INDYCAR News for the Month of June 2020
GMR Grand Prix entry list – The official INDYCAR entry list for the NTT INDYCAR SERIES GMR Grand Prix on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course is available at the link. – INDYCAR – (6/30/2020)
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Alonso’s Indy 500 livery unveiled – The livery for the Arrow McLaren SP No. 66 Fernando Alonso will drive at the 104th Running of the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race has been unveiled. Check out the livery on our No. 66 livery page here. – Fernando Alonso – (6/30/2020)
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Trackside podcast 6/29/20 – 107.5 The Fan’s Trackside with Curt Cavin and Kevin Lee radio show from 6/29/20 is a great listen as always. Nathan Brown is a guest on the show. – 107.5 The Fan – (6/30/2020)
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Ganassi to test Jimmie Johnson on IMS road course next week – NASCAR legend Jimmie Johnson will test an NTT INDYCAR SERIES car with Chip Ganassi Racing next Wednesday on the road course at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. – CGR – (6/29/2020)
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RLL unveils One Cure livery for No. 30 at GMR GP – Rahal Letterman Lanigan racing has unveiled a new CSU One Cure livery for their No. 30 entry for Takuma Sato in this weekend’s GMR Grand Prix at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Check out the livery on our No. 30 livery page here. – RLL – (6/29/2020)
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IMS announces intention to allow fans for Indy 500 at 50% capacity – “Indianapolis Motor Speedway officials confirmed June 26 their commitment to welcoming spectators to the 104th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge on Sunday, Aug. 23, with the venue capacity limited to 50 percent attendance. “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” was postponed from its original date of Sunday, May 24 due to the COVID-19 health crisis.” Full release at the link. – IMS – (6/26/2020)
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INDYCAR confirms fans welcome at Road America – “The NTT INDYCAR SERIES will welcome fans back to the track for the first time in 2020 on July 9-12 at Road America for the REV Group Grand Prix presented by American Medical Response doubleheader race weekend. Under the guidance of public health officials, medical experts and local, state and federal authorities, INDYCAR and Road America will observe safe social distancing practices and provide enhanced hygiene and safety precautions for all fans attending the event. All guests will be screened in their vehicles with contactless temperature checks before entering the parking areas, and only essential racing personnel will have access to the INDYCAR paddock. A PPE kit that includes a face mask as well as hand sanitizer will be provided to each guest upon arrival to the track.” Full release at the link. – INDYCAR – (6/25/2020)
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Tirico to host NBC coverage of INDYCAR/NASCAR weekend at IMS – “Mike Tirico will host NBC Sports’ coverage of the historic NASCAR/INDYCAR crossover weekend on Fourth of July weekend, anchoring 10-plus hours of coverage from Indianapolis Motor Speedway on July 4-5 on NBC. Tirico will be joined by special guests throughout the crossover weekend, including current and former INDYCAR and NASCAR drivers.” Full release at the link. – NBC Sports – (6/25/2020)
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INDYCAR and Barber Motorsports Park extend deal through ’23 – The Birmingham Business Journal’s Tyler Patchen reports INDYCAR and Barber Motorsports Park have extended their deal for an annual event through 2023. Full story at the link. – Birmingham Business Journal – (6/24/2020)
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Miller’s Mailbag 6/24/20 – RACER’s Robin Miller’s weekly fan Q&A is a great read as always. – RACER – (6/24/2020)
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Trackside podcast 6/23/20 – 107.5 The Fan’s Trackside with Curt Cavin and Kevin Lee radio show from 6/23/20 is a great listen as always. Vince Welch and Tim Cindric are guests on the show. – 107.5 The Fan – (6/24/2020)
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RLL unveils livery for No. 45 at GMR GP – “Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (RLL) announced today that team partner Digital Ally will feature their newly-launched product line, Shield™ Cleansers as the co-primary sponsor with Mi-Jack of the No. 45 entry for Spencer Pigot for the GMR Grand Prix at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Digital Ally, a company which develops, manufactures and markets advanced video recording products and other critical safety products for law enforcement, emergency management, fleet safety and security and RLL are in the second year of a multi-year partnership which named the Lenexa, KS-based company as “Official Video Solutions Partner” of the team’s NTT INDYCAR SERIES program.” Check out the livery on our No. 45 livery page here. Full release at the link. – RLL – (6/23/2020)
