simon pagenaud Tag

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer MONTEREY, California – Four of the best NTT IndyCar Series drivers this season will have excellent starting positions for Sunday’s Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca as they’ll start in the top-six. Defending series champion Scott Dixon leads the group as he’ll start alongside pole sitter Colton Herta. Considered the long shot out of the group, Dixon trails points leader Josef Newgarden by 85 points. After qualifying, Dixon felt his No. 9 PNC Bank Honda has gradually improved. Notably, finding a wayRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer MONTEREY, California – In the closing minutes of Friday afternoon’s practice, Ryan Hunter-Reay maximized his red compound Firestone tires to set a scorching time of 1:09.9105, putting him on top of the board at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. Hunter-Reay dethroned rookie points leader Felix Rosenqvist by 0.0200 seconds and when comparing his No. 28 DHL Honda after Thursday’s two test sessions, Hunter-Reay felt better about it but his concern shifted towards the tricky nature of the 2.238-mile circuit. His goal is to avoid making any mistakesRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer MONTEREY, California – From second fastest in Thursday morning’s two-hour testing session to fastest in the four-hour afternoon session, 19-year-old Colton Herta once again got people noticing his raw talent. This time being at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca where he set the top overall time of 1:10.0720, out performing Will Power by 0.4663 seconds. The rookie felt he was able to get a proper feel on the Firestone tires which was his goal in the combined six-hour session. “It means a lot. We’re all trying to goRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer PORTLAND, Ore. – Lap 1. Turn 1. Chaos ensues yet again in the Grand Prix of Portland. The story was a field of 23 hungry wolves storming into the Shelton Chicane, eyeing on gaining as many spots as possible. However, like a year go, some drivers didn’t make it past the corner as a multi-car crash took out both ARROW Schmidt Peterson Motorsports drivers Conor Daly and James Hinchcliffe, Zach Veach and Graham Rahal. Other drivers involved were championship contender Simon Pagenaud, Spencer Pigot and defendingRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer PORTLAND, Ore. – Despite already having a championship to his name, NTT IndyCar Series points leader Josef Newgarden is anything but comfortable heading into Sunday’s Grand Prix of Portland. One of the showstoppers from last year’s 105-lap contest due to his daring passes heading into the Shelton Chicane, the man with a 38-point advantage over his Penske teammate Simon Pagenaud knows the task at hand in these final two races. The gap between the two Penske teammates could favor the leader as his 38 points isRead More

By INDYCAR MADISON, Ill. — NTT IndyCar Series driver Takuma Sato hasn’t had many weeks as wild as this past one. Sato qualified fifth for Saturday’s Bommarito Automotive Group 500 at World Wide Technology Raceway, dropped to last place after opening-lap contact with other cars in Turn 1 and battled back to win in the closest finish in this track’s 10-year history – 0.0399 seconds over Ed Carpenter. The victory came six days after being the center of attention for his role in the first-lap, multi-car accident at Pocono Raceway thatRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor MADISON, Ill. – Josef Newgarden will be leaving World Wide Technology Raceway with an increased point lead, but for the Team Penske driver, a late race incident with rookie Santino Ferrucci only managed to turn what should have been a positive night into a frustrating one. As pit strategy turned the points race on its head and looked to give Newgarden a sizeable points advantage over then second place championship contender Alexander Rossi with two races remaining on the 2019 NTT IndyCar Series schedule, theRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor MADISON, Ill. – Josef Newgarden’s hot streak entering the weekend at World Wide Technology Raceway keeps on rolling as the championship points leader in the NTT IndyCar Series will start from pole for Saturday night’s Bommarito Automotive Group 500. Rolling off last in the qualifying order, Newgarden laid down a two-lap average of 186.508 mph, knocking Sebastien Bourdais off the provisional pole and taking it for himself. The pole is his second straight and third of the 2019 season. Newgarden is no stranger to successRead More

By INDYCAR LONG POND, Pa. – Team Penske driver Will Power earned his first NTT IndyCar Series victory of the season, extending his streak of consecutive seasons with at least one victory to 13. This victory came in Sunday’s ABC Supply 500 at Pocono Raceway, the 2.5-mile track where he won for the third time in four years. Power’s streak is second only to Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon, who has won NTT IndyCar Series races in 15 consecutive seasons. Driving the No. 12 Verizon Chevrolet, Power was leading thisRead More