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Strim za danaske:

 

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Bourdais tops wild first Mid-Ohio practice



By: Robin Miller | 2 hours ago


Sebastien Bourdais led a wild opening practice session Friday morning at Mid-Ohio for Sunday’s Honda Indy 200.

While Bourdais was turning the fastest lap of 1m05.5784s in his Dale Coyne Racing Honda around the 13-turn, 2.258-mile road course, a few of his competitors were sailing off track at a rapid rate.


Will Power spins to avoid the slower car of teammate Simon Pagenaud. (Image by Abbott/LAT)

The biggest off came near the end of the session when Will Power came charging up on teammate Simon Pagenaud in Turn 9 and locked up his brakes — spinning and stopping in the middle of the track. Tony Kanaan saw Power’s stationary car and slowed but was drilled in the back by Charlie Kimball, sending Kanaan spinning into the grass and damaging Kimball’s nose.

Earlier, Zach Veach and Matheus Leist went off-course with no damage and Robert Wickens brought out the first red flag by spinning off Turn 6 early in the session.

Josef Newgarden, in the Team Penske Chevy, was the only other driver to crack the 1m06s barrier as he turned 1:05.9167s.

Point leader and five-time Mid-Ohio winner Scott Dixon was third quickest at 1m06.2157s in the Ganassi Honda, Takuma Sato was fourth fastest at 1m06.2424s in the Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda and Spencer Pigot was close behind at 1m06.2546s in the Ed Carpenter Racing Chevy.

NEXT UP: Practice 2 at 2:35p.m. ET.

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Hunter-Reay edges Power in second Mid-Ohio practice



By: Robin Miller | 6 hours ago


Ryan Hunter-Reay set the pace during Friday afternoon’s IndyCar practice at Mid-Ohio in an ultra-competitive session that saw the first 16 drivers within a second on the 2.258-mile road course.

Driving Andretti Autosport’s Honda, Hunter-Reay turned a fastest lap of 1m05.1950s around the twisting, 13-turn circuit, with everyone’s best laps being turned on the red optional Firestone tires.

Will Power spun off course but came back 10 minutes later to post the second-fastest lap of 1m05.3371s in his Team Penske Chevy, and Graham Rahal was third-best at 1m05.4141s in his Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda.

Spencer Pigot continued to impress in Ed Carpenter Racing’s No.21 Chevy with a lap of 1m05.4312s, while Alexander Rossi rounded out the top five at 1m05.4526s for Andretti.

Sebastien Bourdais, who posted the fastest time in the morning session, wound up 14th in the afternoon in the No.18 DCR Honda. Elsewhere, Zach Veach and Josef Newgarden brought out brief red flags with harmless early-session spins and went on to finish the afternoon in P12 and P9 respectively, while Carlin’s Charlie Kimball ended up 23rd on the timing sheets after being forced to sit out the last 15 minutes of the session for contact in opening practice.

Based on today’s times, Simon Pagenaud’s track record of 1m03.8700s (set in 2016) would appear to be safe with the reduced downforce in the new aero kits.

NEXT UP: Final practice at 10 a.m. ET Saturday with qualifying at 1:35 p.m.

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Rahal fastest in final Mid-Ohio practice



By: Marshall Pruett | 33 minutes ago


Graham Rahal led the third and final Verizon IndyCar Series practice session Saturday morning at Mid-Ohio. The Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda driver (1m05.2067s) barely edged Josef Newgarden in his Team Penske Chevy (+0.0403s), Penske’s Will Power (+0.1300s), Andretti Autosport’s Alexander Rossi (+0.1798s), Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon (+0.2486s), and Penske’s Simon Pagenaud (+0.2504s), who completed the top six.

The big trend of the weekend also continued as IndyCar’s new lower downforce bodywork saw drivers scrambling for grip over crests and brows. With many drivers catching slides throughout each lap as the tail gets light, spins and red flags have become the norm in every session.

Dale Coyne Racing’s Pietro Fittipaldi, who is recovering from broken bones in both legs, was the first to trigger a red. With his injured legs in mind, the team also made a change to the car by switching to different brake master cylinders in an effort to reduce the pedal force needed to slow the car.

Pagenaud had a high-speed off that resulted in nosing his Penske Chevy into the tires, Ed Carpenter Racing’s Spencer Pigot went off on the same lap, and A.J. Foyt Racing’s Matheus Leist had a meeting with the barriers. All are expected to take part in qualifying.

UP NEXT: Qualifying, 1:30 p.m. ET

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Rossi's sole flying lap seals Mid-Ohio pole



By: Marshall Pruett | 23 minutes ago


Andretti Autosport’s Alexander Rossi scored his third career pole with a flying final lap in qualifying for Sunday’s Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio. Team Penske’s Will Power was the last driver to set a time and improved to second, but Rossi’s staggering 1m04.6802s tour around the 2.2-mile road course was not going to be beaten.

