Mikhail Aleshin Tag

By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar & Road to Indy Writer Expect the unexpected. This year has seen a massive improvement from Honda as they have won five out of eight races and heading into a newly-reconfigured Texas Motor Speedway, the Verizon IndyCar Series had no idea what to expect into Saturday’s Rainguard Water Sealers 600. Well, looking at the practice and qualifying recaps, it was a complete tossup until final practice. In the first practice session, Honda had the top six times as Scott Dixon led Charlie Kimball, Alexander Rossi, Graham Rahal,Read More

By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar & Road to Indy Writer In Friday practice for the Verizon IndyCar Series’ Chevrolet Grand Prix of Detroit doubleheader weekend, Graham Rahal and Helio Castroneves were all alone at the top of the time sheet as both drivers were fastest in each of the two practice sessions. Not only that, but they were second fastest in the session where they weren’t fastest. In opening practice, Rahal went around the 2.35 mile Belle Isle street circuit with a time of 1 min 15.3328 seconds while Castroneves was justRead More

By Frank Santoroski, Staff Writer Reigning Series Champion, Simon Pagenaud, finally has his first oval-track win in the Verizon IndyCar Series. During Saturday night’s Desert Diamond West Valley Phoenix Grand Prix, the driver of the No. 1 Menard’s Team Penske Chevrolet was able to stretch his fuel longer than his competitors and pit later. A fortuitous yellow gave Pagenaud a one-lap advantage after much of the field had pitted under the green. From that point, he never looked back, leading the final 114 laps en route to victory 9.1028 secondsRead More

By Josh Farmer, IndyCar Reporter Age: 29 Years in IndyCar: 2 Podiums: 2 Laps led: 124 2016-17 Team: Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Now that Mikhail Aleshin is officially returning to Schmidt Peterson Motorsports, there is much to be hopeful for. The likable Russian returned to the cockpit of the No. 7 SMP Racing Honda last year after a year hiatus. He ended the year 15th in the standings, just two spots behind teammates James Hinchcliffe. Good for a guy that was out for a year, but it could have been just thatRead More

By Josh Farmer, IndyCar Reporter Mikhail Aleshin will return for a third year at Schmidt Peterson Motorsports in the Verizon IndyCar Series. The 29-year-old from Moscow, Russia will return to the No. 7 SMP Racing Honda alongside James Hinchcliffe for the 2017 season. “Thanks to both the SMP Racing program and our American team, Schmidt Peterson Motorsports, I am to keep fighting for even better results this season in IndyCar,” Aleshin said. “With the Russian flag on my car, and with James and the Schmidt Peterson Motorsports crew, I willRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief This one is going to sting a little for Ryan Hunter-Reay. The 2014 Indianapolis 500 winner and 2012 Verizon IndyCar Series champion came from last on the grid all the way to the front, only to be undone by an electrical issue that relegated him to third at the finish line. The 35-year-old American managed to come through the field and found the lead for 31 laps, and appearing to have a repeat of his 2015 success at Pocono Raceway when he found Victory Lane. However,Read More

By Josh Farmer, IndyCar Reporter Sunday’s running of the ABC Supply 500 at Pocono Raceway has been postponed to Monday at noon ET due to persistent rain. A steady rain started to fall around 12:45 ET and the rains got heavier around 2:15 ET, which drenched the 2.5 mile superspeedway.  Unable to have enough time to dry the track before sunset, track and Verizon IndyCar Series officials elected to postpone the race until tomorrow. This is the second race of the 2016 season to be pushed back due to rain, theRead More

By Josh Farmer, IndyCar Reporter Mikhail Aleshin rocketed around Pocono Raceway to claim his maiden Verizon IndyCar Series pole in his 30th  start. The Russian, who nearly claimed his first series win in the previous round at Mid-Ohio, set the quickest time in this morning’s practice session and backed that up during qualifying to log a 220.445 mph average en route to pole at the 2.5-mile oval in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. “That’s amazing,” said an ecstatic Aleshin. “It’s my first pole in IndyCar and I’m so happy to bring car No.Read More

By Frank Santoroski, Staff Writer Penske Racing’s Simon Pagenaud returned to the winners circle for the first time since early May, taking the win at the Honda Indy 200 at Mid Ohio in the Verizon IndyCar Series. In doing so, he has once again established himself as the man to beat for the 2016 championship. Let’s examine a few of the story lines coming out of the race weekend. 1 ) A Championship Caliber Drive Simon Pagenaud began the season strong and took a large advantage in the standings, butRead More

LEXINGTON, Ohio (Sunday, July 31, 2016) – If there were any questions that Simon Pagenaud was feeling the pressure of the Verizon IndyCar Series title battle, the Team Penske driver answered them emphatically with an aggressive victory at today’s Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio. Pagenaud, in the No. 22 PPG Automotive Refinish Chevrolet, banged his way past teammate and primary championship contender Will Power for the deciding pass of the race and drove on to a 4.1620-second victory. Coupled with winning the Verizon P1 Award in qualifying Saturday, Pagenaud extendedRead More