Parker Thompson Tag

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer BIRMINGHAM, Alabama– The 2019 Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama has two practice sessions in the books and quite honestly, nobody really knows what to expect for the third round of the 2019 NTT IndyCar Series at Barber Motorsports Park. With a forecast changing about as rapidly as the track’s direction, it’s almost as if nobody knows where to go for the right setup, nor does anyone have any clue about the Firestone red sidewall (alternate) tires except for maybe James Hinchcliffe since he was thirdRead More

By Road to Indy ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Parker Thompson and Abel Motorsports ensured a virtually perfect commencement to their fresh partnership as the gifted Canadian led from start to finish in today’s Grand Prix of St. Petersburg Presented by Allied Building Products. Thompson, who celebrated his 21st birthday just one week ago, backed up his victory in yesterday’s opening round of the Indy Pro 2000 Championship Presented by Cooper Tires by posting the fastest time in qualifying earlier this morning. The native of Red Deer, Alb., Canada, then catapultedRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer ST. PETERSBURG — Friday for the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg had many interesting happenings across all the INDYCAR system so let’s take a look from the top down. In the NTT IndyCar Series practice sessions, Felix Rosenqvist led the first session in his first race for Chip Ganassi Racing in the No. 10 NTT Data Honda. The Swede was ahead of Ryan Hunter-Reay in the first session but Hunter-Reay’s No. 28 Andretti Autosports DHL Honda led the second session. What’s more odd is thatRead More

By Road to Indy ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Two weeks ago, Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires veteran Parker Thompson wasn’t even sure he would be on the grid this season. How quickly things can change. After concluding a late deal to join debutant team Abel Motorsports, Thompson, from Red Deer, Alb., Canada, came from behind to take the checkered flag comfortably clear of impressive rookie Rasmus Lindh (Juncos Racing). Lindh’s teammate, Sting Ray Robb, from Payette, Idaho, matched his career-best finish in third. Unlike the earlier Cooper TiresRead More

By Road to Indy 2019 HOMESTEAD, Fla. – Two days of Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires Spring Training for both the Indy Pro 2000 Championship Presented by Cooper Tires and the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship wrapped up this afternoon at the Homestead-Miami Speedway road course in South Florida. Teams and drivers were greeted by warm weather – a welcome respite for some after a particularly harsh winter in the Midwest and Northeast – as they completed preparations for next weekend’s season-opening Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. Sting RayRead More

By Road to Indy PALMETTO, Fla. – Less than three weeks after another successful season for the world-renowned Mazda Road to Indy open-wheel development ladder wrapped up in Portland, Ore., teams and drivers are already focused on 2019 as the Eighth Annual Chris Griffis Memorial Open Test takes place this coming weekend, September 22/23, at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Grand Prix road course. Almost three dozen drivers representing 15 different nationalities are already signed up for two days of action on the 2.439-mile, 14-turn track in Speedway, Ind., for allRead More

By Road to Indy PORTLAND, Ore. – A pair of talented youngsters shared the honors in this afternoon’s penultimate round of the Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires at Portland International Raceway. Rinus VeeKay, 17, secured the championship – plus a Mazda Scholarship prize worth almost $800,000 to progress into Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires in 2019 – with a conservative drive to second for Juncos Racing, while Oliver Askew, 21, scored an overdue maiden victory for Cape Motorsports. Parker Thompson finished third for Exclusive Autosport. After winningRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer PORTLAND, Oregon — Friday practice has come and gone for the Verizon IndyCar Series ahead of Sunday’s Grand Prix of Portland and the time sheets saw numerous names flying up and down in unexpected places. While it’s expected to see Sebastien Bourdais near the top and he in fact led the opening session, the midfield was full of happy surprises. Santino Ferrucci was 12th fastest in the opening session in his first IndyCar race since the Chevrolet Duel in Detroit. Ahead of Ferrucci was Jack HarveyRead More

By Road to Indy MADISON, Ill. – Dutch teenager Rinus VeeKay moved another step closer to this year’s Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires with another dominant performance this afternoon for Juncos Racing at the 1.25-mile Gateway Motorsports Park oval. VeeKay, who started second, leapt into the lead at the start, then fought off a mid-race challenge from teammate Robert Megennis before cruising to victory – his fifth in a row – to open up a commanding lead over closest rival Parker Thompson with only two races remaining thisRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer LEXINGTON, Ohio — A Honda-powered driver has not won the Honda Indy 200 since Graham Rahal’s triumph in 2015 but the 2018 Verizon IndyCar Series visits the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course with Honda having a decent edge through Friday practice. In the opening practice, Honda had eight of the top 10 positions while in the second session they had seven of the top 10. On the odd side of statistics, only one driver stayed in the top five in both practice sessions and that was EdRead More