Despite the intense effort, Power’s Chevy (+0.2137s) was a fair distance behind Rossi, who will have his Andretti teammate Ryan Hunter-Reay starting directly behind him in third (+0.3094s).

“The car has been so strong on [Firestone] reds on Lap 1,” Rossi said. “A huge hats off to the team for being first and third. It’s all about managing these Firestone tires. The car’s been good since we rolled off. To get a road course pole against this field is a big thing.”

Rossi, who holds third in the championship, can look forward to Power going for broke on Sunday as he tries to rise up the standings from fifth.

“Pretty good — front row,” he said. “I thought my lap was really good. Gotta be real aggressive. I want to be in the fight; I’m going to go for it.”

With no morning warmup prior to the race, Hunter-Reay had some fun with responding to how he hopes to improve on Sunday.

“We’re going to put a really good race setup on this thing,” he said. “There’s a lot of curveballs coming.”

Penske’s Josef Newgarden was fourth (+0.4533s), Schmidt Peterson Motorsports’ Robert Wickens was a lucky fifth after being gifted a place in the Firestone Fast Six by his teammate (+0.4945s), and the best story of the afternoon — Carlin Racing’s Max Chilton — delivered the rookie team its first Fast Six performance (+1.9370s).



“Fourth’s relatively good. We can work with that,” Newgarden said. “If we can figure out the consistency, I think we’ll have a good race car.”

Wickens, like Chilton, found all the team learned in last week’s test at Mid-Ohio did not translate into a quick car once practice got under way. Constant improvements to their cars would ultimately salvage strong qualifying positions.

“The test went well for us,” Wickens said. “We went more or less full circle and from what I’ve learned here at Mid-Ohio the track changes a lot, and overall, it was a decent result.”

“We rocked up here yesterday and weren’t confident,” Chilton added. “Hopefully this [Fast Six start] is a sign of things to come. I feel like I’m driving well. Tomorrow’s the best time to show that.”

Hinchcliffe was the author of major drama in the Fast 12 as he spun and crashed in Turn 12 with 10 second remaining in the session — while sitting first overall. Per the rule book, Hinchcliffe’s mistake erased the two fastest laps set in the No. 5 SPM Honda and dropped the Canadian to 10th overall.

With Hinchcliffe’s demotion, the penalty helped Wickens — who was sitting in seventh — to transfer into the Fast Six, but it also cost a few favorites in Graham Rahal (seventh) and Scott Dixon (ninth) from completing their final hot laps.

“I feel really bad for the [team],” Hinchcliffe said. “With Firestone reds on, the thing came alive. It’s tough. This place is a track position-qualifying race. We’ll do what we can tomorrow with tire strategy to see if we can move up. This was on me and we threw away a good starting position tomorrow.”

Rahal, who waited toward the end of the session to put in a fast lap, felt Hinchcliffe’s penalty was insufficient.

“We didn’t get a lap,” he said. “It’s frustrating. We had the pace to advance. There is no penalty for going off and ruining someone’s day.”

Conor Daly put in another stout effort in Harding Racing’s Chevy to secure 14th ahead of the entire Ed Carpenter Racing team, A.J. Foyt Racing team, and both Dale Coyne Racing entries, among others, while using dampers that are almost half his age.

The Hoosier will also have Penske’s Simon Pagenaud starting behind him in 17th and Dale Coyne Racing’s Sebastien Bourdais ready to come forward from 24th and last. For Bourdais, who started the weekend fastest in the first practice session, the brakes locked on his out lap, which sent the No. 18 Honda sliding off into the grass into the tire barriers somewhat hard. IndyCar’s Safety Team was dispatched to get him moving again, and Bourdais did not return after pulling into the pits.



“The same thing as a couple of other times where I look like an idiot on the out lap or the first lap, going straight with no rear brakes whatsoever,” he said. “We, for whatever reason, have to run a very forward brake balance and the front brakes heat up much faster than the rears. It was a super slow out lap.”

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Rosi uz'o ispred Vikensa i Pauera!

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Two-stop strategy propels Rossi to Honda Indy 200 victory

By Mark Robinson | Published: Jul 29, 2018



LEXINGTON, Ohio – Alexander Rossi gambled for the second straight day at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and came up a winner again. The Andretti Autosport driver won the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio on Sunday on the strength of making one fewer pit stop than the competition.

Rossi, in the No. 27 NAPA AUTO PARTS Honda, won by 12.8285 seconds over Robert Wickens in the 13th race of the 2018 Verizon IndyCar Series season. The triumph also moved Rossi into second place in the championship, unofficially 46 points behind Scott Dixon with four races remaining.

HONDA INDY 200 AT MID-OHIO: Unofficial results

Rossi led 66 of the 90 laps around Mid-Ohio’s 2.258-mile, 13-turn permanent road course. While all other competitors in the 24-car field needed to make three stops to complete the race, Rossi made just two and that made all the difference.

