News for the Week of March 20, 2017 – March 26, 2017
Rahal fastest in windy Honda test on IMS oval – Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing’s Graham Rahal’s lap of 227.182mph topped the charts on a windy day on the oval at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Friday during a Honda Manufacturers Test day. He was joined by fellow Honda drivers James Hinchcliffe, Mikhail Aleshin, Scott Dixon, Tony Kanaan, Charlie Kimball, and Max Chilton. The four full-time Team Penske cars were there as well but there times were not made available. – RACER – (3/25/2017)
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Daly to compete in American Ninja Warrior qualifier – “Conor Daly is the latest Verizon IndyCar Series driver attempting to become an “American Ninja Warrior.” Following in the athletic footsteps of fellow drivers Helio Castroneves, Tony Kanaan and Josef Newgarden, Daly will venture to San Antonio this weekend to participate in a regional qualifier for the Emmy-nominated NBC obstacle course challenge show that will air its ninth season this summer. Daly, 25, will make his bid to complete the challenge course sometime after dark Sunday night…The episode from the San Antonio regional is scheduled to air June 19” – INDYCAR – (3/25/2017)
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Honda IMS oval test bumped up to Friday – Per Mike Hull the Honda Manufacturer Test on the oval at Indianapolis Motor Speedway has been moved up from Saturday 3/25 to Friday 3/24 due to weather concerns. Scheduled to test are Graham Rahal, James Hinchcliffe, Mikhail Aleshin, Scott Dixon, Tony Kanaan, Charlie Kimball, and Max Chilton. Team Penske has joined the test as well with Josef Newgarden, Helio Castroneves, Will Power, and Simon Pagenaud. – Mike Hull – (3/22/2017)
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Miller’s Mailbag 3/22/17 – RACER’s Robin Miller’s weekly fan Q&A is a great read as always. – RACER – (3/22/2017)
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Trackside podcast 3/21/17 – 1070 The Fan’s Trackside with Curt Cavin and Kevin Lee is a great listen as always. Leigh Diffey is a guest late in the show. – 1070 The Fan – (3/22/2017)
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Power fastest overall at Barber test – Team Penske’s Will Power’s lap of 1:07.7518 was the fastest of the day in the second session of Verizon IndyCar Series testing at Barber Motorsports Park. The rest of the Top 5 was Chilton, Newgarden, Montoya, and Andretti. Full results at the link. – The Open Wheel – (3/21/2017)
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Sato fastest in first session of testing at Barber – Andretti Autosport’s Takuma Sato’s lap of 1:08.1705 was the fastest of the first session of Verizon IndyCar Series testing at Barber Motorsports Park. The rest of the Top 5 was Kanaan, Power, Dixon, and Rossi. Juan Pablo Montoya drove in the test and placed P9 of 22 entries. Full results at the link. – The Open Wheel – (3/21/2017)
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Franchitti and McLaren elected to Auto Racing Hall of Fame at IMS Museum – “Two of the most well-known names in motorsports history are the newest inductees into the Auto Racing Hall of Fame at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum. Three-time Indianapolis 500 winner Dario Franchitti and legendary driver and constructor Bruce McLaren have been voted into the prestigious pantheon by an esteemed panel of auto racing journalists, participants and historians.” Full release at the link. – IMS – (3/21/2017)
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Rossi visor cam from Barber open test – INDYCAR’s excellent visor cam series continues with Alexander Rossi from the Verizon IndyCar Series test at Barber Motorsports Park on Tuesday March 21st. – INDYCAR – (3/21/2017)
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Montoya driving at Barber open test – INDYCAR has live timing and scoring from the Verizon IndyCar Series test at Barber Motorsports Park on Tuesday. 22 cars are at the test headlined Juan Pablo Montoya in the No. 22 car for Team Penske. – INDYCAR – (3/21/2017)
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Montoya INDYCAR GP deal officially announced – “(Juan Pablo) Montoya will aim for his third Indianapolis 500 victory on May 28 in a Team Penske entry, and team owner Roger Penske recently confirmed Montoya also will compete in the fourth annual INDYCAR Grand Prix on May 12-13 on the IMS road course.” “It’s always great to race in Indy,” Montoya said. “There’s a lot of focus on the 500 and that’s understandable, but the Grand Prix has come a long way in a short time. The course is fast but still challenging. The fan support continues to grow. More people need to discover it because all of the races have been very competitive with passing and lead changes.” – IMS – (3/20/2017)
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O’Ward wins PC class at Sebring – Team Pelfrey Indy Lights driver Pato O’Ward drove as part of the winning Prototype Challenge team in the 65th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring. – NBC Sports – (3/20/2017)
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Mario featured on CBS Sunday Morning – RACER has posted the CBS Sunday Morning segment featuring racing legend Mario Andretti. Check it out at the link. – RACER – (3/20/2017)
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Rossi showcases INDYCAR to Supercross star – Alexander Rossi helped fellow Honda man, Supercross rider Cole Seely, get to experience a Verizon IndyCar Series ride as he assisted him on the HPD simulator while Supercross was in Indianapolis over the weekend. The 2015 Monster Energy Supercross rookie of the year enjoyed the experience. “It was super fun. I’ve never been in anything like that,” said Seely. “I’ve played video games like ‘Forza’ and ‘Gran Turismo,’ but they only tell you how the track goes. (The simulator) is nothing like a video game. It’s crazy how much you can drive it into a corner and feel the acceleration.” – INDYCAR – (3/20/2017)
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ABC’s St. Pete telecast gets 0.80 TV rating – ABC’s television broadcast of the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg drew a 0.80 TV rating. – ShowBuzzDaily – (3/17/2017)
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Miller’s Mailbag 3/15/17 – RACER’s Robin Miller’s weekly fan Q&A is a great read as always. – RACER – (3/15/2017)
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Robin Miller: “Why Colton Herta’s special” – RACER’s Robin Miller has a nice piece on impressive Indy Lights rookie Colton Herta’s excellent showing in his first weekend in the series. Check it out at the link. – RACER – (3/14/2017)
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Trackside podcast 3/13/17 – 1070 The Fan’s Trackside with Curt Cavin and Kevin Lee radio show from 3/13/17 is a great listen as always. Guests on the show include St. Pete race winner Sebastien Bourdais and Brian Pucket of Fastimes Indoor Karting. – 1070 The Fan – (3/14/2017)
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