practice Tag

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer MONTEREY, California – The three NTT IndyCar Series Rookie of the Year title contenders swept Friday morning’s practice charts at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca with Colton Herta being both fastest and snake bitten by “The Corkscrew” to close out the 45-minute session. Herta’s time of 1:10.7335 was just 0.0719 seconds faster than rookie points leader Felix Rosenqvist. Santino Ferrucci rounds out the top-three as he was 0.1502 seconds behind. In the closing seconds of practice, Herta’s rear of his No. 88 Capstone Turbine Corporation Honda lockedRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer PORTLAND, Ore. – Two-time Grand Prix of Portland winner Sebastien Bourdais went from putting on a flyer one lap to crashing the Turn 12 barrier the very next lap. Bourdais ran 12 laps during Friday afternoon’s practice session, with the last one being his best with a time of 57.9123 seconds (122.069 mph), knocking Will Power off the top the charts by 0.0289 seconds with just over two minutes remaining. Then a little de ja vu struck when the right front of his No. 18 SealMasterRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer LONG BEACH, California – In both Friday practice sessions, only two drivers topped the practice charts which were Scott Dixon and Ryan Hunter-Reay, who ended up being the two fastest overall drivers in the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, setting themselves as early targets heading into tomorrow’s qualifying session which is expected to be tight. Already making faster laps than last year, due in most part of the cooler temperatures and nice headwind into Turn 1, Hunter-Reay topped the morning session with a time ofRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer In a compelling development, Kyle Busch Motorsports announced Thursday that 2000 NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series champion Greg Biffle will make his first series start since Homestead in 2004, driving the No. 51 Toyota Tundra at Texas Motor Speedway June 7. Biffle was given the nod to run Busch’s truck in one of the practice sessions Thursday, in an attempt to get him back in the NASCAR swing of things after not competing in the sport since the 2016 Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead. At 49Read More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer The No. 42 Credit One Bank Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 driven by Kyle Larson led the way during Friday morning’s pre-qualifying practice session at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Larson ran five laps at the 1.5-mile circuit, eking out last week’s winner Kevin Harvick by 0.037 seconds with a lap time of 28.323 seconds, 190.658 mph. “This year, after having the test and after having the year we had last year that really helps your confidence,” said Larson ahead of the 55 minute session. “We know comingRead More

James Hinchcliffe has suffered an injury to his upper thigh, but is in stable condition after a hard crash during practice for the Indianapolis 500 and is undergoing surgery at Methodist Hospital.  Something appeared to break on the right front suspension car as it suddenly veered to the the right and smashed into the Turn 3 SAFER Barrier. The car then spun down the track and briefly flipped onto its side and came back right side up before sliding to a stop. The Holmatro Safety Team extricated Hinchcliffe out of hisRead More

Helio Castroneves has walked away unhurt following a crash in the South Chute that sent his Shell V Power Chevrolet/Dallara airborne. The Brazillian spun in the end of turn one and crashed into the barrier before the rear of the car lifted off the ground. The car backflipped through the air about 15 feet off the ground before coming to rest upside down on the pavement and flipping back over right side up. The Holmatro Safety crew arrived on the scene and Castroneves walked out of the car under hisRead More

Three-time Indianapolis 500 champion Helio Castroneves didn’t need any help to show speed on Tuesday as he led all drivers with and without a tow. The Brazilian hooked up with his Team Penske teammate Simon Pagenaud to produce the fastest lap so far this month at 227.514 mph (39.5580s) while Pagenaud was clocked just a tick slower at 227.382 mph (39.5809s). The Penske have been the only two drivers to break into the 227 mph range so far. Castroneves topped the charts without a tow while practicing with upgraded sidepodsRead More

Simona de Silvestro has escaped injury following a fire during today’s practice session for the 99th running of the Indianapolis 500. Her #29 TE Connectivity Honda/Dallara started trailing smoke as she was leaving the pit road warm up lane in turn 2. The smoke soon erupted into a fire and she coasted to stop in turn 3 and climbed from the car unharmed. Andretti Autosport discovered that the fuel buckeye was stuck open and allowed ethanol to leak out and heat from the exhaust headers ignited the fire. The teamRead More