A day after he took the pole position in Verizon P1 Award qualifying by running just one timed lap in the decisive round, Rossi drove to the fourth win in his Verizon IndyCar Series career and second this season. Rossi won the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach on April 15.

Sunday’s victory was No. 60 for Andretti Autosport in Indy car competition, but its first at Mid-Ohio.

Wickens, the Schmidt Peterson Motorsports rookie, equaled his best finish of second place set at ISM Raceway in the second race of the season. The driver of the No. 6 Lucas Oil SPM Honda now has seven top-five finishes this season.

Will Power finished third in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet, just ahead of teammate Josef Newgarden in the No. 1 Hitachi Team Penske Chevrolet. Dixon, driving the No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, finished fifth and saw his unofficial points lead shrink by 16 points.

Sebastien Bourdais, starting last after crashing in qualifying on Saturday, carved through the field to finish sixth in the No. 18 Team SealMaster Honda. It’s the Dale Coyne Racing with Vasser-Sullivan driver’s best finish since he placed fourth at the INDYCAR Grand Prix on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course in May.

The race ran under green-flag conditions the entire way, the third time in 34 Indy car races at Mid-Ohio. An encore telecast of the race airs at 6:30 p.m. ET today on NBCSN.

The Verizon IndyCar Series returns to action with the ABC Supply 500 at Pocono Raceway on Sunday, Aug. 19. Live coverage starts at 1:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN and the Advance Auto Parts INDYCAR Radio Network.

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[Rad-oh-yeah?]

Uh, ovo je bas iznenada, citava Indikar lestvica ostaje bez glavnog sponzora i snabdevaca motorima:
 

Mazda to withdraw from Road to Indy



By: RACER Staff | 3 hours ago


Mazda will wind down its involvement in the Mazda Road to Indy at the end of the 2018 racing season as the company refocuses its motorsport strategy.

The 2018 USF2000, Pro Mazda and Indy Lights champions will receive Mazda Advancement Scholarships for the 2019 season, and the annual $200,000 Mazda Road to Indy Global Shootout will be held as scheduled in December.

“On behalf of Mazda, I’d like to thank Andersen Promotions and everyone involved with the Road to Indy for a wonderful nine years, but the time has come for Mazda to focus our resources into other areas of our motorsports footprint,” Mazda Motorsports director John Doonan said in a statement.

“We have truly enjoyed our role in developing young racers into Indy 500 hopefuls, and we look forward to continuing our relationship with Andersen Promotions through the Battery Tender Global MX-5 Cup. The 2018 USF2000, Pro Mazda and Indy Lights champions will receive Mazda Advancement Scholarships for the 2019 season and the annual $200,000 Mazda Road to Indy Global shootout will also be held in December of this season.

“Motorsports is at the core of Mazda’s DNA and the company remains committed to its variety of motorsports programs in the coming years including our grassroots club racing initiatives, the Battery Tender Global MX-5 Cup presented by BFGoodrich, the Mazda Road to 24, and Mazda Team Joest.”


Peter Dempsey, Gabby Chaves, Carlos Munoz and Sage Karam fight for the 2013 Freedom 100 win at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Since its formal establishment in 2010, Mazda has provided more than $12 million to graduate more than 250 drivers up Mazda Road to Indy ladder from USF2000 to the Verizon IndyCar Series.

INDYCAR released a statement noting that plans to continue the driver development program would be announced at a later date:

“The Road to Indy program has staged great racing over the years while developing teams and drivers for the Verizon IndyCar Series, and that will continue with plans soon to be announced. Mazda has been a transformative partner, and INDYCAR is appreciative of its many contributions.”

Seven drivers have won Indy Lights championships and the accompanying scholarship that helped them make their Indianapolis 500 debuts. A record 27 of the 35 drivers who attempted to qualify for this year’s Indy 500 were Indy Lights alumni. The current IndyCar field features Lights champions Josef Newgarden (2011), Spencer Pigot (2015) and Ed Jones (2016).

“Mazda has been a great supporter of the Road to Indy and integral in the development of this program as the only true path to IndyCar,” said Chris Pantani, director of motorsports for Cooper Tires, the presenting sponsor and tire supplier for all three ladder series.

“Their contribution will have lasting positive effect on the series and drivers who have participated in the program. Cooper is looking forward to a successful culmination of the 2018 race season and an exciting 2019 season as we continue to work in concert with Andersen Promotions as the presenting sponsor for the Road to Indy program, developing the next generation of open wheel talent for IndyCar.”

Andersen Promotions owner and CEO Dan Andersen released a statement saying discussions are ongoing with potential partners and thanking Mazda for being a “key player” in growing the open-wheel driver development system.

“We would like to thank Mazda for nine tremendous years in supporting and headlining the Mazda Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires.

