simon pagenaud Tag

By Josh Farmer, IndyCar Reporter & NASCAR Contributor Team Penske’s Simon Pagenaud led a rather uneventful first session for this weekend’s Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. The Frenchman set fastest lap of the session (1:01.7246s) with 10 minutes remaining in the session. “It’s the first practic eof the year, so it’s nice to start of nicely,” said Pagenaud. “There’s still a lot of work do.” Pagenaud’s lap was just .0624s quicker than the Honda of A.J. Foyt Racing’s Jack Hawsworth. Pagenaud’s teammate and three time St. Pete winner Helio Castroneves wasRead More

AVONDALE, Ariz. – The Test in the West is already bringing out the best in Team Penske. Record best. Helio Castroneves led four Team Penske drivers in the top six after the first session of the Phoenix International Raceway promoter test Feb. 26, with a lap time that unofficially eclipsed the track record on the 1.022-mile short oval. Indy car great Arie Luyendyk, a two-time Indianapolis 500 winner just named one of three officiating stewards for the 2016 Verizon IndyCar Series season, holds the official one-lap record of 19.608 secondsRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar Correspondent SPEEDWAY, Ind. -Simon Pagenaud should feel like he has more pressure on his shoulders as the 2016 Verizon IndyCar Series season draws closer than he did  in a winless 2015 campaign. Not so fast, apparently. “I think I just feel better, actually. I feel more ready for the situation,” said Pagenaud. “I think last year there were so many unknowns, you know. I was coming from a team where I was number one for three years with great teammates, but it wasn’t like three teammatesRead More

Simon Pagenaud captured his first pole in nearly a year and his first pole on an oval during qualifying for Saturday’s MavTV 500. The Frenchman logged the fastest lap of the day at a 219.112 mph average time and backed it up on his second lap with a 218.792 average to complete a 218.952 pole winning average. “Thanks to my crew for the preparations and it’s exciting to get a superspeedway pole,” said Pagenaud. “Qualifying is one thing. It’s a reward for performance. We have a 500-mile race and hopefullyRead More

Simon Pagenaud reared his double-down times from yesterday with a lap of 230.698 mph to lead the final day of practice before qualifying for the 99th Running of the Indianapolis 500. The Frenchman’s lap was aided by a slight tow while 2008 Indianapolis 500 winner Scott Dixon led the field in the non-tow category with a lap of 230.698 mph. The top two were followed by Tony Kanaan, Marco Andretti, Will Power and Sage Karam, who were all north of 230 mph. Andretti was one of only two other HondasRead More

Simon Pagenaud was the top dog during on Thursday as he paced the time charts both with and without a tow. The Frenchman turned laps of 228.793 mph and 227.662 mph over Carlos Munoz, the fastest man of the month so far and the Chip Ganassi Racing trio of Sage Karam, Scott Dixon and Tony Kanaan. “Today was a really good day for the Avaya car,” Pagenaud said. “We’ve been focusing on understanding what the car does in qualifying runs. Very happy to see the preparation from Penske and howRead More

Series points leader Juan Pablo Montoya set the pace as speed soared during the afternoon session on the lone day of aero kit testing in preparation for the 99th running of the Indianapolis 500. The 2000 Indianapolis 500 champion lapped the 2.5 mile oval in 39.6874s (226.772 mph), eclipsing last year’s opening day speed by three miles an hour. Teammate Helio Castroneves flanked him with a lap of 39.7407s (226.468 mph). Marco Andretti led the charge for Honda and recorded the third quickest lap of 39.7759s (226.268 mph). Chevrolet claimedRead More

Team Penske today announced that DeVilbiss Automotive Refinishing will sponsor the No. 22 Dallara/Chevrolet and driver Simon Pagenaud at the Angie’s List Grand Prix of Indianapolis on Saturday, May 9. Pagenaud, in his first year with Team Penske, is the defending race winner of the event. DeVilbiss, and its parent company Finishing Brands, was recently acquired by Carlisle Companies, an established partner of Team Penske. Through its Hawk Performance brake pad division, Carlisle has experienced tremendous success with Team Penske in both INDYCAR and NASCAR competition.  Carlisle will help highlightRead More

The Verizon IndyCar Series got exactly what they needed out of this past weekend in Southern California following a caution-fest at St. Petersburg, and a disastrous rain-drenched debut in New Orleans. The 41st Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach ran in ideal weather conditions and was relatively light on caution flags, drama, and carnage. While the pass for the lead was actually made on pit road, we saw some strong, aggressive, but clean, racing throughout the field.  . At the end of the day, it was Scott Dixon and theRead More

LONG BEACH, Calif. – It took only eight minutes of the first of three knockout qualifying rounds for the nine-year-old Long Beach track record to fall. Tony Kanaan, who will make his 12th Indy car start in the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach and 297th overall, recorded a lap of 1 minute, 06.7442 seconds on the 1.968-mile, 11-turn street circuit. DOWNLOAD: Qualifying Results About 30 minutes later in the Firestone Fast Six, Helio Castroneves reset the record with a lap of 1:06.6294, which earned the driver of the No.Read More