News for the Week of June 16 – June 22, 2014

Andretti hungry to put last year’s Pocono disappointment behind him – Last year at Pocono Marco Andretti had to settle for 10th place due to fuel mileage issues after leading 88 of 160 laps and winning the pole. “I was joking with my team because we were so bad in Baltimore last year and we almost won the thing,” said Andretti. “I said that would have made up for Pocono. It still stings, even though I’ve had plenty of races like that in my career. It’s a little bit of unfinished business, but I hope the car is as good as it was last year and we can start building on it.” – The Morning Call – (6/20/14)

Marco hosts dinner for Pocono media – Marco Andretti hosted media members from the Pocono Raceway area at his home on Wednesday for a dinner prepared by his friend and personal chef. “No matter what, if it’s just a dinner with friends, 100 percent of the time, he will (ask for) sausage and peppers and every single time, it’s clams,” said chef Tim Frey. “And then he will go run like 10 miles.” – INDYCAR – (6/20/14)

Karam waiting for next INDYCAR opportunity – Rookie Sage Karam was brilliant at the Indy 500 but isn’t sure when his next Verizon IndyCar Series ride will come. “It kind of hurts a little bit just because we did everything we were asked to do last year,” Karam said. “We won the championship, we got the scholarship money. It all still just comes down to some money issues. There are some drivers who can bring $5 million to a team and run full season but have never run in the States ever before. That’s been my goal ever since I was a little kid, and I did everything I had to do and we’re still struggling.” He’s more optimistic for 2015 though: “If there’s one guy and one team that can really make it happen and get me in a car full time…it’s Chip Ganassi.” – AP – (6/19/14)

INDYCAR breaks down how pit speeds are monitored – INDYCAR installs timing loops around tracks, including two at pit entrance and two at pit exit. When the transponder located in the same place on each car traverses those pit lane lines 60 feet apart, speed in the trap is recorded. Above the designated speed – 60 mph for ovals and 50 mph for most street/road courses — and a ticket is printed in Race Control. It’s at the Race Director’s discretion to issue a warning (usually for first offense in practice) to a penalty. – INDYCAR – (6/19/14)

Ed Carpenter calls into The Ride With JMV – Ed has become a weekly fixture on The Ride With JMV on 1070 The Fan in Indianapolis. Today Ed and JMV discussed IndyCar video games and JMV’s hairline. As far as racing goes, they discussed ECR’s Fuzzy Vodka sponsorship and Juan Pablo Montoya. – 1070theFan – (6/18/14)

Huertas brushes the wall in Pocono testing – Dale Coyne Racing rookie Carlos Huertas hit the wall in Turn 3 in testing at Pocono Raceway on Tuesday. Huertas is fine but his car did sustain significant damage. In the story Juan Pablo Montoya talks about the his experience in the test in his return to INDYCAR: “It’s a huge difference. [Pocono] is the only place on NASCAR ovals that you have to downshift, and we [in IndyCar] run pretty much wide open all the way around. It’s unbelievable. It’s challenging because all three corners are different.” – The Morning Call – (6/18/14)

TK calls Greg Moore best Canadian NA-open wheel driver of all time – Asked by the Toronto Sun in a phone interview, Tony Kanaan answered the question of who he believed to be the best Canadian driver in North American open-wheel racing: “To me I would pick Greg for sure. They are all such great racers, and I only raced Jacques one time at Indy, but if I had to choose one it would be Greg, he was such a natural talent.” – Toronto Sun – (6/18/14)

2014 Firestone 600: Remix Video – As we switch gears to the street circuit in Houston, let’s look back once more at the race in Texas with this 2.5 minute remix from INDYCAR. Another exciting race where the TV ratings don’t reflect the quality of the event and coverage. – INDYCAR – (6/17/14)

Panther Racing selling old chassis – eBay user “panther4racing” has 3 chassis for sale on eBay including a running 1991 Lola with a Buick V6 engine. The other two chassis are National Guard Dallara’s that finished 2nd in the Indy 500. – eBay – (6/17/14)

Aleshin adapting quickly to INDYCAR – Russian rookie Mikhail Aleshin has put in back to back solid performances in the last two races to move himself into 15th in the point standings. “It’s good that I can fight with many of the other drivers that have raced here for years and years,” said Aleshin. “Sometimes be on the same level with them. Sometimes even faster. All that makes you a bit more optimistic.” – Miami Herald/AP – (6/16/14)

Franchitti honored by the Queen – Dario Franchitti was named a Member of the Order of the British Empire “for services to motor racing” last week as part of Queen Elizabeth II’s birthday celebration. – INDYCAR – (6/16/14)

Verizon IndyCar Series test schedule this week – There will be two test sessions at Pocono Raceway this week on 6/17 and 6/19 as well as a 6/18 session at Sebring. – INDYCAR – (6/16/14)

Pocono to open grandstands for IndyCar testing this week – Pocono raceway will open their main grandstand for fans to attend Verizon IndyCar Series testing on June 17th and 19th from 9AM to 5PM. – Pocono Raceway – (6/16/14)

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