News for the Week of May 4, 2015 – May 10, 2015

Angie’s List Grand Prix of Indianapolis Info:

Weekend ScheduleEntry ListSpotter GuideCircuit Map

Power wins the GP of Indy – Team Penske’s Will Power won the Angie’s List Grand Prix of Indianapolis on Saturday in a dominant performance. Graham Rahal finished P2 in an equally impressive effort but couldn’t track down last year’s champion. Montoya, Bourdais, and Kimball completed the Top 5. Scott Dixon came back from being spun by Castroneves early to grab P10 on the last lap. Check out our live blog of race day here. Full results here. – INDYCAR – (5/9/15)

Rookie Rayhall wins Lights Race 2 at IMS – 8Star Motorsports scored their first ever Indy Lights win as rookie Sean Rayhall turned in a dominant performance in just the second Indy Lights weekend of his career. Championship leaders Ed Jones and Spencer Pigot each suffered early spins. Pigot finished P12 as he couldn’t continue but Ed Jones did fight his way back to finish P4. Jack Harvey had a second place finish wrapped until falling back to P5 on the last lap. Full results at the link. – Indy Lights – (5/9/15)

Coletti tops the charts at GP of Indy warmup – KV Racing’s Stefano Coletti had the quickest lap of the warmup session before Saturday’s Angie’s List Grand Prix of Indianapolis. 9 of the Top 10 cars were powered by Chevy. Graham Rahal was the fastest Honda in P6. – INDYCAR – (5/9/15)

IndyCar and Indy Lights Saturday starting grids – Here are the starting grids for today’s Indy Lights and Verizon IndyCar Series races. – INDYCAR – (5/9/15)

Harvey wins Lights Race 1 at IMS – Schmidt Peterson Motorsports’ Jack Harvey won Race 1 of the Indy Lights weekend on the road course at IMS in a dominant performance. 8Star Motorsports rookie Sean Rayhall finished P2 in just his second Lights weekend. Carlin’s Ed Jones and Max Chilton finished in P3 and P4. RC Enerson rounded out the Top 5 while the championship leader heading into the weekend, Spencer Pigot, finished in P7. Full results at the link. – Indy Lights – (5/8/15)

Power wins the pole for the GP of Indy – Team Penske’s Will Power won the pole for Saturday’s Verizon IndyCar Series Angie’s List Grand Prix of Indianapolis with a new track record of 1:09.4886. The rest of the Firestone Fast 6 starting order will be Dixon, Castroneves, Montoya, Pagenaud, and Kanaan. Jack Hawksworth was the only Honda to make it past Round 1. Full results here. – NBC Sports – (5/8/15)

RHR featured in $20M AutoNation marketing campaign – According to RACER, defending Indianapolis 500 champion Ryan Hunter-Reay will be featured as part of a $20 million dollar marketing campaign by auto retailer AutoNation. “He (Hunter-Reay) is absolutely what AutoNation stands for,” AutoNation spokesman Marc Cannon told the South Florida Business Journal. – RACER – (5/8/15)

Harvey wins the pole for Lights Race 1 at IMS – Schmidt Peterson Motorsports’ Jack Harvey won the pole for Race 1 of the Indy Lights weekend at IMS. Championship leader Spencer Pigot will start back in P6 while the man in second, Ed Jones, will start P2. 8Star Motorsports’ rookie Sean Rayhall will start in P3. Full results at the link. – Indy Lights – (5/8/15)

Scott Speed hoping for Andretti test – Andretti Autosport Red Bull Global Rallycross and Formula E driver Scott Speed is campaigning to test a Verizon IndyCar Series car for his team. “Yeah, it’s been talked about,” Speed told AUTOSPORT. “It always comes down to the right opportunity. I’m not going to do it just to do it, but it’s something I would like to do, and I think it’s something they would like to do, and if an opportunity comes up where we do some road racing, I’d be all for it. The drawback is that I know that I’m not going to run on an oval, so… how much effort do you really want to put in just to do a one-off race?” – RACER – (5/8/15)