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DRR announces No. 24 entry for Karam at GMR GP – “We are pleased to announce that @SageKaram will be driving the GMR Grand Prix at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the black and yellow WIX Filters car. We are estatic to make our first road course start since 2013.” Announcement at the link. – DRR – (6/23/2020)
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NBC Sports announces coverage plans for next five races – “NBC Sports has announced its telecast schedule for the 2020 NTT INDYCAR Series through July 18, highlighted by the second race of the REV Group Grand Prix at Road America on Sunday, July 12 at 12:30 p.m. ET on NBC. Pre-race coverage will begin at noon ET on NBC. Three of the first four races of the 2020 NTT INDYCAR Series will be showcased live on NBC. The season began live in primetime on Saturday, June 6, on NBC with the Genesys 300 at Texas Motor Speedway, which delivered the most-watched INDYCAR race since 2016, excluding Indy 500s.” Full release at the link. – NBC Sports – (6/22/2020)
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INDYCAR announces fans welcome at Iowa doubleheader – “INDYCAR will welcome fans to Iowa Speedway for the upcoming July 17-18 race weekend featuring the NTT INDYCAR SERIES Iowa 250 races and the ARCA Menards Series race. Under the guidance of public health officials, medical experts and local, state and federal authorities, INDYCAR and Iowa Speedway will observe safe social distancing and provide enhanced hygiene and safety precautions for all fans in attendance at the event. Only a limited number of tickets will be available for the upcoming race weekend with each group of fans in attendance separated by at least 6 feet of distancing at Iowa Speedway, in order to align with Iowa state COVID-19 guidelines.” Full release at the link. – INDYCAR – (6/18/2020)
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RLL announces Hy-Vee primary sponsorship for No. 15 at Iowa – “Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (RLL) announced today that Hy-Vee, Inc., an employee-owned supermarket corporation that operates more than 265 retail stores across eight Midwestern states, will be the primary sponsor of Graham Rahal’s No. 15 NTT INDYCAR SERIES entry at the Iowa 300 at Iowa Speedway on Saturday, July 18.” Check out the livery on our No. 15 livery page here. Full release at the link. – RLL – (6/18/2020)
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Miller’s Mailbag 6/17/20 – RACER’s Robin Miller’s weekly fan Q&A is a great read as always. – RACER – (6/17/2020)
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Trackside podcast 6/16/20 – 107.5 The Fan’s Trackside with Curt Cavin and Kevin Lee radio show from 6/16/20 is a great listen as always. Zach Veach is a guest on the show. – 107.5 The Fan – (6/17/2020)
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2020 champion Road to Indy scholarships get additional boost – “With healthy prize packages already in place across the three series, the Indy Pro 2000 champion’s scholarship is currently valued at $609,245. This will now increase to a guaranteed full season contract with an Indy Lights team of the driver’s choice. The agreement will cover all 2021 series-sanctioned race and test events from the season-opener to the finale, entry and test day fees and Cooper tires (per the allowable number of sets). In addition, the 2020 Indy Pro 2000 champion will be awarded a test with an NTT INDYCAR SERIES team following completion of the 2021 Indy Lights season.” Full release at the link. – Indy Pro 2000 – (6/15/2020)
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Report: INDYCAR and Nashville still working on street race project – Adam Stern reports INDYCAR is still working with Nashville to potentially bring the NTT INDYCAR SERIES to the downtown streets as soon as 2021 or 2022. Full story at the link. – Adam Stern – (6/11/2020)
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Dixon commits to two ’20 IMSA events with Wayne Taylor Racing – “Wayne Taylor Racing announced today that five-time IndyCar Series Champion and three-time Rolex 24 At DAYTONA overall winner Scott Dixon will return to the No. 10 Konica Minolta Cadillac DPi-V.R team for the final two endurance races of the 2020 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season. Dixon will rejoin full-season co-drivers Renger van der Zande and Ryan Briscoe and Renger for the 2020 Motul Petit Le Mans, October 17th and the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, November 14th.” Full release at the link. – Wayne Taylor Racing – (6/10/2020)
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Miller’s Mailbag 6/10/20 – RACER’s Robin Miller’s weekly fan Q&A is a great read as always. – RACER – (6/10/2020)
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Trackside podcast 6/9/20 – 107.5 The Fan’s Trackside with Curt Cavin and Kevin Lee radio show from 6/9/20 is a great listen as always. – 107.5 The Fan – (6/10/2020)
