Rene Binder Tag

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer PORTLAND, Oregon — Off the track, Juncos Racing driver Alfonso Celis, Jr. of Mexico City is an avid soccer fan,  rooting for Real Madrid and Tigres UANL. On the track, though, he’s all business and looking to make a name in open wheel racing as he’s set to make his second career Verizon IndyCar Series start at Portland International Raceway Sunday. However, the former Force India test driver has seen himself waiting on the sidelines, eager to run as many races possible. The task hasRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer Sebastien Bourdais had a less than ideal qualifying session this past Saturday at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course as his mistake in the first round brought out a red flag, dropping him to last place for Sunday’s Honda Indy 200 for the Verizon IndyCar Series. The No. 18 Sealmaster Honda lined up 24th and relied on an aggressive three stop strategy to get to the front. Pitting for the first time on Lap 10, Bourdais had worked his way up to 19th place. Using the newly-found advantageRead 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 DETROIT — After the massive high of winning the 102nd Indianapolis 500, Will Power’s dream week came back down to earth with a seventh place finish in the first of two races in the Chevrolet Dual in Detroit as the top Chevrolet-powered driver. Starting sixth, Power had a boost problem at the start from not warming up the engine enough and dropped two positions behind the Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing duo of Takuma Sato and Graham Rahal. Power then committed himself to a two stop strategyRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer The Chevrolet Dual in Detroit is the only doubleheader race weekend for the 2018 Verizon IndyCar Series season and much went on at the Belle Isle circuit on Friday. First, McLaren brass were at the track evaluating a future IndyCar program. Although no announcements have been made about a program, this is a positive sign for IndyCar as it attempts to bring in more manufacturers to compete. There were two practice sessions on Friday and in the first session it was a Honda party up front.Read More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer BIRMINGHAM, Alabama — Friday practice for the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama has concluded for the Verizon IndyCar Series and there’s a lot of interesting storylines following the hour and 45 minutes of practice that the competitors were granted. First of all, the reduction of downforce with the new Universal Aero Kits is felt almost immediately with many drivers losing control of their cars heading to Turn 5. Sebastien Bourdais, Zach Veach, Josef Newgarden, Simon Pagenaud and Gabby Chaves among others had issues with theRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer Robert Wickens intended to impress on his Verizon IndyCar Series debut and impress the rookie did, scoring pole position and nearly winning Sunday’s Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. The 28-year-old Canadian beat Team Penske’s Will Power to the pole and led the first five laps until another rookie, Jordan King, took over after an early restart. Wickens repaid King’s favor on the next restart and led until the No. 6 Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Honda made its way to pit lane on Lap 25. The 2011Read More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Defending Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg winner Sébastien Bourdais restarted in third with two laps remaining. One corner later, Alexander Rossi tangled with race leader and INDYCAR series debutant driver Robert Wickens, propelling Bourdais’ No. 18 SealMaster Honda on top of the leaderboard and captured a feelgood second straight win at the Florida street circuit, leading 30 of 110 laps. The victory was Bourdais’ 37th career INDYCAR victory and perhaps his most triumphant after surviving a horrific Turn 2 qualifying crash during Pole DayRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer ST. PETERSBURG, Florida — It’s back to school time for the Verizon IndyCar Series and the Mazda Road to Indy presented by Cooper Tires and the streets of St. Petersburg, Fl showcases the drivers on a grand stage. Let’s take a look at random tidbits from Friday. IndyCar For the IndyCar guys, it was an interesting situation on top of the time sheets in the two practice sessions. Matheus Leist was quickest, the first year driver for A.J. Foyt Racing going around the 1.8 mile streetRead More

By Aaron Bearden, Contributing Writer With Juncos Racing intending to step up their participation in the Verizon IndyCar Series after a one-off run in the 101st Running of the Indianapolis 500 in 2017, the organization has named a second driver for the upcoming season. The team announced Friday that Rene Binder will join them and drive the No. 32 Juncos Racing entry for a four-race effort in the 2018 INDYCAR season. The Austrian driver will begin the year at St. Petersburg, Florida, with additional starts planned at Barber Motorsports Park,Read More