“They have been a great partner and their scholarships have helped so many drivers achieve their dream of progressing to the Verizon IndyCar Series. Mazda has been a key player in establishing and helping to grow our driver development system into the unparalleled program it is today. They remain with us through the end of this season and will once again be awarding each of our series’ champions a scholarship to move up to the next step in 2019 as well as the winner of the USF2000 $200K Scholarship Shootout in December.

“As their marketing objectives pursue new horizons, we at Andersen Promotions are committed to maintaining the outstanding ladder structure we have in place for 2019 and beyond. We are currently in discussions with several potential companies as we actively pursue a new partner.”

 

PRUETT: A fearful farewell



By: Marshall Pruett | 3 hours ago


Who will step up and take Mazda’s place with the Road To Indy?

Until we have the answer, the Verizon IndyCar Series, Andersen Promotions – the company behind the junior open-wheel series – and all of its USF2000, Pro Mazda, and Indy Lights teams will be in for a stressful offseason.

As the title sponsor since 2010, IndyCar’s training series has thrived off Mazda’s annual investments in the three-tier ladder system. Critical to the growth and survival of IndyCar’s farm system, Mazda has awarded more than $12 million in scholarships to the likes of Josef Newgarden, Spencer Pigot and dozens of other college-age drivers pursuing their IndyCar dreams.

To its immense credit, Mazda’s exit strategy will honor its plans to hand out approximately $2 million in advancement dollars to this year’s MRTI champions. New USF2000 title winner Kyle Kirkwood will move up to Pro Mazda, the Pro Mazda champion will get a free ride in Indy Lights, and the Lights title winner will have $1 million to bring to an IndyCar team.

But starting in 2019, the responsibility will fall on new shoulders. In a sport where car manufacturers are incredibly territorial, the best outcome for the Road To Indy would be to identify a new sponsor whose business is far removed from the automotive world.

As IndyCar’s official pipeline for next-generation talent, a brand that skews more towards the youth who populate the RTI the would be a perfect fit, but can a company be found, signed, and introduced before we reach St. Petersburg in March?

The timeline to get it done, not to mention the general timing for this new need, is a significant concern. With just over a month left in the current MRTI season, teams and drivers are looking for signs of stability before committing to a return. And for a new wave of drivers who are considering a move to the MRTI, a strategy of wait-and-see could become the norm. Strip a school of its scholarships, and it’s only natural for the student body to think twice about enrolling.

An immediate gesture from IndyCar to guarantee 2019’s scholarships while the sponsor search gets under way would settle the paddock in a critical period. Considering the undeniable importance of what Mazda and Andersen Promotions have built; 80 percent of today’s IndyCar field came up through the MRTI or its predecessors, IndyCar cannot afford to let confidence wane as the offseason approaches. If a new sponsor is found prior to 2019, the scholarships would be their responsibility to supply.

And with IndyCar working through the final stages of a sweeping cost-cutting plan designed to increase Indy Lights’ car counts, it’s also the perfect time for the series to take a greater stake in the ladder system it handed off to Andersen earlier this decade.

IndyCar’s success is interlinked with the Road To Indy, and vice versa. Having operated just outside IndyCar’s control and relied on the extreme generosity of Mazda – a brand that doesn’t compete in IndyCar – this change in title sponsorship should come as a wake-up call to the big leagues. Leaving the RTI to succeed or fail on its own is not something IndyCar can afford.

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IndyCar, Andersen unveil five-year Indy Lights plan



By: Marshall Pruett | 6 hours ago


The Verizon IndyCar Series and Andersen Promotions have unveiled a five-year plan for Indy Lights designed to increase car counts, reduce costs, and strengthen the alignment between the organizations.

In development for many months by Dan Andersen, IndyCar’s Jason Penix, and IndyCar competition president Jay Frye, the first step in the plan involves bringing the annual budgets for Indy Lights down to something consistently below $1 million.

A reduction in tire costs and engine lease pricing will provide some relief, and with the extension of the 2015-spec Dallara IL15 chassis until at least 2022, Andersen says teams should be able to lower the asking price for a full-season entry to the $850-900K range.

“Now that we have the IL15 guaranteed for three more years, at a minimum, our teams know they don’t have to get as much to recoup the car costs because it can be amortized over a longer period,” he told RACER.

“And we’ve taken $100 per set off the Cooper tires, which doesn’t sound like a lot, but our teams use a lot of tires every year, and AER has come down on the engine lease number, plus locked it in for 4500 miles, which is more than anyone will do during the season. Every little bit helps, but it’s the amortization that I think will have the greatest effect.”

With the news of Mazda’s upcoming withdrawal as title sponsor of the Road To Indy, IndyCar and Andersen have confirmed the $1 million advancement prize will continue uninterrupted, and will actually see an increase to $1.1 million for the 2019 series champion to take to IndyCar. News on advancement prizes for USF2000 and Pro Mazda will be released at a later date.