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Penske floats ideas for Lights changes in ’21 – TSO Ladder’s Steve Wittich has posted an article summarizing a recent Roger Penske interview on SiriusXM. On the interview, Penske mentions one idea is to mandate that all leaders circle eligible NTT INDYCAR SERIES teams would have to enter Indy Lights. “We’re going to sit down with (Dan) Andersen and the teams that are competing, and we’re going to look at a new rule package, possibly even for (20)21,” Penske told SiriusXM. “Each team that’s registered as a leaders circle team will provide at least one entry.” Full story at the link. – TSO Ladder – (6/9/2020)
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HMD Motorsports enters Malukas and Urrutia in FR Americas Championship – “With the recent cancellation of the 2020 Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires Championship, HMD Motorsports has been forced to reconsider their season plans…The team has decided to enter the Formulas Regional Americas Championship Powered by Honda…With two Ligier JS F3 chassis already in their possession, the team is excited to enter current HMD Motorsports drivers, David Malukas and Santiago Urrutia. Both drivers will be competing in all sixteen rounds (six race weekends) of the championship and will be vying for the Championship and the Honda Performance Development Indy Lights Scholarship – which will enable the Champion to compete in an entire Indy Lights season the following season…HMD Motorsports is committed to remaining at the front of the field and returning to Indy Lights in 2021 as a top contender.” Full release at the link. – HMD Motorsports – (6/9/2020)
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Details emerge on logistics of fans attending Indy 500 – The Indianapolis Star’s Nathan Brown has an excellent report on the details emerging on how fans attending the 104th Running of the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race may work. Designated entry and exit times and an app detailing when you can go to places such as restrooms and concession stands are the highlights, but the full story is a must read at the link. – Indianapolis Star – (6/9/2020)
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Penske on Indy 500: “We will run it only with fans” – RACER’s Robin Miller reports INDYCAR and Indianapolis Motor Speedway owner Roger Penske plans on the 104th Running of the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race only happening if fans can attend. “We’re on for fans in August and planning on it and we feel good,” Penske told RACER. “It’s still almost three months from now and I think we’ll be OK. But we will run it only with fans.” Full story at the link. – RACER – (6/8/2020)
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Dixon takes victory at Texas – Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon kicked off the 2020 NTT INDYCAR SERIES with a dominant win in the Genesys 300 at Texas Motor Speedway. The full Top 5 was Dixon, Pagenaud, Newgarden, Veach, and Carpenter. Full race results here. – INDYCAR – (6/6/2020)
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The Open Wheel’s livery feature for Texas – The Open Wheel’s livery feature with photos of all the cars at this weekend’s NTT INDYCAR SERIES Genesys 300 at Texas Motor Speedway is available at the link. – The Open Wheel – (6/6/2020)
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Newgarden earns pole at Texas – Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden earned the pole for the NTT INDYCAR SERIES Genesys 300 at Texas Motor Speedway with a two-lap average of 215.740mph. The full Top 5 was Newgarden, Dixon, Pagenaud, Hunter-Reay, and Veach. Sato had a heavy incident in the session and Ferrucci and VeeKay were unable to make attempts. Full results here. – INDYCAR – (6/6/2020)
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Dixon tops practice at Texas – Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon topped the charts in the sole practice session for the NTT INDYCAR SERIES Genesys 300 at Texas Motor Speedway with a lap at 215.995mph. The full Top 5 was Dixon, Herta, O’Ward, Veach, and Andretti. VeeKay, Carpenter, and Hunter-Reay all had noteworthy incidents in the session but VeeKay’s had by far the most damage. Full results here. – INDYCAR – (6/6/2020)
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Penske confirms INDYCAR/Ferrari talks – Adam Stern reports Roger Penske has confirmed talks with Ferrari possibly joining the NTT INDYCAR SERIES as soon as 2022. – Adam Stern – (6/4/2020)
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The Open Wheel’s Texas preview – The Open Wheel’s preview of this weekend’s NTT INDYCAR SERIES Genesys 300 at Texas Motor Speedway is available at the link. – The Open Wheel – (6/4/2020)
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IMS announces GMR GP/Brickyard July 4th weekend will have no spectators – “The upcoming Fourth of July race weekend at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway will run without spectators due to the COVID-19 pandemic, IMS officials announced today following extensive consultation with local and state officials. Stage 5 of Indiana’s reopening plan allows for sporting venues to host public events with social distancing and is scheduled to begin July 4 in most counties. However, Marion County – home to Indianapolis, the state’s largest city – recently entered Stage 3 of the road map 10 days after the majority of counties. This follows nationwide trends suggesting larger municipalities should exercise caution in navigating plans to reopen.” Full release at the link. – IMS – (6/3/2020)
