Marco Andretti Tag

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer ELKHART LAKE, Wisconsin — Spencer Pigot had a hard fought battle during Sunday’s Kohler Grand Prix at Road America but in his first full season in Verizon IndyCar Series competition, the Floridian would have to settle for eighth at the track where he made his Skip Barber national debut. Starting tenth, Pigot was shuffled back a few positions following front row starter Will Power’s mechanical trouble on the first lap. Pigot was stuck behind the 2018 Indianapolis 500 winner’s car on the main straight and severalRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer ELKHART LAKE, Wisconsin — Ryan Hunter-Reay was the fastest Honda during qualifying ahead of Sunday’s Kohler Grand Prix but that wasn’t good enough to get him on the front row at Road America for the tenth race in the 2018 Verizon IndyCar Series season. The No. 28 DHL Honda was second fastest in the first group of knockout qualifying, only bested by Andretti Autosport teammate Alexander Rossi. Rossi would set the fastest time in the second round of knockout qualifying while Hunter-Reay would be third fastestRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer DETROIT –Ryan Hunter-Reay only finished 1.8249 seconds behind Chevrolet Dual in Detroit race one winner Scott Dixon, but he wasn’t entirely pleased with his Saturday effort on the streets of Belle Isle. “Today we got hosed on qualifying,” said Hunter-Reay. “The officials completely checked out on the whole deal and that would’ve given us two extra spots on the grid, maybe that was enough to make the difference. “You just can’t give up anything in this series; you can’t give up two feet, you can’t giveRead More

By Aaron Bearden, Open Wheel Editor DETROIT — Marco Andretti delivered his best finish of 2018 at Belle Isle Park, finishing fourth in Saturday’s Race 1 of the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix. It was a good result. But Andretti felt it could have been much more. “I guess you’ve gotta be happy, right?,” Andretti told Motorsports Tribune after the race. “But the frustrating thing is that we went backwards, and our teammates beat us again. “It’s really getting frustrating.” Andretti stole the show early on in the first of twoRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer DETROIT — After the massive high of winning the 102nd Indianapolis 500, Will Power’s dream week came back down to earth with a seventh place finish in the first of two races in the Chevrolet Dual in Detroit as the top Chevrolet-powered driver. Starting sixth, Power had a boost problem at the start from not warming up the engine enough and dropped two positions behind the Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing duo of Takuma Sato and Graham Rahal. Power then committed himself to a two stop strategyRead More

By INDYCAR DETROIT – There’s a new car for Verizon IndyCar Series competition in 2018, but it’s still the same old challenging track at Belle Isle Park. And the drivers love it. Ryan Hunter-Reay led practice for the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear on the 14-turn, 2.35-mile temporary street course noted for its concrete surface and constant bumps. Friday’s practices are the only scheduled for the doubleheader race weekend, with qualifying and races scheduled each of the next two days. CHEVROLET DETROIT GRAND PRIX: Practice 1 results; Practice 2 results; CombinedRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer INDIANAPOLIS — After a punctured tire relegated Alexander Rossi to a 32nd place starting position in Sunday’s Indianapolis 500, Rossi clawed his way through the field and finished fourth in a performance that brought the crowd to its feet. Rossi was 28th after the opening lap and climbed to 23rd before the opening round of pit stops. Restarts then became critical as the Californian gained 11 positions from Lap 54 to Lap 77. However, Rossi’s best performance was on Lap 145 where he passed Scott Dixon,Read More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer INDIANAPOLIS— Alexander Rossi will need time. The No. 27 NAPA Auto Parts Honda starts 32nd in Sunday’s Indianapolis 500 after a slowly deflating tire on his pole day qualifying run slowed him. Two drivers -Jim Rathmann in 1957 and Mario Andretti in 1981- have finished second after starting 32nd and on Media Day Rossi was candid about how he’ll plan his attack on race day. “I’ll probably talk to Mario, I don’t think Jim’s race will be on YouTube,” said Rossi. “I don’t know what theyRead 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 — The final day of practice before qualifications for the 102nd Running of the Indianapolis 500 featured increased turbocharger boost pressure, wall contact and an Andretti on top of the speed chart. Marco Andretti’s No. 98 Andretti Autosport Honda turned a fastest lap of 231.802 mph around the 2.5-mile oval. Robert Wickens was second in his No. 6 Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Honda with a lap of 231.732 mph, but both of those laps were assisted with a tow off of cars in front of themRead More