Castroneves tops the charts at GP of Indy Practice 3 – Team Penske’s Helio Castroneves laid down a 1:10.3756 on the last lap of the session to grab P1 in Practice 3 of the Verizon IndyCar Series’ weekend at the Angie’s List Grand Prix of Indianapolis. It was an all Chevy Top 7 with Castroneves, Bourdais, Pagenaud, Power, Dixon, Montoya, and Kanaan. Rahal and Sato were the fastest Honda’s for the third session this weekend. The four Andretti Autosport cars were P16(RHR) and P21-23. Full results here. – INDYCAR – (5/8/15)

Colts P McAfee will drive GP of Indy pace car – Indianapolis Colts punter (and local legend) Pat McAfee will drive the pace car in Saturday’s Verizon IndyCar Series Angie’s List Grand Prix of Indianapolis. “I’ve done some cool things around Indianapolis over the years but the opportunity to drive a Pace Car at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway has to be among the coolest,” McAfee said. “But it’s a serious job too, and I’m lucky to have a two-time Indianapolis 500 winner as my coach. I can’t wait to hit the track and learn all those left and right turns.” – IMS – (5/8/15)

Chilton fastest at second Lights practice at Indy – Carlin’s Max Chilton was fastest in the second Indy Lights practice of the weekend on the road course at IMS. Championship leader Spencer Pigot finished in P4 and Chilton’s Carlin teammate Ed Jones was P3. Full results at the link. – Indy Lights – (5/7/15)

Helio’s No. 3 gets special graphic for 300th start – Helio Castroneves is set to make his 300th INDYCAR start this weekend at the Angie’s List Grand Prix of Indianapolis and a double zero has been added to his traditional No. 3 on the side of his rear wing. Check it out at the link on our No. 3 livery page. – OW33 – (5/7/15)

Dixon leads the way at GP of Indy Practice 2 – Ganassi’s Scott Dixon’s lap of 1:10.6971 was good enough for P1 during Practice 2 of the Verizon IndyCar Series Angie’s List Grand Prix of Indianapolis. Chevy was fast again with all of the Top 6 in Dixon, Power, Montoya, Bourdais, Castroneves, and Pagenaud. Takuma Sato and Graham Rahal were once again the fastest Honda’s in P7 and P8. Full results here. – INDYCAR – (5/7/15)

Bourdais turns fastest lap in GP of Indy Practice 1 – KV Racing’s Sebastien Bourdais topped the charts in Practice 1 for the Verizon IndyCar Series Angie’s List Grand Prix of Indianapolis. Chevy once again flexed its road course dominance as the rest of the Top 5 were Chevy machines in Will Power, Scott Dixon, Sebastian Saavedra, and Simon Pagenaud. Takuma Sato and Graham Rahal were the fastest Honda’s in P6 and P8. Full results here. – INDYCAR – (5/7/15)

Juncos Racing announces plans to move to Speedway – Juncos Racing, the highly successful Mazda Road to Indy race team, announced today their plans to move into a 41,000 square-foot facility on Main St. in Speedway, IN. The team also mentioned their goal to enter the Verizon IndyCar Series. “Founded by Ricardo Juncos in 1997, Juncos Racing (pronounced June-kohs) will develop a new $3 million 41,000-square-foot facility featuring shop and office space for its six drivers and 25 employees. An additional 30,000 square feet will be available for future expansion so Juncos can do machining, painting and other work in-house, limiting the need for outsourcing. McGovern construction is expected to begin in June, with completion projected for early spring 2016.” – Juncos Racing – (5/7/15)

Jones fastest at first Lights practice at Indy – Carlin’s Ed Jones was fastest in the first Indy Lights practice of the weekend on the road course at IMS. Championship leader Spencer Pigot finished in P4. Full results at the link. – Indy Lights – (5/7/15)

Cavin Q&A 5/7/15 – The Indianapolis Star’s Curt Cavin’s fan Q&A today covers Nastia Liukin, Jeff Gordon, IMS seating, and more. – Indianapolis Star – (5/7/15)

