News for the Week of July 21 – July 27, 2014

Toronto to June, Houston out? – According to this report from Dean McNulty, Toronto will solve their date conflict issue next year but taking Houston’s late June date as that event backs out of their contract. Toronto is looking for a new date due to the Pan-Am Games and other conflicts next year while Houston wasn’t happy with their summer date this year and inability to make a night race work financially. While this still isn’t official, the writer calls the move “pretty much a formality.” – Sun Media – (7/26/14)

IndyCar rookies Karam and Hawksworth perform well at Brickyard Grand Prix – BHA rookie Jack Hawksworth beat former IndyCar driver and teammate Bruno Junqueira to win the Prototype Challenge class for his RSR team. Sage Karam finished his stint in P1 overall before pit strategy took his team’s car out of contention and had to settle for 2nd place overall. – INDYCAR PR – (7/26/14)

Brabham tests Formula E for Andretti – Andretti Autosport Indy Lights driver Matthew Brabham spent the past week in England and tested the team’s Formula E car at Donnington. “It’s an amazing opportunity for me, and I’m very grateful to Andretti Autosport,” said Brabham. “They have a fantastic operation going here in the UK. The Formula E car is very interesting and complex and I think it has a great future ahead.” – speedcafe.com – (7/25/14)

Hamilton Jr. to IndyCar? – Davey Hamilton Jr., son of Davey Hamilton, tweeted a picture from his seat fit with #exciting news and #comingsoon included. The tweet can be viewed at the link. Hamilton is believed to owned that car… – @DaveyHamiltonJr – (7/25/14)

Mid-Ohio test quotes – “They don’t make tracks like this anymore. It’s fun to drive, it feels the same. What was a good lap this morning you can do in an out lap this afternoon,” said Juan Pablo Montoya. “The last time we had a test on a road course was Barber in spring, so this is a time when we can really try loads of different things that we don’t get the time to do on race weekends,” said Mike Conway. – INDYCAR – (7/25/14)

NBCSN Toronto ratings strong again – “Race 2 of the IndyCar Honda Indy Toronto doubleheader on NBCSN on Sunday (3:53-5:37 p.m. ET) averaged 484,000 viewers, making it NBCSN’s most-watched IndyCar race since the 2011 Grand Prix of Baltimore (9/4/11, 591,000 viewers). Through eight races, NBSCN’s coverage of the 2014 Verizon IndyCar Series has averaged 400,000 viewers, up 46% from the 2013 average viewership (274,000) through eight races.” – NBC Sports – (7/24/14)

First test of new Lights chassis approaching – If everything goes to plan Conor Daly will test the new car on Monday, August 4th at Mid-Ohio the day after the Verizon IndyCar Series race at the facility. “We’ve invited all of the current Indy Lights teams, some new owners coming in, some others that have expressed an interest, and a bunch of drivers to see the car in action,” said Indy Lights promoter Dan Andersen. – RACER – (7/24/14)

INDYCAR announces Toronto fine for A.J. Foyt Racing No. 14 – INDYCAR officials have fined A.J. Foyt Racing $1,000 for a technical violation on its No. 14 Verizon IndyCar Series entry driven by Takuma Sato. The entrant was found to have violated Rule 14.6.6.10 (Underwing height) of the Verizon IndyCar Series rulebook following Race 2. – INDYCAR PR – (7/24/14)

INDYCAR announces Toronto fine for RLL No. 16 – INDYCAR officials have fined Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing $5,000 for a technical violation on its No. 16 Verizon IndyCar Series entry driven by Luca Filippi. The entrant was found to have violated Rule 14.3.1.1. (Car weight) of the Verizon IndyCar Series rulebook following Race 1 Qualifications. – INDYCAR PR – (7/24/14)

7/24/14 Verizon IndyCar Series test at Mid-Ohio open to the public – “The July 24 test day will be open to the public from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at a cost of $10 for admission. VIP race pass holders get in for free. The Keyhole and the Infield are open for viewing and fans are welcome to bring food and drinks, but concession stands in the lower paddock will be open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.” – Mid-Ohio – (7/24/14)

Doug Boles Stops by the Ride With JMV – Just before the 7 o’clock hour Doug Boles stopped by The Ride today on 1070theFan in Indianapolis. One of the first questions asked was why there isn’t a NASCAR road course race at IMS. Doug’s response was that it that IMS and NASCAR haven’t had discussions about it. The interview continues to cover many topics, including the new scoring pylon, concerts in the infield, and upcoming track improvements. – Audio via 1070theFan.com – (7/23/14)

Reggie Wayne shows up to Colts camp in a 2-seater – Indianapolis Colts receiver Reggie Wayne showed up to training camp today in an IndyCar 2-seater driven by Ed Carpenter. Video at the link. – @Colts – (7/23/14)