“We want all our teams to see the security we’re providing, and even with the change in corporate objectives for Mazda, which has been an amazing partner for so many years with us in open-wheel racing,” Andersen said. “We’ll actually have more money for next year’s champ to use for the Indy 500 and two more [IndyCar] races in 2020.”

Increased in prize money, post-season award funds, and valuable decreases in new-car purchase costs were also outlined in the five-year plan.

Looking to the future, IndyCar and Indy Lights will try to find a new solution for 2023 that would see a common chassis used in both categories. An identical solution was proposed years ago by Dallara – before Indy Lights was handed off to Andersen Promotions – and if it were to happen, Lights teams could convert their cars upward to compete in IndyCar, and IndyCar teams would have the same option to convert down in Lights.

Andersen put this exact concept in motion in 2017 when he commissioned the new Tatuus USF-17 USF2000 chassis that serves double-duty in Pro Mazda under the PM18 moniker.

“We’ve spoken about aligning them so that we have the same chassis that could do both series,” Frye said. “It seems possible, but the engines would be much different, obviously. You want to make sure the younger drivers are in a Lights car that are similar to what they’ll drive in IndyCar.

“And you have to like the business possibilities where a Lights team could use its car to do the Indy 500, for example, and then use it to go full-time when they’re ready. Teams in both series could sell or lease cars to each other, sell the parts that are common between the cars, and in general, make it easier for IndyCar teams to compete in Lights, and get Lights teams into IndyCar without making a big separate car purchase. It’s too soon to say we can do it, but it’s what we are going to look into.”

Andersen confirmed the engines in all three tiers of the MRTI will remain in place for 2019, if not longer.

“Everything stays the same there with AER supplying motors for Indy Lights and Elite Engines supplying our Pro Mazda and USF200 engines,” he said. “We’re already talking with some new possible title sponsors – some automotive, some not – and while we aren’t wanting to change anything on the engine front, it wouldn’t happen for a while, if it happens at all, based on who comes in as a new sponsor for the entire ladder.”

Among the final notes of interest, an effort is in place to make Indy Lights races available to the world via live streaming which would see a shift from NBCSN’s cable channel to the unrestricted NBC Gold online platform in the next year or two. And that would coincide with another concept to use IndyCar’s Leader circle program, where full-season entrants are guaranteed a sizable amount of prize money, being applied to full-time Indy Light entrants who commit to the series.

A shift in testing incentives for IndyCar teams is also in motion where team would receive two additional test days if Indy Lights drivers are used. For teams that run dual IndyCar and Indy Lights programs, one extra day would be granted, and unlike the previous rule that required Lights drivers to spend half the day in the car before the regular IndyCar driver took over, the new plan requires the Lights drivers to complete all of the testing miles.

Altogether, and including the new IndyCar licensing guidelines that should lead more drivers to the Lights series, both organizations are headed in a direction that should create a solid foundation well into the next decade.

“Now we have a plan, have a path, and have a good start for next year,” Frye said.

 

IndyCar to introduce driver licensing system



By: Mark Glendenning and Marshall Pruett | 6 hours ago


IndyCar will roll out a licensing system that will require future drivers to meet certain criteria before becoming eligible to race in the Verizon IndyCar Series.

Essentially a simplified version of Formula 1’s Super License, drivers hoping to race in IndyCar will be able to gain automatic eligibility through having raced in F1 or NASCAR’s Monster Energy Cup Series, or having achieved a predetermined level or success or experience in other categories. The move comes in the wake of the release of IndyCar and Andersen Promotions’ plans to bring IndyCar and Indy Lights into closer alignment over the next five years, and accordingly, some drivers who would previously have been able to move directly into IndyCar from elsewhere may now be required to spend time in Lights first.

“It’s for sure a guideline, something we didn’t have before, and as we’ve had a lot of expansion lately, we thought it was appropriate to create a formula on how to become an IndyCar driver,” IndyCar competition director Jay Frye told RACER.

“Not every series in the world is mentioned, so we’ll take each case individually, and some are streamlined for licensing like Formula 1 and the Monster Energy Cup Series. But overall, we want to focus this process and use Indy Lights as a training ground, where necessary, to get drivers ready for our diverse set of tracks and challenges in IndyCar.”

Outside of F1 and Cup, drivers can gain automatic eligibility for a license by finishing in the top three at the end of a full-season Lights campaign, or in the top five at the end of two full Lights seasons. Qualification from other series, including the WEC, Formula 2, NASCAR’s Xfinity Series, GP3/F3, Formula E, Pro Mazda, USF2000 and Formula 4, will depend on accumulating a set number of qualifying points over a two-year period.

In addition to the racing license, there will also be an IndyCar testing license that will require drivers to have met certain results or experience-based standards in IndyCar, Lights or Pro Mazda. According to the series, exceptions to the eligibility requirements may be made depending on an individual driver’s experience.

