robert wickens Tag

By David Morgan, IndyCar Contributor FORT WORTH, Texas – On a boiling hot afternoon in the Lone Star State, Team Penske flexed their muscle in qualifying for Saturday night’s DXC Technology 600 as they snagged the top three starting positions with Josef Newgarden on pole, Simon Pagenaud joining him on the front row, and Will Power in third. The three Team Penske Chevrolets were the only ones to crack 220 mph in qualifying as Newgarden laid down the fastest lap of the three at 23.480 seconds, 220.613 mph. Pagenaud’s fast lapRead More

By Aaron Bearden, Open Wheel Editor DETROIT – Alexander Rossi will lead the Verizon IndyCar Series field to the green in Race 2 of the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix after laying down the fastest lap in a wet morning qualifying session. Rossi’s quick time of 1:33.3143 served as the top circuit in Group 2, elevating the Californian to his third-career IndyCar pole. Andretti Autosport swept the weekend’s two qualifying sessions, with Marco Andretti securing the pole for Saturday’s first IndyCar race. Following Rossi in Group 2 were Indianapolis 500 champion Will Power, Saturday winner ScottRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer DETROIT –Ryan Hunter-Reay only finished 1.8249 seconds behind Chevrolet Dual in Detroit race one winner Scott Dixon, but he wasn’t entirely pleased with his Saturday effort on the streets of Belle Isle. “Today we got hosed on qualifying,” said Hunter-Reay. “The officials completely checked out on the whole deal and that would’ve given us two extra spots on the grid, maybe that was enough to make the difference. “You just can’t give up anything in this series; you can’t give up two feet, you can’t giveRead 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 INDIANAPOLIS– Robert Wickens was turning his fourth practice lap on Monday’s post-qualifying practice session in preparation for the Indianapolis 500, but never made it around to the start finish line. The No. 6 Lucas Oil Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Honda got loose coming through Turn 2 asWickens chased the car up the track before making light contact with the right side of the car. However, the damage was done. The Canadian’s suspension was broken and the car then hit the wall on the backstretch, coming to aRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer INDIANAPOLIS — Pole Day has come and gone in preparation for the 102nd Running of the Indianapolis 500. There were surprises and interesting happenings during the day so let’s take a look at them. First of all, Ed Carpenter scored his third Indianapolis 500 pole with a four-lap average of 229.618 mph, almost a full mph higher than Simon Pagenaud starting second. It was interesting to see Helio Castroneves fall so much on his Fast Nine qualifying attempt. The fastest driver in yesterday’s runs, the speedRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer INDIANAPOLIS — The final day of practice before qualifications for the 102nd Running of the Indianapolis 500 featured increased turbocharger boost pressure, wall contact and an Andretti on top of the speed chart. Marco Andretti’s No. 98 Andretti Autosport Honda turned a fastest lap of 231.802 mph around the 2.5-mile oval. Robert Wickens was second in his No. 6 Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Honda with a lap of 231.732 mph, but both of those laps were assisted with a tow off of cars in front of themRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer INDIANAPOLIS — Wednesday practice came and went for the 35 drivers entered to qualify for 33 spots in this year’s Indianapolis 500 and Marco Andretti was on top of the time sheet. The 2006 Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year turned a fastest lap of 227.053 mph in his No. 98 Andretti Autosport Honda but on the unassisted draft chart Andretti was only tenth fastest. Tony Kanaan was fastest on the unassisted lap chart with a lap of 223.048 mph. “Checking off the boxes right now,Read More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer INDIANAPOLIS — Scott Dixon did not have the best setup in his car for qualifying ahead of Saturday’s INDYCAR Grand Prix at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course and that showed when he ended up 18th on Friday. That result required a lot of car setup changes. “Dampers, springs, geometry, closed cambers, it was pretty much everything,” said Dixon. “I think we actually threw in a kitchen sink on most of them, too. It was definitely a lot of changes. There was no session we didn’tRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer INDIANAPOLIS — Alexander Rossi had to save critical amounts of fuel late in the INDYCAR Grand Prix at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course but it was a familiar experience as he brought his car home fifth. Starting eighth, Rossi managed to get to sixth on the opening lap thanks to Jordan King and Simon Pagenaud’s second turn incident. Passing James Hinchcliffe soon after the track went back to green, Rossi stayed fifth until the opening cycle of pit stops. After leading two laps, Rossi thenRead More