Sebastien Bourdais Tag

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Max Chilton saw his race come to an abrupt end after falling victim to an early crash in the Honda Indy Toronto at Exhibition Place. A restart on the Lap 33 proved to be the turning point of Sunday’s Verizon IndyCar Series event as Graham Rahal ran into the back of Chilton entering Turn 1, which led to a seven-car crash and forced the latter to retire from the 85-lap contest. The drama started as soon as race leader Josef Newgarden went up in theRead 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 ELKHART LAKE, Wisconsin — Robert Wickens has not raced at Road America since 2007 but the Verizon IndyCar Series rookie didn’t look like he was out of place as he pushed his No. 6 Lucas Oil Honda to fifth position in qualifying for Sunday’s Kohler Grand Prix. Fifth was the number of the day for the Canadian. Wickens was fifth in his group during the first round of qualifying and repeated that performance in the second round to advance to the Firestone Fast Six. “I thoughtRead More

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 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 INDYCAR INDIANAPOLIS – If there’s one thing known following the final practice prior to the 102nd Indianapolis 500 presented by PennGrade Motor Oil, it’s that no one knows for sure what is going to happen in Sunday’s iconic race. Miller Lite Carb Day at Indianapolis Motor Speedway featured the traditional one-hour practice for Verizon IndyCar Series competitors – the last chance for the 33 drivers and teams to zero in on the ideal car setup for race day. Tony Kanaan, the 2013 Indy 500 winner, led the session withRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief INDIANAPOLIS – Despite the nerves that existed within, Sebastien Bourdais battled through them to qualify fifth for the 102nd Running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by PennGrade Motor Oil. The traditional weekend of qualifying features the ultimate blend of courage and speed with Bump Day on Saturday and Pole Day on Sunday. The pressure to put together four crisp laps around the daunting Indianapolis Motor Speedway is always at an all-time high. Taking an Indy car to its limits – and past them – is somethingRead 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– With Pole Day qualifying beginning soon for the Indianapolis 500, it’s time for some random qualifying predictions. Final Row: Conor Daly, James Davison, Zachary Claman De Melo. This is based on Carlin’s earlier no-tow speeds during the week being higher on the time sheet and that Davison and Daly will not put their equipment at too much risk to make the show. Rahal found .3 mph yesterday and if that goes across all three cars, they might have pulled themselves off the back row. RowRead 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