News for the Week of April 3, 2017 – April 9, 2017
Hinchcliffe wins at Long Beach – Schmidt Peterson Motorsports’ James Hinchcliffe pulled away on a couple late restarts to win the 43rd Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. The rest of the Top 5 was Bourdais, Newgarden, Dixon, and Pagenaud. Relive the race with our live blog here. Full results here. – INDYCAR – (4/9/2017)
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Harvey confirmed for Indy 500 ride with Andretti – “Freedom 100 Champion to Pilot No. 50 Honda for 101st Running of the Indianapolis 500. In the midst of Verizon IndyCar Series competition in Long Beach, California, reigning Indianapolis 500 champions Andretti Autosport have confirmed that Englishman Jack Harvey will drive the No. 50 Honda for the 101st Running of the Indianapolis 500.” “The Indy 500 is easily the biggest race I have entered in my career so far,” said Harvey. “It is one of the most iconic races in the world and I feel extremely privileged to be taking part in it. To have the opportunity to do this with one of the best teams on the grid – a team that has won two of the last three races there – is more than I could have dreamed of.” Full release at the link. – Andretti Autosport – (4/9/2017)
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Pagenaud fastest in morning warmup at Long Beach – Team Penske’s Simon Pagenaud paced the field in the morning warmup for the 43rd Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach with a lap of 1:06.6497. The rest of the Top 5 was Sato, Rossi, Dixon, and Kanaan. Full results here. – INDYCAR – (4/9/2017)
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Castroneves wins the pole at Long Beach – Team Penske and Helio Castroneves won the pole for the 43rd Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach with a lap of 1:06.2254 in the Firestone Fast 6. The rest of the Firestone Fast 6 order was Dixon, Hunter-Reay, Hinchcliffe, Rossi, and Rahal. Full results here. – INDYCAR – (4/8/2017)
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Report: Harvey set for Andretti drive in Indy 500 – RACER’s Marshall Pruett reports Jack Harvey is expected to get a ride with Andretti Autosport for the 101st Running of the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race. Full report at the link. – RACER – (4/8/2017)
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Schmidt and Mario Andretti to race at IMS – “Former INDYCAR drivers Sam Schmidt and Mario Andretti announced today they will go head to head in a race next month at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The Schmidt Peterson Motorsports co-owner and Indianapolis 500 legend will race semi-autonomous cars on the circuit’s 2.439-mile permanent road course on May 13 ahead of the INDYCAR Grand Prix…A sip-and-puff device that Schmidt breathes into enables him to accelerate and brake. Voice commands enable Sam to switch gears and turn the SAM Car on and off. Andretti will use the same technology to drive an Arrow-modified Stingray SAM Car.” Full release at the link. – SPM – (4/8/2017)
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Dixon fastest again in Practice 3 at Long Beach – Chip Ganassi Racing Team’s Scott Dixon posted the fastest time of the session for the second time this weekend in Practice 3 for the 43rd Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach with a lap of 1:07.1348. The rest of the Top 5 was Hunter-Reay, Pagenaud, Hinchcliffe, and Sato. 7 of the Top 10 cars were Honda-powered. Full results here. – INDYCAR – (4/8/2017)
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Power fastest in Practice 2 at Long Beach – Team Penske’s Will Power led the way in Practice 1 for the 43rd Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach with a lap of 1:07.0800. The rest of the Top 5 was Andretti, Pagenaud, Sato, and Hunter-Reay. 9 of the Top 13 cars were Honda-powered. Full results here. – INDYCAR – (4/7/2017)
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Veach announced for Indy 500 entry with Foyt – “The Indy Women in Tech Championship presented by Guggenheim announced it will be the primary sponsor for AJ Foyt Racing’s No. 40 Chevrolet to be driven by Zach Veach at this year’s 101st Running of the Indianapolis 500.” “To compete in the Indianapolis 500 is a dream I’ve had since I was four years old, so when the opportunity came about to join AJ Foyt Racing with the support of the IWiT Championship and Guggenheim, I was ecstatic,” said Veach. Full release at the link. – AJ Foyt Racing – (4/7/2017)
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Rahal visor cam from Long Beach – INDYCAR’s excellent visor cam series continues with Graham Rahal at Long Beach. Check it out at the link. – INDYCAR – (4/7/2017)
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Dixon tops the charts in Practice 1 at Long Beach – Chip Ganassi Racing Team’s Scott Dixon’s lap of 1:07.6357 was the fastest lap of Practice 1 for the 43rd Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. The rest of the Top 5 was Castroneves, Bourdais, Hinchcliffe, and Power. 7 of the Top 10 cars were Honda-powered. Full results here. – INDYCAR – (4/7/2017)
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The Open Wheel’s Long Beach preview – The Open Wheel’s Dylan Reynolds’ preview of the 43rd Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach contains all of the relevant weekend information, stats, predictions, fantasy advice, and more. Check it out at the link. – The Open Wheel – (4/6/2017)
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Trackside podcast 4/5/17 – 1070 The Fan’s Trackside with Curt Cavin and Kevin Lee radio show is a great listen as always. The pair previews this weekend’s race at Long Beach and Paul Tracy is a guest on the show. – 1070 The Fan – (4/6/2017)
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Carb Night Burger Bash details announced – Details for Curt Cavin and Kevin Lee’s annual “Carb Night Burger Bash” have been announced. The event will be held on Friday, May 26th at Pan Am Plaza in Downtown Indianapolis. As usual highlights will be appearances from Indy 500 drivers and a live recording of the popular Trackside with Curt Cavin and Kevin Lee radio show. 2016 “American Idol” winner Trent Harmon will perform after the radio show portion of the event. – Indianapolis Star – (4/5/2017)
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Miller’s Mailbag 4/5/17 – RACER’s Robin Miller’s weekly fan Q&A is a great read as always. – RACER – (4/5/2017)