Based on the qualifying criteria, Foyt’s Matheus Leist (who finished fourth in his only Indy Lights season), Coyne’s Zachary Claman de Melo (who only finished one of his two Lights seasons in the top five) and Santino Ferrucci (insufficient points), SPM’s Robert Wickens (whose DTM achievements wouldn’t have automatically registered in the qualification process), Juncos’s Rene Binder (insufficient points) and ECR’s Jordan King (insufficient points) might have struggled to gain automatic race license eligibility.

However Wickens’ extensive resume and Leist’s three Lights wins in 2017 – including the Freedom 100 – would have likely made them especially strong candidates to be granted exceptions.

[Rad-oh-yeah?]

Cela trka sa Mid-Ohaja, jedna od najboljih trka zadnjih nekoliko sezona:

 

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Power, Dixon predict improved Indy 500 after IMS test



By: Robin Miller | 15 hours ago


The two winningest drivers in IndyCar during the past decade spent Monday at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway — testing new aero kit pieces for IndyCar and tires for Firestone — and both Will Power and Scott Dixon were optimistic next year’s Indianapolis 500 would be improved.

“The chances of next year being one of the hottest days ever aren’t likely and if it was 10 degrees cooler this year it’s a different race,” said Power, who led 59 laps and captured his first Indy 500 for Team Penske in a race that didn’t feature the frenetic pace and passing of the previous Mays. “If it’s overcast, it’s a different race.

“I think you saw the worst-case scenario of track conditions last May so I think the weather and development of the teams will make the racing better in 2019. Everyone will turn up with better cars.”

Dixon, who leads the Verizon IndyCar point standings with four races remaining, liked what he felt Monday morning.

“We’re heading in the direction we kind of knew it would be and it’s a positive one because it was a little easier to follow a little closer, which is good,” said the 2008 Indy winner who finished third last May.

“It’s hard to tell for sure with only two cars; the wake is different with three or four cars but it was hard to follow closer in the race this year. There were a few aero pieces the teams and engineers understood to be an issue that we need to rectify and make the racing a little bit better for next year.”

Added Power: “We’re just doing short runs to try and understand the aero kit and improve the racing.”

With Pocono up next, Power will be going for his third consecutive victory at the Tricky Triangle. But at fourth in the standings he trails Dixon by 87 points with two ovals and two road courses left on the schedule.

“We need him [Dixon] to have a bad day but he hasn’t had any so far this year, he’s been amazing,” said Power. “It’s hard to say how the race will be but this car drafts really well so you get a big slingshot so it might be good for racing at Pocono.”

But even his point deficit to Dixon couldn’t dampen the Aussie’s day after he drove back inside IMS for the first time since his triumph.

“It was very cool driving back into the Speedway,” he said. “Everything else is a bonus after you win this race and it was a big sense of relief for me. I’d have finished my career very disappointed had I not won the Indy 500. It’s an amazing feeling and an amazing event.”

[Rad-oh-yeah?]

What happened to IndyCar's yellow flags?



By: Robin Miller | 6 hours ago


The 2018 IndyCar season has been one of the best ever for road and street course racing. Iowa was a pièce de résistance, and Indianapolis a different kind of animal but still intriguing.

But this year has also been one of the most tidy, by far. The drivers have raced close, but as clean as you might expect the top rung of open wheel stars to perform.

Right now, IndyCar is on a record pace for lack of yellow-flag laps. According to some research by longtime Mailbag reader Doug Mayer, the series is going into Pocono next weekend having spent just 195 laps under caution from a total of 1,730 laps for an impressive percentage of 11.3. By comparison, it was almost 20 percent in 2015.

There have been two races – Road America and Mid-Ohio – that ran caution-free. The tight confines of Toronto only had 12 laps under caution, while St. Pete was the clumsiest weekend with 25 of 110 laps spent under yellow. But after a six-month layoff, you’d expect the season-opener to be aggressive, and since then there’s been tons of passing, and not too many chrome horns or stupid moves.

Indianapolis 500 winner Will Power thinks there’s a combination of factors at play.

“The level of competition is a factor because there are no bad drivers in the field anymore, and there’s a lot of continuity among the drivers,” said the 37-year-old Aussie, who has racked up 33 wins in nine years for Roger Penske. “People understand the racing and cars a lot better, and they race hard but fair.

“And IndyCar developed a great package with this aero kit, and you can hang it out but it’s forgiving. The air does not disturb you anywhere near [the way it did with] the old car, so you’re not taking a desperate move. You’re already pretty close.”

Indy featured 41 of 200 laps under caution, which isn’t bad considering how hot and tricky the conditions proved to be, catching out former winners Helio Castroneves, Takuma Sato and Tony Kanaan in addition to four-time champ Sebastien Bourdais and top 10 regular Danica Patrick.

