News for the Week of May 1, 2017 – May 7, 2017

Corvette Grand Sport unveiled as 2017 Indy 500 pace car – “The Corvette Grand Sport is the official Pace Car for the 2017 Indianapolis 500 presented by PennGrade Motor Oil and will lead drivers to the green flag Sunday, May 28 for the 101st Running of the legendary race. It marks the 14th time a Corvette has served as the official Pace Car, starting in 1978, and the 28th time a Chevrolet has led the field, dating back to 1948, when a 1948 Fleetmaster Six convertible paced the race. No other vehicle has served as the Pace Car more than the Corvette.” Full release at the link. – IMS – (5/5/2017)

Rossi throws first pitch at Cubs game – “A day after receiving his Indianapolis 500 winner’s ring at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Alexander Rossi celebrated by visiting a team of champions at another iconic venue. Rossi, winner of the 100th Indianapolis 500 presented by PennGrade Motor Oil last May, threw the first pitch of the baseball game between the reigning World Series champion Chicago Cubs and the Philadelphia Phillies on Thursday, May 4 at famed Wrigley Field in Chicago.” Full release at the link and watch the first pitch here here. – IMS – (5/4/2017)

Mecum Auctions livery unveiled for DRR car for Karam – Mecum Auctions will be featured on the livery for the Dreyer & Reinbold Racing No. 24 to be driven by Sage Karam in the 101st Running of the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race. See the full release at the link and the livery on our No. 24 livery page here. – NBC Sports – (5/4/2017)

Alonso test broadcast gathers more than 2 million views – Motorsport.com’s Jonathan Noble has an excellent report on the visibility of the Fernando Alonso test at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Wednesday. INDYCAR’s YouTube and Facebook platforms combined to attract over 2 million views. Full report at the link. – Motorsport.com – (5/4/2017)

Rossi receives Indy 500 winner’s ring – Alexander Rossi received his winner’s ring for winning the 100th Running of the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race on Wednesday from Indianapolis Motor Speedway President J. Douglas Boles and Ken Keltner of Herff Jones. Check it out at the link. – FOX59 – (5/4/2017)

Alonso’s first day of oval testing successful – NBC Sports’ Tony DiZinno has an excellent recap of all of the action from Fernando Alonso’s private test at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Wednesday. Check it out at the link. Watch the entire broadcast of the test here. – NBC Sports – (5/3/2017)

Alonso passes all three phases of Indy 500 ROP – Fernando Alonso completed all three phases of his rookie orientation program in his private test on the oval at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Wednesday. – INDYCAR – (5/3/2017)

McLaren unveils Alonso livery for Indy 500 – McLaren has unveiled the livery for the No. 29 car Fernando Alonso will drive in the 101st Running of the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race. See the livery on our No. 29 livery page here. – @McLarenIndy – (5/3/2017)

Miller’s Mailbag 5/3/17 – RACER’s Robin Miller’s weekly fan Q&A is a great read as always. – RACER – (5/3/2017)

Trackside podcast 5/2/17 – 1070 The Fan’s Trackside with Curt Cavin and Kevin Lee radio show from 5/2/17 is a great listen as always. – 1070 The Fan – (5/3/2017)

Daly fastest overall in test at Gateway – AJ Foyt Racing’s Conor Daly had the fastest lap of the day in the Verizon IndyCar Series test at Gateway Motorsports Park on Tuesday with a lap at 176.907mph. The rest of the Top 5 was Castroneves, Montoya, Newgarden, and Pagenaud. Full combined test results at the link. – INDYCAR – (5/2/2017)

Daly fastest in first test session at Gateway – AJ Foyt Racing’s Conor Daly had the fastest lap of the first Verizon IndyCar Series test session at Gateway Motorsports Park on Tuesday with a lap at 173.714mph. The rest of the Top 5 was Newgarden, Montoya, Pagenaud, and Castroneves. JR Hildebrand made contact with the wall during the session but was checked, released, and cleared to drive by the medical center. Full results at the link. – The Open Wheel – (5/2/2017)

Alonso’s IMS test to be streamed – “A fully produced live show will be televised online from 9:30 a.m.-noon ET, with an announcing team of 1969 Indianapolis 500 winner and 1978 Formula One champion Andretti and NBCSN’s Verizon IndyCar Series talent Kevin Lee and Robin Miller. Coverage of the test will continue from 1-5 p.m. with a live stream without commentary.” Full story at the link. – INDYCAR – (5/2/2017)