Popular Mechanics breaks down “guts” of an IndyCar – Popular Mechanics posted a cool article detailing what’s inside a Verizon IndyCar Series machine with pictures and detailed descriptions. It’s a very interesting read. – Popular Mechanics – (5/7/15)

Trackside podcast 5/6/15 – Indianapolis’ 1070TheFan’s Trackside 5/6/15 show hosted by Curt Cavin and Kevin Lee continues the buildup to this weekend’s Angie’s List Grand Prix of Indianapolis and features an outstanding interview with IMS President Doug Boles. A great listen as always. – 1070TheFan – (5/7/15)

INDYCAR mandates chassis-mounted wickers – RACER’s Marshall Pruett reports that INDYCAR has mandated the use of chassis-mounted wickers in the name of safety. According to Pruett “The wickers act in a similar principle to NASCAR’s roof flaps that spoil air going over the car when turned sideways or spinning.” “All the cars have them now, and they will have them for every race going forward,” said Tino Belli, IndyCar’s director of aerodynamic development. “The air accelerates rapidly over the car in a spin, and to help with stability in that situation, we sought a solution to decrease the likelihood of a car turning over. As soon as we were aware of that factor, we wanted to implement a safety measure which we’ve done with the centerline wicker.”- RACER – (5/6/15)

INDYCAR posts each car’s engine mileage – INDYCAR has posted the engine mileage for each car in the Verizon IndyCar Series on their website (at the link). – INDYCAR – (5/6/15)

INDYCAR announces Manufacturer Championship Points Update – “INDYCAR announced the following manufacturers’ championship points adjustments following the Indianapolis 500 Open Test Day on May 3 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway:
• Honda received a bonus of 30 engine manufacturer points for attaining the life cycle minimum for three of its engines. According to Rule 10.6.4.2 of the Verizon IndyCar Series rulebook, any engine that reaches a lifespan of 2,500 miles will receive 10 bonus for its manufacturer. Honda engines for the No. 15 Rahal Letterman Lanigan entry, No. 26 Andretti Autosport entry and No. 98 BHA with Curb Agajanian entry all reached at least 2,500 miles.
• Chevrolet received a points deduction of 20 points. According to Rule 10.6.4.3, 20 points will be deducted for an engine that fails to reach its life cycle. The engine in the No. 83 entry did not reach 2,500 miles before it was changed out.
• Chevrolet also had four of its entrants’ engines – the Nos. 1 and 22 from Team Penske and Nos. 9 and 10 of Chip Ganassi Racing Teams – reach their 2,500-mile lifespans, but they will not receive manufacturer bonus points according to Rule 10.6.4.4, which states that an engine is no longer eligible for mileage lifespan points once it has undergone a non-minor repair approved by INDYCAR.
Following the adjustments, Honda has a total of 380 manufacturer points and Chevrolet 216.” – INDYCAR PR – (5/6/15)

Angie’s List GP of Indianapolis spotter guide is out – The spotter guide for the Verizon IndyCar Series Angie’s List Grand Prix of Indianapolis has been published and released. The new liveries for the weekend: No. 3 Castroneves (white/grey Verizon), No. 6 Hildebrand (Preferred Freezer Systems), No. 8 Saavedra (yellow AFS), No. 21 Newgarden (Century 21 seen at IMS Promoter Test), No. 22 Pagenaud (DeVelbiss), and the No. 98 Chaves (Angie’s List). – INDYCAR – (5/6/15)

UPDATED: Angie’s List GP of Indianapolis entry list is out – The entry list for the Verizon IndyCar Series Angie’s List Grand Prix of Indianapolis has been published and released. JR Hildebrand returns to the series in the CFH Racing No. 6. Dracone and Huertas are back at Dale Coyne Racing. Justin Wilson joins Andretti Autosport in the No. 25 previously driven by Simona de Silvestro at St. Pete and NOLA and Sebastian Saavedra will drive the No. 8 for Chip Ganassi Racing as he did at Long Beach. – INDYCAR – (5/6/15)

