Matheus Leist Tag

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer The season opener of the NTT IndyCar Series saw a lot of action that resulted in six retirements, notably in the first 30 laps that took out some of the heavy favorites in the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg in Florida. One of the major storylines heading into the 110-lap contest was the struggles of two-time St. Pete winner Sebastien Bourdais, who was eyeing on a three-peat at the 1.8-mile circuit. His bid for a three-peat was already facing multiple roadblocks. Not only he hadRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer Motorsports Tribune reviews the season of the top 12 drivers from the 2018 Verizon IndyCar Series championship. Our list continues with the seventh-place finisher, Sebastien Bourdais. Sebastien Bourdais, No. 18 Sealmaster Honda 2018: 7th in the championship  Wins: 1, Top 5: 5, Top 10: 8, Poles: 1, Laps Led: 108 Best Finish: 1st (St. Petersburg) After a strong start to the season with a victory at St. Petersburg and pole at Phoenix, it’s hard to picture a better start to the 2018 IndyCar season for SebastienRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Despite having two cautions for minor incidents, neither resulted in retirements, but Sunday’s Iowa Corn 300 at Iowa Speedway saw three drivers calling it a day due to car issues. Each retirement resulted significant implications to not only each team, but for one driver, the Verizon IndyCar Series championship. Among the three retirements, A.J. Foyt Racing rookie and 2017 Iowa Indy Lights winner Matheus Leist’s was a cultivation of a sour weekend, beginning in Saturday’s opening practice, when his No. 4 ABC Supply Chevrolet hadRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer NEWTON, Iowa — Two practice sessions, qualifying and some Indy Lights track time detailed Saturday’s action ahead of Sunday’s Iowa Corn 300 for the Verizon IndyCar Series. In the opening practice session, Josef Newgarden was fastest over Will Power, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Alexander Rossi and Zach Veach. Team Penske and Andretti Autosport would be the dominant teams of the day. However, Matheus Leist was rather unlucky as he got loose coming through Turn 2 after completing 15 laps and spun, hitting the wall with the rear ofRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer After a much-needed week off, the Verizon IndyCar Series returns to Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin for the tenth race in the 2018 schedule, the KOHLER Grand Prix. Road America made a welcome return to the IndyCar calendar in 2016 and has quickly become one of the largest race day crowds on the schedule. Will Power and Scott Dixon have won the last two races at Road America and both have twice visited victory lane this year. Power swept the Indianapolis Motor Speedway rounds ofRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief FORTH WORTH, Texas – Tony Kanaan was undone by a mysterious issue which led to an early exit in Saturday night’s DXC Technology 600 at Texas Motor Speedway. The 43-year-old Brazilian enjoyed 18 previous starts, which included one win, nine podiums, 364 laps led and completing 3,780 of 3,783 laps at the 1.5-mile superspeedway oval. However, the 2004 Verizon IndyCar Series champion’s race came undone on Lap 28 of 248 as he slowed to pit road. He returned to the action 13 laps down before ultimatelyRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer INDIANAPOLIS– With Pole Day qualifying beginning soon for the Indianapolis 500, it’s time for some random qualifying predictions. Final Row: Conor Daly, James Davison, Zachary Claman De Melo. This is based on Carlin’s earlier no-tow speeds during the week being higher on the time sheet and that Davison and Daly will not put their equipment at too much risk to make the show. Rahal found .3 mph yesterday and if that goes across all three cars, they might have pulled themselves off the back row. RowRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer INDIANAPOLIS — Wednesday practice came and went for the 35 drivers entered to qualify for 33 spots in this year’s Indianapolis 500 and Marco Andretti was on top of the time sheet. The 2006 Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year turned a fastest lap of 227.053 mph in his No. 98 Andretti Autosport Honda but on the unassisted draft chart Andretti was only tenth fastest. Tony Kanaan was fastest on the unassisted lap chart with a lap of 223.048 mph. “Checking off the boxes right now,Read More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer INDIANAPOLIS — In the first day of practice for the 2018 Indianapolis 500, Team Penske’s Simon Pagenaud turned the fastest lap of the day. Pagenaud’s No. 22 Menards Chevrolet went around the 2.5 mile superspeedway at an average speed of 225.787 mph in a lap that came during the morning session. “It was a very productive day,” said Pagenaud. “So, yeah, felt pretty happy. We’re obviously still learning a lot about the aerodynamics of the car. It’s quite different to what we had the past fewRead 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