Yet Pocono only delivered 13 laps of contact caution a year ago, and Power, who is going for his third consecutive win at the tri-oval, figures it’s going to be fast yet relatively clean.

“It’s very interesting how green the races have been,” he said. “But it’s not surprising with the level of driver talent.”

[Rad-oh-yeah?]

INSIGHT: IndyCar's silly season in full swing



By: Marshall Pruett | 4 hours ago


The McLaren IndyCar deal isn’t dead, some of the series’ biggest names are approaching contract deadlines, and more new tracks could wind up on the 2019 calendar.

The good news is the silly season is far from over, and at its current rate, it will continue well into the offseason.

McLaren

Starting at the top and recapping on the possibility of McLaren fielding an IndyCar program with Andretti Autosport, McLaren CEO Zak Brown spoke with RACER twice leading into Mid-Ohio and confirmed it is an active and ongoing initiative. It’s worth taking Brown’s assertion at face value.

Brown and McLaren have never offered public guarantees about fielding a full-time IndyCar effort, just some version of “it’s less a question of if, and more a question of when.” It means the initiative could be scuttled, or it could continue being developed until something happens in either 2019 or 2020.

What has appeared to change on the subject is the wave of momentum that emerged in June and early July towards greenlighting the program. If it’s going to happen in 2019, Brown conceded that while they aren’t short on time, there is a growing sense of urgency to reach a decision.

McLaren Drivers

Where this holds specific interest is in the potential signing of drivers for the McLaren-Andretti effort. McLaren’s Fernando Alonso, who was on the docket to test with Andretti at Portland until those plans were nixed, has said he will use the current Formula 1 summer break to make his decision on whether he’ll choose IndyCar or F1 next season.

Michael Andretti confirmed Alonso is only interested in doing the full IndyCar championship, not a patchwork calendar, which either means all kinds of awesomeness is headed to America, or McLaren needs to lock in another heavyweight to lead its program if it gets approved. Based on opinions of many smart people in the Mid-Ohio paddock, the latter is the most likely scenario, which means the Alonso-to-IndyCar topic could be more of a 2020 thing for the two-time F1 champ.

The greatest revelation to come from Mid-Ohio involves Scott Dixon, the other titan being considered for McLaren’s return to IndyCar. RACER learned a proper bidding war has broken out for the services of four-time IndyCar champ Scott Dixon, and as many as four parties are said to have weighed in with contracts or incentives.

With Chip Ganassi Racing keen on keeping its leader, McLaren interested in prying the Kiwi away to turn its pending program into an instant contender, and Honda motivated to retain Dixon’s services as its greatest championship threat, the 38-year-old is said to have stood back and watched as both sides – with Honda in the middle – have increased salary offers and added important incentives. The Andretti team was also positioned as having made a direct offer to Dixon.

The duel for Dixon, the greatest IndyCar driver of his generation, is a fine form of validation in the final stages of his open-wheel career. Beyond the boatloads of cash being waved in his direction – Paul Tracy believes it’s $8 million per year from McLaren – post-career enticements, either in the form of an ongoing salary or small ownership stakes in the teams, have been rumored as well.

Even with the back-and-forth volley of offers, Dixon could be forced to make a quick decision based on time rather than desire.

Before McLaren’s senior brass started dragging the brakes on its proposed IndyCar effort, inking someone of Dixon’s caliber could have been done without concerns over rapidly-approaching contract deadlines. But with new delays in place while McLaren tries to improve its fortunes in Formula 1, many weeks have passed and it’s believed Dixon is on the clock to re-sign with Chip Ganassi Racing.

Despite all of the amazing offers and possibilities to lead McLaren, the sliding timeline could play to CGR’s favor to keep its star driver for at least one more year. And if you were Dixon, what would you do?

He’s leading the championship, flirting with a fifth title, and has an energetic new sponsor that wants to keep him in the car. Altogether, CGR’s house is in order with Dixon’s No. 9 Honda.


Image by IndyCar

On the flipside, McLaren has reportedly offered Dixon a supreme salary that would make half the F1 grid jealous. But the real question is whether McLaren will be on the grid next year for that salary to be earned. Now, with CGR looking for a yes or no on a new contract, and McLaren needing more time to figure out its plans, Dixon appears to be contemplating the merits of a sure thing versus a high-stakes gamble.

What would be the smarter play? Stick with CGR on new one-year contract and wait to see if McLaren gets everything together for 2020? Or roll the dice, let the option to stay with CGR for 2019 expire, and hope the Andretti-McLaren deal works itself out in the months ahead?

Barring a rapid change in McLaren’s willingness to confirm a 2019 program, the wise move might be to return to CGR for an 18^th season.

CGR Drivers

As RACER wrote in the first silly season update in June, CGR has been keen on Sweden’s Felix Rosenqvist since the kid first tested for the team in 2016. Inquiries were made regarding his contractual availability to partner with Dixon this season in the No. 10 Honda, and with the lucrative world of Formula E keeping Rosenqvist occupied, Ed Jones eventually signed to drive alongside Dixon.

