Parker Thompson Tag

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

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer LEXINGTON, Ohio — The Verizon IndyCar Series heads to Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course for the Honda Indy 200 and if past performances are anything to go off of, the rest of the field should be afraid of Scott Dixon. The current INDYCAR points leader has five victories at Mid-Ohio (2007, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2014) and currently leads Josef Newgarden by 62 points with five races to go including Mid-Ohio. Behind Dixon and Newgarden in the standings are the top half of Andretti Autosport’s quartet. Alexander RossiRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer TORONTO — Friday has come and gone for the 2018 Verizon IndyCar Series’s annual visit north of the border for the Honda Indy Toronto and if the practice sheets are any indication, Honda will be tough to beat around the 1.786 mile street circuit. Honda-powered cars took the top six positions in the opening practice session and the top five positions in the second practice session with Scott Dixon leading both sessions. Will Power was the fastest Chevrolet in the first session, Spencer Pigot was theRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer TORONTO — The 2018 Honda Indy Toronto kicks off with Mazda Road to Indy practice ahead of Sunday’s race for the Verizon IndyCar Series and looking ahead, it figures to be a banner weekend. James Hinchcliffe is coming off of a win in the Iowa Corn 300 last week at Iowa Speedway but has some mixed odds heading into Toronto. Despite having two third place finishes on the streets near Exhibition Place, the 2016 Indianapolis 500 polesitter has not finished higher than sixth in any raceRead More

By Road to Indy PALMETTO, Fla. – All three levels of the highly effective Mazda Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires open-wheel development ladder will venture north of the border this week for their annual visit to the streets surrounding Exhibition Place – just minutes away from downtown Toronto – in support of the Verizon IndyCar Series. The 1.786-mile, 11-turn temporary circuit always provides a stiff challenge for the drivers with its omnipresent concrete walls ready to punish any mistakes. Two races each will be held for Indy LightsRead More