Rick Mears Tag

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer INDIANAPOLIS – If you were to ask Rick Mears about his racing career, you’ll learn right away he never dreamt about competing at Indianapolis. Racing happened to be a family recreation until a snowball effect kicked into high gear. Once retiring from racing in 1992, Mears was a four-time winner of the Indianapolis 500. Safe to say, he made a good living in racing. When he was strapping into multiple types of vehicles, Mears concentrated on what’s in front of him. Any distractions would driftRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer In a time period where the world of American open wheel racing pushed the confines of danger, a series of life-changing accidents were always common. When certain accidents happen, action must be taken to prevent serious injuries or even death. It was the main focal point of the upcoming documentary Rapid Response, and right away you’ll get that feel as to why the professionally staffed safety team came to be. Without a shadow of a doubt, this documentary takes you on a dramatic trip to theRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer With the 2018 Verizon IndyCar Series season rapidly approaching, Motorsports Tribune is previewing each of the teams competing on the tour. The site’s IndyCar staff will break each team down, laying out their results from the previous season while previewing the year to come for the organization and their driver(s). Team: Team Penske (@Team_Penske) Drivers: Josef Newgarden, Simon Pagenaud, Will Power What Happened Last Year: Josef Newgarden was the new guy for Roger Penske’s IndyCar squad. But the Hendersonville, Tennessee native immediately showed everybody why he wasRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar & Road to Indy Writer Team Penske confirmed today that three-time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves will switch from racing in the Verizon IndyCar Series full time in 2018 to the IMSA Weather Tech Sports Car Championship, piloting one of the teams’ two Acura ARX-05 DPi prototypes. Castroneves is the third driver to be announced for the Penske sports car program after Juan Pablo Montoya and Dane Cameron were confirmed for the other prototype. Remaining drivers have yet to be announced. Castroneves will continue racing for TeamRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar & Road to Indy Writer NEWTON, Iowa — Helio Castroneves went 1,134 days without a victory in the Verizon IndyCar Series after his last win at the Detroit doubleheader race on June 1, 2014. His winless streak ended Sunday in victory at the Iowa Corn 300 at Iowa Speedway, also ending Team Penske’s 11 year run of futility at Iowa. Castroneves started third, grabbed the lead for the first time on Lap 20 and ended up leading 217 of the final 280 laps, passing Al Unser Sr.Read More

By Frank Santoroski, Staff Writer This coming weekend the Verizon IndyCar Series hold its most prestigious event of the year, The Indianapolis 500. Race day is scheduled for May 28, 2017. About the Race The Indianapolis 500 is round six of seventeen for the Verizon IndyCar Series in 2017. The event is held on a paved oval track, one of six such events in 2017. The defending race winner is Alexander Rossi. The Andretti Autosport driver won the 500 as a rookie, and it is was his first IndyCar careerRead More

By Frank Santoroski, Staff Writer In sharp contrast to some of his contemporaries, who can be found at the race track week-in and week-out, two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Gordon Johncock rarely speaks about, or even thinks about, racing these days. He makes precious few personal appearances, only occasionally grants interviews, and is likely to refer you to IMS historian, Donald Davidson, for questions about his racing stats. Now 80 years old, Johncock routinely puts in a full day of work at Quigley Lumber, the business that he owns in SouthRead More

By Frank Santoroski, Staff Writer This coming weekend the Verizon IndyCar Series will return to Pocono Raceway for the ABC Supply 500 continuing the 2016 season. The event is slated for August 20-21, 2016. About the Race The ABC Supply 500 at Pocono is round thirteen of sixteen for the Verizon IndyCar Series in 2016. The event is held on a oval track, one of five such races on the schedule. The defending race champion is Ryan Hunter-Reay, who drives the No. 28 DHL Honda for Andretti Autosport . This will beRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief INDIANAPOLIS – Rick Mears is arguably one of the greatest drivers at the Indianapolis 500 and for team owner Roger Penske. The four-time Indianapolis 500 champion has enjoyed several special moments at the 2.5-mile oval, but aside from his victories, one of Mears’ favorite memories was his first pole. The legendary driver jetted to the top of the pylon in 1979, the same year he won his first Indy 500, in a Penske PC-6. Recalling the joyous memory, Mears shared it with the media on FastRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, Contributing Writer 1991 was a pivotal year for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The 75th running of the Indianapolis 500 would be run on May 26 and the IndyCar season got off to an interesting start as it led up to the month of May. Four-time Indianapolis 500 winner Al Unser Sr. was without a ride as the Alfa-Romeo program signed Danny Sullivan as its main driver, relegating Roberto Guerrero to the sidelines until Alfa-Romeo picked Guerrero up for the race. Unser Sr. was unable to find a rideRead More