Whether Dixon stays or goes, would CGR look to keep Jones or continue the search for a solid 1-2 punch at every round? And if Jones isn’t retained, where might he land? The 2016 Indy Lights champion is said to bring a few sponsors as part of his package, and if that’s the case, he’ll draw plenty of interest elsewhere.

Rosenqvist remains a hard contractual nut to crack. The same goes for Dale Coyne Racing’s Sebastien Bourdais. If either driver were truly available, they’d be in the No. 10 car already.

Harding

Rumblings of financial pressure within the Harding Racing team have only grown since the month of May, and with the recent jettisoning of approximately $500,000 in salaries, the rookie entrant could be positioned to witness a drastic uptick in fortunes if Michael Andretti and Mike Harding join forces to field one or more ‘Andretti Junior Team’ entries.


Image by IndyCar

Andretti Indy Lights driver Colton Herta tested Harding’s Chevy-powered cars last week in Phoenix, and if the Andretti-Harding links becomes a formal thing, keeping the second-generation driver in the family – even at a remote location – would be a smart play.

A second entry has also been mentioned as an option. With a number of drivers looking for rides, including Pato O’Ward, Herta’s championship-leading Lights teammate, Andretti could own a quarter of the full-time grid with ease. Whether Harding would remain in the Bowtie camp, or align with Andretti and use Hondas, is another thread to follow.

Ed Carpenter Racing

The notion of going to two full-time cars and shifting team owner/driver Ed Carpenter to a part-time third entry for ovals was mentioned earlier in the season, and with the championship winding down, it looks like a wise direction forward. If it were to happen, it could create an easy situation for Spencer Pigot to stay in the No. 21 Chevy, allow his road course teammate Jordan King, who wants to go full-time and has an option held by the team, to continue with ECR, and give Carpenter an opportunity to keep racing without continuing to search for someone to share his car.

Of the other rumors, Marco Andretti was said to be on ECR’s radar and King, who has shown prowess in qualifying, is said to be coveted by at least one other team.

Rahal Letterman Lanigan

The emergence of an Andretti-Harding deal could complicate Rahal Letterman Lanigan’s initial plans to draft Colton Herta into its squad as a third driver. If, by chance, the Andretti-Harding alliance does not move forward, a seat at RLL would still be a perfect fit, but the team might not be willing to sit idle and see if he’s available.

A strong rumor during last weekend’s IMSA event at Road America placed CORE autosport’s Colin Braun as someone who might test or possibly race for RLL in one of the two road courses left on the calendar. If the Texan gets the nod to demonstrate his talents, the idea of a fast and technical pilot to pair with Graham Rahal – and Takuma Sato, provided he signs an extension – in 2019 could lift RLL into new competitive territory.

[Rad-oh-yeah?]

Opa!
 

Stewart on 2019 Indy 500 run: ‘If I go, I’m not going just to run it’

By Dakota Crawford | Published: Aug 9, 2018



Tony Stewart says another run at the Indianapolis 500, perhaps as soon as next year, is not out of the question.

The 1997 Verizon IndyCar Series champion and three-time NASCAR Cup champion semi-retired after the 2016 season, though he continues competing in dirt-track events in addition to co-owning his NASCAR team.

Stewart told reporters Tuesday that if he does come back for a sixth attempt at the Indianapolis 500, he wants to do it the right way.

“I’ve been there and ran it. If I go, I’m not going just to run it,” Stewart said. “I don’t want to be a sideshow like Danica (Patrick) was at Indy this year. If I go, I want to go feeling like I’ve got the same opportunity to win that everybody else in the field does.”

Stewart, 47, drove in five Indianapolis 500s from 1996-2001. He qualified second as a Team Menard rookie in 1996 but started on the pole following the tragic death of teammate Scott Brayton in a crash during practice. Stewart qualified second again in 1997, when he recorded his best Indy 500 finish of fifth place. He qualified fourth in 1998, his final full Indy car season with Team Menard before moving to NASCAR.

Stewart returned to the Indy 500 in 1999 and finished ninth for Tri-Star Racing. Chip Ganassi hired Stewart to drive in the 2001 Indy 500, when he qualified seventh and finished sixth.

Always the competitor, Stewart sounded hungry for a chance at competing on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval again, but knows it would be difficult going up against the full-time drivers.

“It’s an insult to the guys that do it every week to show up and think that you’re going to be as good as those guys are,” he said. “They’re on their game, they know their cars. They know how they need their cars to feel in practice to be good for the race. It’s foolish to think you can just show up and be competitive and have a shot to win. If I were going to do that, I would definitely want to run at least one race (before Indy). One race may not even be enough to be where you need to be.

“If I do it, I’m doing it because I want to win the race.”