Pieces of former IMS pylon will be sold – Indianapolis Motor Speedway president Doug Boles told INDYCAR.com that the numbers and bulbs from the old scoring pylon will be sold to the public. Details were not included in the article but will surely be coming soon. – INDYCAR – (7/23/14)

Miller’s Mailbag 7/23/14 – RACER’s Robin Miller’s weekly fan Q&A is great as always. A lot of the questions are about the controversies in Toronto. A must read. – RACER – (7/23/14)

New IMS pylon installed – The scoring pylon at Indianapolis Motor Speedway has installed. Check out the picture from Sage Karam at the link for some of the different items it can display. – @SageKaram – (7/22/14)

Dixon and Kanaan feature in new Cottonelle ads – New must-see ads for Cottonelle toilet paper feature Target Chip Ganassi drivers Scott Dixon, Tony Kanaan, and Kyle Larson. Check them out at the link. – NBC Sports – (7/22/14)

Cavin Q&A 7/22/14 – Curt Cavin’s fan Q&A is the biggest it’s been in a while with answers on Penske’s potential for a first title since ’06, ECR’s success, future red flag decisions, and more. – Indianapolis Star – (7/22/14)

Toronto has major date issue to sort out for 2015 – Toronto will host the 2015 Pan Am Games next year in July likely ruling out the Verizon IndyCar Series event being held in July. August won’t work either because of the Canadian National Exhibition. Honda Indy boss Charlie Johnstone told saultstar.com that there was no plan B; the race won’t be moved to another track. The race organizers will have to find a date that works in June. – saultstar.com – (7/22/14)

Beekhuis to work in race control at Sonoma and Fontana – Former Lights champion, IndyCar driver, and long-time broadcaster Jon Beekhuis will work in IndyCar race control for the Verizon IndyCar Series’ races at Sonoma and Fontana. He sat in the booth in Belle Isle to learn more about the operation. – @JonBeekhuis – (7/22/14)

Stefan Wilson won’t race at Mid-Ohio – Stefan Wilson, who has been named as the driver for Fan Force United’s 2015 Verizon IndyCar Series team, responded to a question from a fan that he won’t be at Mid-Ohio. When FFU made it’s announcement that they would be in the series next year they said they were trying to put a deal together to get Wilson in a car later this season. – @stef_wilson – (7/22/14)

Trackside podcast 7/21/14 – Curt Cavin and Kevin Lee’s weekly show on Indy’s 1070 the Fan recaps all of the action in Toronto. – 1070theFan – (7/22/14)

Hawksworth to race at IMS this weekend – BHA’s Jack Hawksworth will substitute for the suspended Alex Tagliani in the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship’s Brickyard Grand Prix this weekend at IMS. He’ll be a co-driver for the No. 08 RSR Racing Oreca FLM09 in the Prototype Challenge class. “I just keep taking his seats it seems,” said Hawksworth. “But yeah, he’s been suspended, and the RSR guys had a seat open and asked if I’d be willing to do it. I’ve got the weekend off, Bryan said I could, so it makes a lot of sense to keep me sharp.” – sportscar365 – (7/21/14)

Hinch likely to test free agent market – Curt Cavin of the Indianapolis Star reports that James Hinchcliffe is likely to not sign with Andretti Autosport for 2015 before the team’s August 1st deadline. Michael Andretti told Cavin Hinchcliffe wouldn’t extend the deadline. “He wouldn’t do it,” Andretti said. “He kind of put himself out there (in the free agent market).” – Indianapolis Star – (7/20/14)

Conway gives ECR another win in wild Race 2 at Toronto – Mike Conway’s bold move to be the first car on the lead lap to switch to slicks late paid off with a win in Race 2 at Toronto. Tony Kanaan had to settle for another tantalizingly close finish in 2nd. Will Power grabbed the final spot on the podium as Castroneves, Hunter-Reay, and Pagenaud all suffered poor results. Full results here. – INDYCAR – (7/20/14)

Bourdais dominates Race 1 at Toronto – Sebastien Bourdais dominated Race 1 in Toronto from start to finish to grab his first Verizon IndyCar Series victory since 2007. The rest of the top 5 were Castroneves, Kanaan, Pagenaud, and Dixon. The race had huge championship implications after Will Power’s crash on Saturday and Ryan Hunter-Reay’s contact with Kanaan during green flag action knocked him out of the race. Simon Pagenaud’s engineer Rob Edwards had the call of the race to move him to the front by going off-sequence in the pits. Full results here. – INDYCAR – (7/20/14)

Miller says they should have raced Saturday – Robin Miller’s editorial on why INDYCAR should have raced on Saturday. – RACER – (7/20/14)

Baron wins Lights GP of Toronto – Belardi Racing’s Alex Baron won Grand Prix of Toronto in Sunday’s Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires race. The rest of the top 5 were Chaves, Harvey, Brabham, and Veach. Full results at the link. – @indy44 – (7/20/14)

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