Ryan Hunter-Reay Tag

By Josh Farmer, IndyCar Reporter Ryan Hunter-Reay’s Honda came to a halt in turn four for an apparent engine issue just around 4:09 p.m. Hunter-Reay had set the 10th quickest speed of the day (226.495) up until that point and was the quickest car on track yesterday. This is Honda’s second engine issue of the week with Schmidt Peterson Motorsports’ Mikhail Aleshin losing an engine yesterday. Honda Performance Development delivered a fresh Honda powerplant shortly after the car was towed back to the team’s garage and the team is swapping outRead More

By Frank Santoroski, Staff Writer As the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is making preparations for the historic 100th running of the Greatest Spectacle in Racing, it is a wonderful time to take a trip down memory lane and examine the rich history of this uniquely American event. Each of the 99 previous races has produced a winner that will forever have his name etched in motor racing history. 67 race winning drivers, and two relief drivers have their images on the Borg-Warner Trophy. There are, however, an untold number of heartbreakingRead More

By Frank Santoroski, Staff Writer Round four for the Verizon IndyCar Series is now in the books, with Team Penske’s Simon Pagenaud taking his second consecutive win on the season. Allow me to share some of my observations from the weekend. 1 ) Frenchy Can Drive Yes, I know that some racing purists hate this movie, but Talladega Nights  ranks as one of my guilty pleasures, and I have probably watched this film a dozen times. Comparisons between Simon Pagenaud and the Jean Girard character have been abundant since PagenaudRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Simon Pagenaud dominated early and came back late to score back-to-back wins in the Verizon IndyCar Series. Capturing his first win for team owner Roger Penske last weekend at Long Beach, the Frenchman scored the pole at Barber Motorsports Park and extended his championship lead in what has been a phenomenal start to the season following a thrilling finish in the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama. A spin on the pace laps by Mikhail Aleshin followed by a run-off by Jack Hawksworth delayed the startRead More

By Frank Santoroski, Staff Writer This coming weekend the Verizon IndyCar Series will return to the Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, AL, as they continue their 2016 season. The race weekend is slated for April 22-24, 2016. About the Race The Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama is round four of sixteen for the Verizon IndyCar Series in 2016. The event is held on a permanent road course, the first of five such races on the calendar. The defending race winner is Ed Carpenter Racing’s Josef Newgarden. The young driverRead More

By Frank Santoroski, Staff Writer The Verizon IndyCar Series held its final practice before qualifications for the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. Team Penske, with their four-car juggernaut, swept the top of the charts led by 2014 Series Champion, Will Power.  Power’s Penske teammates, Simon Pagenaud, Helio Castroneves and Juan Pablo Montoya took positions two through four, respectively. With a lap 1:06.89, pacing the circuit at 105.918 mph, the Australian driver topped the time charts in the morning session, completing pre-qualifying efforts that saw Penske cars lead both theRead More

By Josh Farmer, IndyCar Reporter & NASCAR Contributor The debate on the domed skids for the superspeedways seems to be pretty split throughout the Verizon IndyCar Series paddock. The domed skits are mounted on the bottom of the chassis and are designed to change the airflow under the car when the car spins in order to keep the cars from getting airborne. With the domed skids comes a reduction in downforce, As a result of that, the downforce generated by the bottom of the cars is reduced due to the raisingRead More

By Frank Santoroski, Staff Writer The Verizon IndyCar Series ran their second event on the schedule, and the first oval event of the year last night. Target Chip Ganassi driver, Scott Dixon, won the race in a dominating fashion leading the final 155 laps at Phoenix International Raceway. Allow me to share some observations of what we witnessed on Saturday Night. 1 ) The Aero Package isn’t quite right    As a few drivers and team owners predicted, the racing became largely processional with the cars becoming strung out. DriversRead More

By Frank Santoroski, Staff Writer AVONDALE, AZ. April 2, 2016 – Heading into tonight’s Desert Diamond West Valley Phoenix Grand Prix, Honda teams are left scratching their heads as Chevrolet-powered cars swept the first ten grid positions led by Penske Racing’s Helio Castroneves. After completing a two-day test in February, all the Verizon IndyCar Series teams reported that track conditions were remarkably different upon returning to the 1.022 mile oval.  The track had hosted the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in the interim and, despite a power-washing of the surface, quiteRead More

By Frank Santoroski, Staff Writer Andretti Autosport put the rumors to rest when they confirmed that Townsend Bell will be joining the team’s effort at the 100th Running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by PennGrade Motor Oil. Bell will be driving the No. 29 car in a fifth entry with the team that has three Indianapolis 500 wins to their credit. The Andretti team utilizes the Honda powerplant and aero package.  Sponsorship has not been announced, although the Robert Graham fashion company, a sponsor of Bell’s in the past, willRead More