Max Chilton Tag

By Frank Santoroski, Staff Writer Earlier this evening, the Verizon IndyCar Series made its much-anticipated return to Phoenix International Raceway. When all was said and done, it was Target Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon standing tall in victory lane at the Diamond Desert West Valley Phoenix Grand Prix. “It was tough, definitely one of the toughest races on these short ovals.” said Dixon, a four-time series champion, “The car was super-fast. I think we had the best car out there on strategies and pit stops.” Dixon was followed to theRead More

By Frank Santoroski, Contributing Writer ST. PETERSBURG, Fla – The Verizon IndyCar Series held its season opener on the streets of St. Petersburg seeing Juan Pablo Montoya take victory in the Penske Chevrolet. The win was Montoya’s second consecutive win at the track, and the eighth overall for Team Penske at the venue. Allow me to share some observations from the weekend. 1)Aleshin is for real Almost lost in the shuffle of the weekend’s headlines was the solid performance from Schmidt-Peterson driver, Mikhail Aleshin. The Russian driver qualified his Honda-powered machineRead More

By Adam Tate, Managing Editor Manor F1 reserve driver and 2015 GP2 runner up Alexander Rossi took to the wheel of the No. 98 Andretti-Herta Autosport machine for a tough but solid debut in his first IndyCar race during today’s Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. He finished a lap down in 12th place. A result that perhaps fell somewhat short of expectations, but one that only confirms the quality of Rossi’s talent as a newcomer to IndyCar. A difficult qualifying session saw him struggle on Saturday and start today’s race backRead More

By Josh Farmer, IndyCar Reporter & NASCAR Contributor Will Power recovered from crashing out of the first practice session to click off the fastest lap of the day in the final seconds of a delayed practice session at the Streets of St. Petersburg. A portion of the racing surface in turn 3 came apart just nine minutes into the session. That brought out the red flag for nearly 45 minutes while the track was repaired. Once the action restarted, 2016 Verizon IndyCar Series champion Scott Dixon led for much of theRead More

By Josh Farmer, IndyCar Reporter & NASCAR Contributor Team Penske’s Simon Pagenaud led a rather uneventful first session for this weekend’s Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. The Frenchman set fastest lap of the session (1:01.7246s) with 10 minutes remaining in the session. “It’s the first practic eof the year, so it’s nice to start of nicely,” said Pagenaud. “There’s still a lot of work do.” Pagenaud’s lap was just .0624s quicker than the Honda of A.J. Foyt Racing’s Jack Hawsworth. Pagenaud’s teammate and three time St. Pete winner Helio Castroneves wasRead More

By Frank Santoroski, Contributing Writer The time has nearly arrived for the Verizon IndyCar Series to drop the green flag on their 2016 season. The Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg will take place the weekend of March 11-13, 2016. The scenic track, located on the harbor of Tampa Bay, has been on the IndyCar calendar since 2005 opening the season each year since 2011. St. Petersburg has hosted professional racing on various street courses on-and-off since 1987, when the city first hosted the SCCA Trans-Am Series. The current version ofRead More

By Frank Santoroski, Contributing Writer As the teams and drivers prepare for a new season, one of the most exciting aspects of the 2016 Verizon IndyCar Series is going to be the impressive class of Rookies for the new season. Looking down the list of entries there are no Francesco Dracones or Milka Dunos out there, but a field packed with talent from top to bottom. In that field, there will be three young drivers competing for the Sunoco Rookie of the Year honors. Having been raised in suburban Indianapolis, 24-yearRead More

By Adam Tate, Managing Editor IndyCar stalwart Chip Ganassi Racing has just signed former Marussia Formula One driver Max Chilton for the 2016 IndyCar season. The move effectively replaces Sage Karam and once again brings Ganassi up to four cars. Chilton will drive the No. 8 Chevrolet alongside Ganassi’s strong line up of current champion and long time team leader Scott Dixon, veteran Tony Kanaan and Charlie Kimball. Chilton who in addition to his two season for F1 backmarker Marussia has also contested GP2, Le Mans and most recently Indy Lights, whereRead More

Newton, Iowa – Max Chilton broke through to claim his first Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires victory this evening at Iowa Speedway following a thrilling duel with Carlin teammate and fellow Englishman Ed Jones. Chilton dedicated the victory to his friend and ex-Marussia/Manor Formula 1 teammate Jules Bianchi who passed away yesterday as a result of injuries sustained during last year’s Japanese Grand Prix. Florida teenager RC Enerson continued to impress with a third-place finish in the Indy Lights Iowa 100 for Schmidt Peterson Motorsports with Curb-Agajanian. Prior commitmentsRead More

Passing on the slick and tricky Milwaukee Mile is supposed to be difficult, but don’t tell Grand Prix of Milwaukee winner Felix Serralles that. The Belardi Auto Racing rookie started his second Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tire oval race from the outside of the third row and was able to pass five cars on the way to his first Indy Lights victory. The bevy of passes by the Ponce, Puerto Rico native included a multiple lap side-by-side battle with RC Enerson for the lead of the race with onlyRead More