News for the Week of July 4, 2016 – July 10, 2016

Newgarden dominates the field for Iowa win – Ed Carpenter Racing’s Josef Newgarden dominated the Iowa Corn 300 at Iowa Speedway for his first Verizon IndyCar Series win in 2016. Newgarden set an all-time INDYCAR record by leading 282 laps. The rest of the Top 5 was Power, Dixon, Pagenaud, and Aleshin. Defending race winner Hunter-Reay appeared to blow an engine and finished last in P22. Full results here and relive the race with our live blog here. – INDYCAR – (7/10/2016)

Serralles win Lights thriller at Iowa – Carlin’s Felix Serralles passed Zach Veach with two laps to go to win the Indy Lights race at Iowa Speedway. The full Top 5 was Serralles, Veach, Jones, Stoneman, and Urrutia. Full results here. – Indy Lights – (7/10/2016)

INDYCAR hoping to announce technical direction within two weeks – David Malsher of Motorsport.com has posted a MUST READ article about INDYCAR’s future with president of competition and operations Jay Frye. Frye says INDYCAR is hoping to announce plans for their technical direction on a number of topics for the next 3-5 years within the next two weeks. “We’ve been working on this project for the last five to six months and aerokits are just one piece of the plan. We’re trying to come up with a three to five-year program – and although obviously the aerokits are a big part of it, there are several other important factors.” – Motorsport.com – (7/10/2016)

Jones grabs Lights pole as rain wipes out qualifying – The starting grid for the Indy Lights race at Iowa Speedway was set by points as qualifying was cancelled due to rain. This gave Carlin’s Ed Jones the pole. Full starting grid at the link. – The Open Wheel – (7/10/2016)

Kanaan tops the charts in Final Practice at Iowa – Chip Ganassi Racing Team’s Tony Kanaan finished his sweep of the Iowa Corn 300 practice sessions by topping the charts in Final Practice with a lap of 179.103mph. The rest of the Top 5 was Newgarden, Pagenaud, Castroneves, and Hinchcliffe. Full results here and relive the session with our live blog here. – INDYCAR – (7/9/2016)

Jones quickest in Lights Practice 2 at Iowa – Carlin’s Ed Jones topped the charts in the final Indy Lights practice of the weekend at Iowa Speedway with a lap at 162.517mph. The rest of the Top 5 was Urrutia, Veach, Kaiser, and Piedrahita. Kaiser crashed in Turn 4 to end the session but walked away under his own power. Full results here. – Indy Lights – (7/9/2016)

Pagenaud wins the pole at Iowa – Team Penske’s Simon Pagenaud won the pole for the Iowa Corn 300 at Iowa Speedway with a 2-lap qualifying average of 185.855mph. The rest of the Top 5 was Newgarden, Castroneves, Chilton, and Kimball. Mikhail Aleshin was the only Honda in the Top 11 in P9. Full qualifying results here and relive the session with our live blog here. – INDYCAR – (7/9/2016)

Maldonado spotted in Iowa – Former Formula 1 star Pastor Maldonado was spotted this weekend at Iowa Speedway as a guest of KVSH Racing. “At the moment we are not looking to race here, but for sure I’m looking around to solve my situation,” Maldonado said. “First option is of course Formula 1, because I’ve been very involved in the past few years there. This year I’m fully involved in the tire development.” More at the link. – NBC Sports – (7/9/2016)

Carpenter visor cam from Iowa – INDYCAR’s excellent visor cam series continues with Ed Carpenter at Iowa Speedway. Check it out at the link. – INDYCAR – (7/9/2016)

Iowa Speedway and INDYCAR announce extension through 2018 – “INDYCAR and Iowa Speedway today took another step in their long-standing relationship as the two organizations announced a two-year extension that will see the Verizon IndyCar Series return to “The Fastest Short Track on the Planet” through the 2018 season.” More at the link. – Iowa Speedway – (7/9/2016)

Stoneman leads the way in Lights Practice 1 at Iowa – Andretti Autosport’s Dean Stoneman led the way in Indy Lights Practice 1 at Iowa Speedway with a lap at 163.290mph. The rest of the Top 5 was Piedrahita, Jones, Claman De Melo, and Urrutia. Full results here. – Indy Lights – (7/9/2016)

Kanaan fastest in Practice 1 at Iowa – Chip Ganassi Racing Team’s Tony Kanaan’s lap at 186.902mph was the fastest lap of Verizon IndyCar Series Practice 1 for the Iowa Corn 300 at Iowa Speedway. The rest of the Top 5 was Castroneves, Newgarden, Dixon, and Pagenaud. RHR spun but did return later in the session. Full results here and relive the session with our live blog here. – INDYCAR – (7/9/2016)

