News for the Week of June 29, 2015 – July 5, 2015

Fontana race most watched on NBCSN since 2011 – Per USA Today’s Brant James tweet: “Says NBC: Fontana telecast averaged 512,000 viewers, was most-watched @IndyCar race on NBCSN since 2011. Figure up 83% from 2014 finale.” – Brant James – (7/2/2015)

INDYCAR announces post-Fontana infractions – INDYCAR has announced the following infractions and fines after the MAVTV 500:
• Verizon IndyCar Series driver Will Power was fined $25,000 and placed on probation for the remainder of the 2015 season for violating Rule 9.3.1 (Improper Conduct) and Rule 9.3.1.8 (Improper Conduct; using improper, profane, or disparaging language or gestures in reference to any Official).
• The No. 15 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing entry was fined $10,000 ($5,000 suspended) for violating Rule 7.10.1.2 (Pit Safety Violation; leaving pit with equipment attached to the car – fuel hose). Additionally, a crew member for the team was placed on probation for three races for violating Rule 7.10.1.2 (Pit Safety Violation; leaving pit with equipment attached to car – fuel hose).
• Verizon IndyCar Series driver Tristan Vautier was fined $10,000 and placed on probation for the remainder of the 2015 season for violating Rule 7.10.1.8 (Pit Safety Violation; contact with personnel).
• The No. 2 Team Penske entry was fined $1,500 for violating Rule 7.10.1.5 (Pit Safety Violation; contact with equipment – air hose).
• The No. 7 Schmidt Peterson Motorsports entry was fined $500 for violating Rule 7.9.6 (Pit Procedures, unattended equipment – wheel nut).
• The No. 26 Andretti Autosport entry was fined $500 for violating Rule 7.9.6 (Pit Procedures, unattended equipment – wheel nut).
• The No. 67 CFH Racing entry was fined a total of $1,000 for twice violating Rule 7.9.6 (Pit Procedures, unattended equipment – wheel nut and tire). – INDYCAR – (7/1/2015)

Miles Teleconference 7/1/15 – INDYCAR has released the audio from Mark Miles’ media teleconference and it can be found on the link. Miles covers his thoughts on the season thus far, the “excitement” surrounding the Fontana race and potential consequences, and future scheduling considerations. – INDYCAR – (7/1/2015)

Miller’s Mailbag 7/1/15 – RACER’s Robin Miller’s weekly fan Q&A is a great read as always after a dramatic MAVTV 500. – RACER – (7/1/2015)

Harvey posts fastest lap of Mid-Ohio Lights test – Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course hosted testing for Indy Lights on Monday and Jack Harvey posted the fastest time of the day in the first of the two sessions. Session 2 was much slower due to wet conditions. Full results at the links via Indy Lights. – Lights Session 1 / Lights Session 2 – (6/30/2015)

Filippi and Brabham to test at Iowa this week – Luca Filippi (CFH Racing) and Matthew Brabham (Andretti Autosport) will each test at Iowa Speedway on Wednesday, July 1st. It will be Filippi’s first experience on an oval. “Oval racing is a big part of American motorsports, so if you want to be part of that, then you have to try at least and see how it’s like,” said Filippi. Brabham is excited as well. “I’m absolutely thrilled. I’ve dreamed about driving Indy car my whole life ever since they started racing the Gold Coast and going to the racetrack as a kid,” said Brabham. – INDYCAR – (6/30/2015)

NBCSN earns 0.37 TV rating for Fontana – NBCSN’s telecast of the Verizon IndyCar Series MAVTV 500 last Saturday drew a 0.37 TV rating. That’s up from a 0.18 rating at Fontana last year according to INDYCAR. – ShowBuzzDaily – (6/29/2015)

Road America decision could be made this week – Road America president George Bruggenthie hopes to find out sometime this week on whether or not his track will be added to the Verizon IndyCar Series calendar for 2016. “We had reached an agreement on a date and time, and we’ll see what happened. It’s with the committee, which failed to meet Wednesday, so then they were supposed to meet at Fontana (Calif.). I need to know. I’ll put my schedule together in the next week. I’ve got an idea, but we will keep going. I’m not waiting for them.” – Milwaukee Journal Sentinel – (6/29/2015)

Phoenix and Homestead are possibilities for 2016 – Phoenix International Raceway and INDYCAR are working on a return to the track for 2016. “We’re talking with them. But we’re not going to put Phoenix in June,” Miles said. “So it’s a question of what they need to have, adequate separation to (market) both. Their Cup race dates are not changing.” Homestead was mentioned as a possibility as well but intentions there don’t seem as imminent. – USA Today – (6/29/2015)

Drivers have mixed opinions of wild Fontana race – The drivers of the Verizon IndyCar Series were split in their thoughts on the close racing of the MAVTV 500. “Someone’s got to take responsibility for how this day has panned out,” said Will Power. “As exciting as it is, it’s insane. You just cannot get away and have to take massive risks to gain track position.” Ed Carpenter shared: “I thought today’s IndyCar race was awesome. A few drivers need to show more respect out there, but the racing was fierce and exciting.” More at the link. – RACER – (6/28/2015)

TK not happy with reporter after Fontana – Tony Kanaan wasn’t happy with a reporter in his post-MAVTV 500 press conference: “To have 5,000 people out there and do this, it’s stupid,” Kanaan said. “Are you risking your life out there?” Kanaan said to the man. “You’re not. You’re sitting in a chair and writing about it. So if you feel this way and you lose your best friend (a reference to Dan Wheldon’s fatal crash in 2011 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway), you might say something like that. I have an opinion, and this is my opinion, so I hope you respect that.” – Indianapolis Star – (6/28/2015)

Miller unloads on INDYCAR scheduling – Robin Miller had a “special” message for Mark Miles and INDYCAR after only “3,000” people watched one of his “Top 5” races of all time. It’s a must listen and full of pertinent ideas. – RACER – (6/28/2015)

Rahal wins at Fontana – Graham Rahal won the 2015 MAVTV 500 at Auto Club Speedway on Saturday in a wild race. Rahal held off Tony Kanaan and Marco Andretti until a scary Ryan Briscoe crash with one lap to go brought out a race ending caution. “It’s been so long coming; it’s awesome,” said Rahal. Full results at the link. Check out our live blog of the race here. – INDYCAR – (6/27/2015)

Pagenaud wins the Fontana pole – Simon Pagenaud won the pole for Saturday’s Verizon IndyCar Series MAVTV 500 at Auto Club Speedway with a two lap average of 218.952mph. The rest of the Top 5 was Castroneves, Andretti, Carpenter, and Montoya. Full results at the link. – INDYCAR – (6/26/2015)

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