Miller’s Mailbag 5/6/15 – RACER’s Robin Miller’s weekly fan Q&A is a great read as always. – RACER – (5/6/15)

New AFS livery for Saavedra for GP of Indy – Sebastian Saavedra will have a different AFS livery this weekend compared to what he drove in Long Beach for the Chip Ganassi Racing No. 8. Check it out at the link or our No. 8 livery page here. – TrackSide Online – (5/6/15)

Trackside podcast 5/5/15 – Indianapolis’ 1070TheFan’s Trackside 5/5/15 show hosted by Curt Cavin and Kevin Lee continues the buildup to this weekend’s Angie’s List Grand Prix of Indianapolis and features an interview with Martin Plowman. A great listen as always. – 1070TheFan – (5/6/15)

Indy Lights GP of Indianapolis entry list is out – The entry list for the two race weekend of the Mazda Grand Prix of Indianapolis Presented by Cooper Tires for Indy Lights has been published. Sean Rayhall stays in the 8Star Motorsports No. 8 and Max Chilton will remain in the No. 14 for Carlin. Team Moore Racing was supposed to rejoin the series this weekend but was not listed on the official entry list. – Indy Lights – (5/5/15)

Tagliani named to Foyt No. 48 for the Indianapolis 500 – “Veteran IndyCar driver and 2011 Indianapolis 500 Pole Winner Alex Tagliani will drive the Al-Fe Heat Treating Honda-powered Dallara for AJ Foyt Racing as the storied race team prepares for the 99th Running of the Indianapolis 500. Al-Fe Heat Treating marks its fifth year with AJ Foyt Racing which began with an associate sponsorship in 2011. Adding to the lore will be the tribute to Dan Gurney and his No. 48 Eagle Indy car, an idea which started with team owner A.J. Foyt, who co-drove with Gurney to win the 24 Hours of LeMans in 1967. “My good friend Dan Gurney used to run that number and he’s supposed to be back at Indy this year so I thought it would be a great way to honor him. And he had some good runs with that number!” said Foyt. Designed by Ryan Westman, regional sales manager for Al-Fe Heat Treating, Inc., and artist Jason LaFrenais, the No. 48’s matte black and bright white livery evokes the paint scheme of Gurney’s No. 48 Eagle that he drove to second place in both the ‘68 and ’69 Indy 500s.” You can see the livery here at our No. 48 livery page. – AJ Foyt Racing – (5/5/15)

INDYCAR set to debut LED position lights at GP of Indy – INDYCAR has been testing IMSA-like LED position lights for a while now and could be set to debut the technology this weekend at the Angie’s List Grand Prix of Indianapolis. “We have always intended to get all the cars with that system onboard for the Indy 500,” IndyCar president of competition Derrick Walker told RACER. “After Spring Training, we gave the manufacturer our feedback and they’ve worked on delivering the final version and enough versions for all competitors. While our plan wasn’t to fit it for the road course, if we can get everything in place for the Grand Prix, we’ll use them. The Indy 500 is the main plan, and we’re on schedule.” – RACER – (5/5/15)

Trackside podcast 5/4/15 – Indianapolis’ 1070TheFan’s Trackside 5/4/15 show hosted by Curt Cavin and Kevin Lee recaps recent Verizon IndyCar Series news and the IMS Promoter Test on Sunday. A great listen as always. – 1070TheFan – (5/5/15)

Liukin named 2015 Indianapolis 500 Grand Marshall – “Nastia Liukin, the individual all-around gold medalist at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing and one of the most successful gymnasts in U.S. history, will serve as Grand Marshal of the 99th Indianapolis 500 on May 24. As part of her duties as Grand Marshal, Liukin will appear on the red carpet, take a parade lap around the famed 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval and be announced to the crowd prior to the start of the race. She will also serve as an Honored Guest at the 500 Festival Parade and the Snake Pit Ball.” “I have very fond memories of competing and performing in Indianapolis, and I will actually be back again in August for the P&G Gymnastics Championships,” Liukin said. “I’m really honored to be the Grand Marshal for this year’s Indianapolis 500. It will be so exciting to witness ‘The Greatest Spectacle in Racing’ – I can’t wait!” – IMS – (5/4/15)