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Bourdais fastest at Sonoma test – Motorsport.com’s David Malsher reports Sebastien Bourdais had the fastest lap of the 13-car Honda test at Sonoma Raceway on Tuesday. Rossi, Andretti, Dixon, and Sato were the rest of the Top 5. Check out Malsher’s full report at the link. – Motorsport.com – (4/5/2017)
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Dixon visor cam from Sonoma test – RACER’s Marshall Pruett created an awesome visor cam video with Scott Dixon at Tuesday’s test at Sonoma Raceway. Check it out at the link. – RACER – (4/5/2017)
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Long Beach spotter guide released – The spotter guide for the 43rd Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach is available at the link. It features all 21 full-time Verizon IndyCar Series entries. – INDYCAR – (4/4/2017)
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Long Beach entry list released – The entry list for the 43rd Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach is available at the link. It features all 21 full-time Verizon IndyCar Series entries. – INDYCAR – (4/4/2017)
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Pocono Raceway announces safety enhancements – “Pocono Raceway has added an additional 5,197 feet of Steel and Foam Energy Resistant (SAFER) barrier and is among the top three tracks in terms of length of the safety feature. With a late start to winter, Pocono Raceway was able to cover the front stretch of the 2.5-mile raceway as well as areas between Turns 2 and 3. In addition to the SAFER barrier walls, Pocono Raceway upgraded the three track crossover gates located around the track with new gates that incorporate SAFER into their construction.” Full release at the link. – Pocono Raceway – (4/4/2017)
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NTT Data to sponsor CGRT No. 9 for Dixon at Long Beach – “Chip Ganassi Racing (CGR) announced today that four-time Verizon IndyCar Series Champion and Indianapolis 500 Winner Scott Dixon will be sporting the colors of NTT DATA in Round 2 of the Verizon IndyCar Series on April 9 at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach (4pm ET, NBCSN). Now in their fifth year of partnership with CGR, NTT DATA will also expand its relationship as an associate-level partner on the No. 9 for additional key race markets, including Phoenix and Indianapolis.” See the livery on our No. 9 livery page here. Full release at the link. – CGRT – (4/4/2017)
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Loki the Wolfdog to sponsor ECR No. 20 for Pigot at Long Beach – “Loki the Wolfdog, an Instagram star with over 1.4 million followers, will serve as primary sponsor in a partnership with Rising Star Racing for Spencer Pigot‘s No. 20 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet on April 9th at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach.” See the livery on our No. 20 livery page here. Full release at the link. – Rising Star Racing – (4/3/2017)
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ECR running 2 cars for Indy 500 largely because of Newgarden’s ’16 Texas crash – Motorsport.com’s David Malsher’s report on Ed Carpenter Racing running only two cars for the 101st Running of the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race contains plenty of insight into the decision. “We weren’t able to put the right deal together for a third entry, because we’d have needed to buy another car, which now makes it pretty much impossible,” said Carpenter. “We had five cars up until [Newgarden’s] accident at Texas last year. Now we’re down to four, the idea of going into May with three entries and only one spare car doesn’t make much sense, so buying another chassis would have been necessary.” Full report at the link. – Motorsport.com – (4/3/2017)
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IMS unveils 500 Festival Camaro SS convertibles – “A longtime Indianapolis 500 tradition was continued today between the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Chevrolet when 101 identical 2017 Camaro SS convertibles were staged for delivery on the main straightaway of IMS. The 500 Festival car presentation ceremony included 50 Camaros to IMS and 51 Camaros to the Indianapolis-area Chevrolet dealers. The 500 Festival Camaro SS’s presented to the dealers will be available for immediate purchase.” Full release at the link. – IMS – (4/3/2017)
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INDYCAR releases two more images of 2018 aero kit renderings – INDYCAR released two more images of the renderings of the 2018 universal aero kit for the Verizon IndyCar Series. Check it out at the link. – INDYCAR – (3/31/2017)
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ECR set to run just 2 cars for Indy 500 – Tony DiZinno of NBC Sports reports that Ed Carpenter Racing is set to run only their two full-season cars for the 101st Running of the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race. “One of our main goals is to win the Indianapolis 500,” said Carpenter. “I’m concerned about car count and getting to 33 cars… but I can’t put that at a higher priority than our own goals of winning the race. If it doesn’t make us stronger, like JR has, I’m not gonna the feel pressure to do it.” Full report at the link. – NBC Sports – (3/31/2017)
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UFD returns to Andretti Autosport as primary sponsor for No. 27 – “The familiar blue and white of Pennsylvania-based tech company United Fiber & Data will return to the Andretti Autosport line up for select 2017 races, starting with the April 9 Long Beach Grand Prix. The rebranding comes as a result of the current issues being faced by hhgregg, leading Andretti Autosport to the decision of transitioning the branding on the No. 27 Indy car piloted by Marco Andretti.” See the livery on our No. 27 livery page here. Full release at the link. – Andretti Autosport – (3/30/2017)
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13 drivers to test at Sonoma on 4/4 – Per Sonoma Raceway release: “Thirteen drivers from five Verizon IndyCar Series teams will take part in a one-day Honda test session at Sonoma Raceway on Tuesday, April 4…Race fans are invited to enjoy the test session for free, with testing slated from approximately 9 a.m.-5 p.m. The Raceway Café will be open for lunch.” – Sonoma Raceway – (3/30/2017)
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