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Texas spotter guide – The official INDYCAR spotter guide for this weekend’s NTT INDYCAR SERIES Genesys 300 at Texas Motor Speedway is available at the link. – INDYCAR – (6/4/2020)
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Foyt announces 7-Eleven livery for TK at Texas – “7-Eleven, Inc. was there for Tony Kanaan’s first Indy car race at Texas Motor Speedway and they will be there again with Kanaan this Saturday night for the start of the #TKLastLap campaign. Kanaan’s No. 14 Chevrolet will be decked out in the green, white, red and orange livery as AJ Foyt Racing signed 7-Eleven, the world’s largest convenience chain, to be the primary marketing partner for the Genesys 300 at the high-banked oval located near the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area.” See the livery on our No. 14 livery page here. Full release at the link. – AJ Foyt Racing – (6/3/2020)
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Texas entry list – The official INDYCAR entry list for this weekend’s NTT INDYCAR SERIES Genesys 300 at Texas Motor Speedway is available at the link. – INDYCAR – (6/3/2020)
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Miller’s Mailbag 6/3/20 – RACER’s Robin Miller’s weekly fan Q&A is a great read as always. – RACER – (6/3/2020)
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Trackside podcast 6/2/20 – 107.5 The Fan’s Trackside with Curt Cavin and Kevin Lee radio show from 6/2/20 is a great listen as always. James Hinchcliffe is a guest on the show. – 107.5 The Fan – (6/3/2020)
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Carlin announces No. 31 will not race this weekend but confirms Daly for No. 59 – “Due to the economic impact of the current COVID-19 pandemic in Europe, the planned No. 31 Carlin entry will not be entered in this weekend’s NTT IndyCar series opener at Texas Motor Speedway…Conor Daly will represent Carlin this weekend in the Genesys 300 as originally planned in the No. 59 Gallagher Carlin Chevrolet.” Full release at the link. – Carlin – (6/2/2020)
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Indy Lights suspended until 2021 season – “INDYCAR and Andersen Promotions today announced that Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires competition will be deferred until 2021 following a joint meeting over the weekend to address several variables affecting the 2020 calendar. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and modifications to the INDYCAR race calendar as a result, multiple companion events were cancelled for the series, rendering the 2020 season no longer viable.” Full release at the link. – Indy Lights – (6/1/2020)
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Report: NBC broadcast team will now be on site at Texas – Adam Stern reports the NBC Sports broadcast crew of Leigh Diffey, Paul Tracy, and Townsend Bell will now be on site at Texas Motor Speedway for next weekend’s NTT INDYCAR SERIES opener at Texas Motor Speedway. The pit lane reporters will be Marty Snider and Kelli Stavast. – Adam Stern – (5/28/2020)
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Report: INDYCAR rookies to get extra practice session at Texas – RACER’s Marshall Pruett reports there will be an extra 30 minute practice session for NTT INDYCAR SERIES rookies before the first and only full practice session of the weekend at Texas Motor Speedway on June 6th. Full story at the link. – RACER – (5/27/2020)
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Miller’s Mailbag 5/27/20 – RACER’s Robin Miller’s weekly fan Q&A is a great read as always. – RACER – (5/27/2020)
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Trackside podcast 5/26/20 – 107.5 The Fan’s Trackside with Curt Cavin and Kevin Lee radio show from 5/26/20 is a great listen as always. – 107.5 The Fan – (5/27/2020)
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INDYCAR Texas opener moved to NBC – “The NTT INDYCAR SERIES will be broadcast in primetime on NBC for the first time when the season-opening Genesys 300 at Texas Motor Speedway is televised starting at 8 p.m. (ET) Saturday, June 6. The race is moving to NBC from its originally scheduled window on NBCSN. It’s the first INDYCAR race on broadcast television in primetime since 2013.” Full release at the link. – INDYCAR – (5/24/2020)
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INDYCAR confirms RA doubleheader and Richmond/Toronto cancellation – “An updated 2020 NTT INDYCAR SERIES schedule was released today, displaying calendar adjustments implemented due to the COVID-19 pandemic…The REV Group Grand Prix at Road America has been rescheduled from June 21 to July 11-12, becoming a double-header with championship points races Saturday and Sunday on the iconic, 4-mile road course. Two events have been canceled for 2020 due to local restrictions surrounding the pandemic: the Indy Richmond 300 on Saturday, June 27 at Richmond Raceway and the Honda Indy Toronto on Sunday, July 12 on the streets of Toronto.” Full release and revised schedule at the link. – INDYCAR – (5/21/2020)
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