INDYCAR chooses to use Phoenix aero package at Iowa – RACER reports that INDYCAR has mandated the same aero specifications that was used at Phoenix earlier this year for the Verizon IndyCar Series at Iowa Speedway this weekend for the Iowa Corn 300. “We listened to the drivers and some of the issues they had at Phoenix, so that’s why we went to Iowa to try some of the suggestions we were given,” INDYCAR aerodynamic development director Tino Belli said. “We tried going down, less and less, and Dixon and Hunter-Reay did not think that was the right direction to go for the race here.” – RACER – (7/9/2016)

Enerson stopped Lights entry in hope of IndyCar opportunity – RACER’s Marshall Pruett reports that former Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Indy Lights driver RC Enerson stopped his Lights entry before Road America to save room in his budget in hopes of a Verizon IndyCar Series chance. “It was a tough decision but it was the right one,” Enerson told RACER. “It made the most sense budget-wise with where we were in the Lights championship, and we already have half of what we’d spend to run the rest of the season. We were seventh in points so there wasn’t much worth in me being there, and I was already at the limit of the car, so there wasn’t much left to learn.” More at the link. – RACER – (7/8/2016)

The Open Wheel’s Iowa preview – The Open Wheel’s Dylan Reynolds previews the Verizon IndyCar Series and Indy Lights races at Iowa Speedway this weekend. Includes all relevant weekend information, history, predictions, fantasy advice, and more. Check it out at the link. – The Open Wheel – (7/8/2016)

Carl Haas passes at 86 – From RACER: “Famed team owner, track operator and businessman Carl Haas has died at the age of 86 after a long illness. The news was announced by representatives of his family on Thursday, although he passed away on June 29. While Haas is best known for his part-ownership of Newman/Haas Racing, which was one of the most successful teams in CART/IndyCar history, he also ran programs in Formula 1, NASCAR and Can-Am. Over 40 years, his various teams won a combined 16 championships, and more than 140 races. Outside of team ownership he spent 10 years at the helm of the Milwaukee Mile, ran the Houston GP for three years, while his many business interests included serving as the U.S. distributor for Hewland and Lola.” UPDATE: Here is INDYCAR’s official confirmation of the news. – RACER – (7/7/2016)

INDYCAR agrees to pay $925k as part of GP of Boston settlement – From WCVB out of Boston: “The national IndyCar organization has agreed to pay $925,000 as part of a settlement with state Attorney General Maura Healey’s office to reimburse patrons holding now-worthless tickets to the failed Boston Grand Prix race, 5 Investigates has learned. Before Thursday’s settlement, $1.68 million in ticket sales still needed to be refunded with no clear way of doing so. Boston Grand Prix, the local outfit that tried to organize the Labor Day weekend races, filed for bankruptcy this week, saying it had just $10,000 in cash on hand.”- WCVB – (7/7/2016)

Frijns to test with Andretti at Mid-Ohio – Andretti Autosport Formula E driver Robin Frijns will test for the same team in a Verizon IndyCar Series car at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on July 21. – NBC Sports – (7/7/2016)

New brake supplier coming for ’17 – Motorsport.com’s David Malsher reports that there will be a new brake supplier for the Verizon IndyCar Series in 2017. Performance Friction Corporation is set to take over for Brembo next year. Bill Pappas, VP of competition and race engineering, told Motorsport.com: “Brakes have been such a source of headaches so we need to find something to alleviate the consistency issues that the teams have had through the last four-and-a-half years.” More at the link. – Motorsport.com – (7/7/2016)

Boston Grand Prix files bankruptcy – The Boston Herald has a thorough report on the expenditures and ramifications of Boston Grand Prix, organizers of the cancelled INDYCAR Grand Prix of Boston, filing bankruptcy. Check it out at the link. – Boston Herald – (7/6/2016)

Stewart, Fisher, and Clauson drive on IMS dirt track – The Indianapolis Star’s Curt Cavin posted a nice update from Tony Stewart’s test on the (for now) temporary 3/16 mile dirt track in Turn 3 of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Of INDYCAR note, Tony Stewart, Sarah Fisher, and Bryan Clauson all drove on the oval. Said Stewart: “It’s cool. I can’t believe how good it’s holding together. Normally, when they build a new track like that you’ve got to run on it a little bit to find out where the soft spots are and everything. But it’s holding up pretty good for a new racetrack.” – Indianapolis Star – (7/6/2016)

Iowa Corn 300 spotter guide released – The spotter guide for the Verizon IndyCar Series Iowa Corn 300 at Iowa Speedway is available at the link. – INDYCAR – (7/6/2016)

