Barber winner started fourth which became third after Will Power hydroplaned on the main straight and crashed on Lap 16. The race was postponed to Monday following Lap 22. When racing resumed Monday, the No. 28 Andretti Autosport DHL Honda remained in third until pitting on LapRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor, IndyCar Contributor BIRMINGHAM, Alabama – Josef Newgarden will have the best view in the house when Sunday’s running of the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama gets the green flag after laying down the fastest lap in qualifying to take the pole. Rocketing around the 17-turn, 2.38-mile road course, Newgarden’s lap of 1 minute, 07:441 seconds (122.773 mph), was quick enough to put him at the top of the board in the Fast Six. His Team Penske teammate, Will Power, will start alongside on theRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer LONG BEACH, California —The opening day of practice for the 44th Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach kicked off with two practice sessions with Andretti Autosport on the fast end of the grid. The duo of 2010 Long Beach winner Ryan Hunter-Reay and Alexander Rossi were second and third in the morning session but in the afternoon Rossi led the field from Hunter-Reay. 2015 Long Beach winner Scott Dixon led the first session with a 1 minute, 8.4112 second lap around the 1.968 mile street circuit.Read More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer LONG BEACH, California — The 2018 Verizon IndyCar Series season makes its first of two stops to California for Sunday’s Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. This weekend marks the 44th time a race has taken place along Shoreline Drive, the 34th such time for IndyCar racing and the second of a back-to-back-to-back stretch. Long Beach has provided for some interesting results. Last year marked James Hinchcliffe’s return to Victory Lane after a two year drought, but it is his fellow Canadian teammate that is makingRead 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 Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer Jay Howard and Schmidt Peterson Motorsports have announced their entry for the 102nd Running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by PennGrade Motor Oil. Howard returns to the team with which he competed in the 2011 and 2017 Indianapolis 500-mile races and will drive the No. 7 Honda with One Cure sponsoring the entry. One Cure is part of the Flint Animal Cancer Center at Colorado State University that studies cancer treatments for various animal species. “To say I am excited is an understatement,” said Howard inRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer ST. PETERSBURG, Florida — Canada’s new hero came calling on his final timed lap as Verizon IndyCar Series rookie Robert Wickens secured pole position in his No. 6 Lucas Oil Honda for the 2018 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. One of his biggest assists in preparation? YouTube. “I was working hard over the winter, Monday to Friday, watching IndyCar races online on YouTube, anywhere I could find them, just trying to learn,” said Wickens. “Like I think I watched like eight years of St. PeteRead More