Wilson hoping to parlay this May w/AA to full-time in ’16 – Valentin Khorounzhiy of AUTOSPORT reports that Justin Wilson is hoping his scheduled Month of May with Andretti Autosport will help lead to a full-time drive with team in 2016. “It’s a gamble and you never know,” Wilson said. “Andretti are working with a couple of different sponsors and partners to make it happen – all I can do is cross my fingers.” – AUTOSPORT – (5/4/15)

IMS & Fuzzy’s Vodka extend partnership – “The Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Fuzzy’s Award Winning Vodka have agreed to a multi-year extension of their partnership. Among the most noteworthy elements of the affiliation is that Fuzzy’s Vodka will continue as the official vodka of the annual Angie’s List Grand Prix of Indianapolis and “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing,” the Indianapolis 500.” – IMS – (5/4/15)

Cavin Q&A 5/4/15 – The Indianapolis Star’s Curt Cavin’s fan Q&A covers the new aero kits, Simona, Tagliani’s status, and more. Click around for links to Cavin’s other great stories from a busy weekend. – Indianapolis Star – (5/4/15)

Montoya fastest at IMS Promoter Test – Juan Pablo Montoya was fastest on Sunday on the oval at Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the debut of the new superspeedway aero kits at a Promoters Test. Montoya topped the charts with a lap with an average speed of 226.772 mph. Full results here. – INDYCAR – (5/3/15)

Smithfield to sponsor SPM/Daly No. 43 – “Schmidt Peterson Motorsports (SPM) proudly announced today that Smithfield Foods will be the primary sponsor of the No. 43 Verizon IndyCar driven by Conor Daly in the 2015 Indianapolis 500. Smithfield Foods’ iconic flagship brand, Smithfield, will adorn the third Honda-powered SPM entry on opening day of the 99th running of the Indianapolis 500. Founded in Smithfield, Virginia in 1936, this global food company is the world’s largest provider of high-quality pork products.” Conor Daly: “I am ecstatic to partner with Smithfield and Schmidt Peterson Motorsports for the 99th running of the Indianapolis 500. I have had a great relationship with Sam Schmidt since driving for him in Indy Lights and I’ve always wanted a shot with his Verizon IndyCar Series team. It’s an honor to make my second attempt at running the Indy 500 representing a company like Smithfield who have a great passion for motorsports. I can’t thank everyone enough who have put in the hours to pull this program together. I am confident we will all benefit from this relationship going forward and I can’t wait to get to work on track!” – SPM – (5/3/15)

Chevy unveils superspeedway aero kit – The design of Chevy’s superspeedway aero kit to be used for the 99th Running of the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race this May was unveiled on Saturday. Check it out at the link. – INDYCAR – (5/2/15)

Ivy Tech partners with Ganassi/Karam – “Chip Ganassi Racing Teams (CGRT) announced today that Indiana-based Ivy Tech Community College has partnered on the No. 8 COMFORT REVOLUTION/Big Machine Records Chevrolet with driver Sage Karam in May for the Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Karam will be the centerpiece of a social/digital media campaign during the month of May in Indianapolis leading up to the “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing”. The partnership with Karam, 20, provides Ivy Tech a direct connection to the demographic of their student body, and specifically to their automotive tech students with a look to the future of potential careers in motorsports.” – CGRT – (5/1/15)

Much more signage at IMS this year – Curt Cavin of the Indianapolis Star reports on the additional corporate signage that will be obvious to all spectators at Indianapolis Motor Speedway this month. New signage for Sunoco, Allison Transmission, Angie’s List, Panasonic, and Verizon has been added all over the famous track. IMS President Doug Boles talked to Cavin about the new look. “It is hard to balance it, but at the same time we have to figure out how we move the sport forward a little bit,” Boles said. “Still, when people come to the speedway, we want them to feel like they’re coming to that 106-year-old facility that we all love so much.” – Indianapolis Star – (5/1/15)

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