INDYCAR making progress on future schedules – RACER’s Robin Miller reports on INDYCAR’s progress with future schedules. There’s speculation and comments on potential additions to the schedule at Surfers Paradise, Gateway Motorsports Park, and Portland. “We hope to be able to announce the 2017 and 2018 schedules next month,” said Mark Miles, president and CEO of Hulman & Company. “Jay (Frye, president of IndyCar competition) and Steve Starks (promoter relations) have been working hard looking at proposals and we’re trying to figure out what’s real and what’s not.” – RACER – (7/6/2016)

Miller’s Mailbag 7/6/16 – RACER’s Robin Miller’s weekly fan Q&A is a great read as always. – RACER – (7/6/2016)

Trackside podcast 7/5/16 – 1070 The Fan’s Trackside with Curt Cavin and Kevin Lee is a great listen as always. The pair previews this weekend’s Iowa Corn 300 and discusses Tony Stewart’s media day at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. – 1070 The Fan – (7/6/2016)

Iowa Corn 300 entry list released – The entry list for the Verizon IndyCar Series Iowa Corn 300 at Iowa Speedway is available at the link. 22 cars are entered. Gabby Chaves remains in the No. 19, Ed Carpenter returns to the No. 20, and Josef Newgarden is still listed as the driver in the No. 21. – INDYCAR – (7/5/2016)

Lights entry list for Iowa – The entry list for the Indy Lights Iowa Challenge Presented by Cooper Tires at Iowa Speedway features 13 cars. Heamin Choi is back in the Schmidt Peterson Motorsports No. 77 car while Garret Grist is out of the not entered Team Pelfrey No. 3 and Belardi Auto Racing has only one entry for Zach Veach (no Rosenqvist or French). – Indy Lights – (7/5/2016)

Long-rumored Norfolk, VA street race “dead” – Local TV station WAVY-TV reports that the long-rumored potential INDYCAR street race event in Norfolk, Virginia is “dead” as local officials couldn’t agree to terms with INDYCAR. “Norfolk City manager Marcus Jones was excited about the race a year ago, but did not offer any specifics. He said the decision to kill the project was “amicable” among all those involved. A group of local businessmen looking to make the race happen say they are disappointed.” – WAVY-TV – (7/5/2016)

Pigot and Chaves race in IMSA Sahlen’s Six Hours of the Glen – Spencer Pigot led in the No. 55 Mazda prototype in the middle of the Sahlen’s Six Hours of the Glen but mechanical troubles ended the team’s day with 30 minutes to go. Gabby Chaves drove the Deltawing entry alongside former INDYCAR drivers Katherine Legge and Sean Rayhall. Full results here. – RACER – (7/4/2016)

Brabham tests new USF2000 car – Matt Brabham tested the new 2017 Tatuus USF-17 car for USF2000 at Lucas Oil Raceway on Thursday. “It’s an honor to test the new chassis,” said Brabham. “Today went really smoothly. We had no issues and ran tons of laps. The systems in the car are a big upgrade compared to the old car, which makes it a lot more comfortable to drive.” Learn more at the link. – Team Murray – (7/1/2016)

Keselowski blogs on open wheel test – Brad Keselowski has posted a blog on his experience testing Team Penske’s No. 22 Verizon IndyCar Series car at Road America a couple weeks ago. It’s an interesting read. Check it out at the link. – Brad Keselowski – (7/1/2016)

Texas Motor Speedway announces ticketing and concession plan for Firestone 600 continuation – Texas Motor Speedway has released details regarding their ticket and concession policy for the continuation of the Firestone 600 on August 27th. All previously purchased tickets for the originally scheduled race will still be valid but all seating will be general admission on the frontstretch. New general admission tickets will be only $28, there will be $1 hot dogs and Coca-Cola products, along with many other great deals. Check it out at the link. – Texas Motor Speedway – (6/30/2016)

INDYCAR tests at Iowa – Iowa Speedway’s summary of the Verizon IndyCar Series team test on Wednesday June 29th is available at the link. Here’s what last year’s winner Ryan Hunter-Reay had to say: “It’s always great to be back at Iowa. I really enjoy this race track and it’s certainly one of my favorites. We have a long list of things to get through today, but with four cars and Andretti Autosport, hopefully we’ll start picking through that, hopefully if the rain lets up.” – Iowa Speedway – (6/30/2016)

INDYCAR in talks to return to Surfers Paradise – Australia’s Gold Coast Bulletin reports that “A private consortium is negotiating with Tourism and Events Queensland to bring (INDYCAR) back to the Gold Coast streets during an annual weeklong motorsports extravaganza.” “All our concern at the moment is on securing the approval through government to hold the event with IndyCars as the major attraction — 2017 is a possibility, 2018 is more than possible,” the consortium spokesman said. – Gold Coast Bulletin – (6/29/2016)

News From Last Week