NBCSN Phoenix broadcast gets 0.21 TV rating – The NBCSN TV broadcast of the Desert Diamond West Valley Phoenix Grand Prix at Phoenix International Raceway drew a 0.21 TV rating according to ShowBuzzDaily. Full weekend sports TV ratings at the link. – ShowBuzzDaily – (5/2/2017)

Andretti’s Lights car for Jamin picks up DuraMAX by RelaDyne sponsorship for Indy – “Nico Jamin to run DuraMAX Powered by RelaDyne on car for May events. The No. 27 Mazda of Nico Jamin will have a different look when it takes to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway next week for the INDYCAR Grand Prix. Cincinnati-based national lubricants and fuel distributor, RelaDyne, will add its blue and red colors of its automotive brand, DuraMAX, to the Frenchman’s car for both the Grand Prix and Freedom 100 later this month.” See the livery on our No. 27 Lights livery page here. Full release at the link. – Andretti Autosport – (5/1/2017)

Report: Pigot close to landing Juncos Indy 500 ride – RACER’s Marshall Pruett reports Spencer Pigot is close to landing one of the two seats at Juncos Racing for the 101st Running of the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race. Pruett reports Kyle Kaiser, Ryan Briscoe, and Alex Tagliani “continue to circulate as possibilities for the second Juncos seat”. Full report at the link. – RACER – (5/1/2017)

Alonso to test at IMS on 5/3 – “Two-time Formula One World Champion Fernando Alonso will begin on-track preparation for his Indianapolis 500 debut with a test session Wednesday, May 3 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The test will take place from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. (ET) on the 2.5-mile oval. This will be the first career laps on an oval for 2005 and 2006 World Champion Alonso, who drives in Formula One for McLaren Honda…Fans can watch testing for free from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. from the Turn 2 viewing mounds, Museum parking lot and South Terrace Grandstands.” – IMS Press Release – (5/1/2017)

Gateway announces spectators are welcome at 5/2 INDYCAR test – “All Verizon IndyCar Series teams are expected to test at Gateway Motorsports Park in Madison, Illinois on Tuesday, May 2 in preparation for the August 26 Bommarito Automotive Group 500 Presented By Valvoline (#Bommarito500). INDYCAR teams will test from noon to 3 p.m. and 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. Indy Lights teams will test at 9 a.m. and 3:15 p.m. Spectator gates will open at 11 a.m. Adult spectator grandstand admission is $20. Kids 15 and under are free. Parking is free.” Full release at the link. – Gateway Motorsports Park – (5/1/2017)

The Open Wheel’s Phoenix photo gallery – Check out The Open Wheel’s Parker Hall’s photo gallery from the Desert Diamond West Valley Phoenix Grand Prix at Phoenix International Raceway at the link. – The Open Wheel – (4/30/2017)

Pagenaud earns first oval win at Phoenix – Team Penske’s Simon Pagenaud won his first career oval race in the Verizon IndyCar Series in the Desert Diamond West Valley Phoenix Grand Prix at Phoenix International Raceway. The rest of the Top 5 was Power, Hildebrand, Castroneves, and Dixon. This incident dramatically affected the race as Aleshin, Andretti, Bourdais, Chilton, and Rahal all went out on Lap 1. Full results here. – INDYCAR – (4/29/2017)

Castroneves sets track record and wins pole at Phoenix – Team Penske’s Helio Castroneves broke his own track record and won the pole for the Desert Diamond West Valley Phoenix Grand Prix at Phoenix International Raceway with a 2-lap average of 194.905mph. The rest of the Top 5 was Power, Hildebrand, Newgarden, and Pagenaud. Kanaan was the first Honda driver in P6. Full results here. – INDYCAR – (4/28/2017)

Castroneves and Kanaan honored at “Celebrating Legends” event in Phoenix – Helio Castroneves and Tony Kanaan were honored at a “Celebrating Legends” event at the Heard Museum in Phoenix on Thursday nights celebrating their 20 years driving Indy cars. A recap and video of the event is available at the link. – INDYCAR – (4/28/2017)

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