News for the Week of July 14 – July 20, 2014

Toronto Recap:

Weekend ScheduleEntry ListSpotter GuideCircuit MapPit Lane Assignments

IndyCar Results: Practice 1Practice 2/CombinedQualifying Race 1Race 1Race 2

Lights Results: Practice 1Practice 2QualifyingRace

Hinch likely to test free agent market – Curt Cavin of the Indianapolis Star reports that James Hinchcliffe is likely to not sign with Andretti Autosport for 2015 before the team’s August 1st deadline. Michael Andretti told Cavin Hinchcliffe wouldn’t extend the deadline. “He wouldn’t do it,” Andretti said. “He kind of put himself out there (in the free agent market).” – Indianapolis Star – (7/20/14)

Conway gives ECR another win in wild Race 2 at Toronto – Mike Conway’s bold move to be the first car on the lead lap to switch to slicks late paid off with a win in Race 2 at Toronto. Tony Kanaan had to settle for another tantalizingly close finish in 2nd. Will Power grabbed the final spot on the podium as Castroneves, Hunter-Reay, and Pagenaud all suffered poor results. Full results here. – INDYCAR – (7/20/14)

Bourdais dominates Race 1 at Toronto – Sebastien Bourdais dominated Race 1 in Toronto from start to finish to grab his first Verizon IndyCar Series victory since 2007. The rest of the top 5 were Castroneves, Kanaan, Pagenaud, and Dixon. The race had huge championship implications after Will Power’s crash on Saturday and Ryan Hunter-Reay’s contact with Kanaan during green flag action knocked him out of the race. Simon Pagenaud’s engineer Rob Edwards had the call of the race to move him to the front by going off-sequence in the pits. Full results here. – INDYCAR – (7/20/14)

Miller says they should have raced Saturday – Robin Miller’s editorial on why INDYCAR should have raced on Saturday. – RACER – (7/20/14)

Baron wins Lights GP of Toronto – Belardi Racing’s Alex Baron won Grand Prix of Toronto in Sunday’s Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires race. The rest of the top 5 were Chaves, Harvey, Brabham, and Veach. Full results at the link. – @indy44 – (7/20/14)

Updated IndyCar schedule for Sunday in Toronto – After Saturday’s rain out Races 1 and 2 will both take place on Sunday. They will each be 65 laps or 80 minutes, whichever comes first. Race 1 (rolling start) will be on CNBC at 10:30AM and Race 2 (standing start) will be on NBCSN at 4:15PM. Race 2’s starting grid will be determined by car entry points. – INDYCAR – (7/20/14)

Race 1 at Toronto rained out on Saturday – Race 1 of the Verizon IndyCar Series event in Toronto had plenty of excitement even without a green flag lap. Three accidents prevented any green flag runs as rain hampered visibility for the drivers. A Ryan Briscoe journey into the tires, the pace car skidding off track, and Will Power spinning and making contact with a concrete barrier kept things exciting. After almost three hours of waiting around INDYCAR finally announced there would be no more track activity on Saturday. – INDYCAR – (7/19/14)

Baron takes home Lights pole in Toronto – Belardi Racing’s Alex Baron won the pole for Sunday’s Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires race at Toronto. The rest of the top 6 were Chaves, Brabham, Harvey, Razia, and Veach. Full results at the link. – INDYCAR – (7/19/14)

Bourdais wins the pole for Race 1 at Toronto – Sebastien Bourdais won the pole in a loaded Firestone Fast 6 for Race 1 in Toronto on Saturday. The rest of top 6 will be Power, Castroneves, Hunter-Reay, Pagenaud, and Kanaan. Pagenaud made fairly heavy contact to a barrier on the left side of his car and the session drew to a close. Canadian James Hinchcliffe made it to Round 2 and will start 9th in his home race. Full results here. – INDYCAR – (7/19/14)

Bid on Pippa’s Indy 500 helmet – Pippa Mann’s race-worn pink helmet from the 2014 Indy 500 is up for sale on eBay. Be sure to check out this one of a kind item. Auction ends 7/20/14. – eBay – (7/19/14)

Baron fastest in practice 2 at Toronto – After missing some events Alex Baron returned to Belardi Racing’s Indy Lights program this weekend and was fastest in Saturday morning’s practice. The rest of the top 5 were Brabham, Harvey, Chaves, and Veach. Full results at the link. – @indy44 – (7/19/14)

2015 500 logo leaked? – A pair of Indy entertainers tweeted out a picture of what they’re calling the yet to be announced logo for the 2015 Indianapolis 500 Mile Race. – @hammerandnigel – (7/19/14)

2015 indy 500 leaked logo

Doubleheaders a big topic as 2015 schedule unveil nears closer – With the focus of many starting to turn to the 2015 Verizon IndyCar Series schedule there’s a lot of talk this weekend about the merits of the doubleheaders the series has instituted.  It’s been a big hit with the tracks and fans but takes a toll on drivers. “I’m only in favor of them if you show me we got more fans out of it, (the promoters) sold more tickets, the promoters are happy and the TV ratings are better,” said Tony Kanaan. “If not, it’s brutal on us.” – Indianapolis Star – (7/19/14)

PT to give Rob Ford a ride around Toronto – Paul Tracy tweeted out Friday night that he will be giving infamous Tornoto Mayor Rob Ford a ride around the Toronto circuit on Saturday. No doubts that it will be an entertaining part of the NBCSN broadcast. – @paultracy3 – (7/19/14)

More history found on the Chevrolet family – The Indianapolis Star’s Will Higgins produced a brilliant article researching the original and descendants of the Chevrolet family. Too good to short but a must read for all racing and auto fans. – Indianapolis Star – (7/19/14)

Chaves fastest in Friday Lights practice in Toronto – Belardi Racing’s Gabby Chaves was quickest in Friday afternoon practice for the Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires. Teammate Alex Baron marked his return with a third place finish. Championship contenders Jack Harvey and Zach Veach were 2nd and 6th, respectively. Full results here. – Indy Lights – (7/18/14)

Pagenaud fastest in shortened practice 2 at Toronto – Schmidt Peterson Motorsport’s Simon Pagenaud were fastest in Friday’s 2nd practice at Toronto. The session was delayed due to a support series running longer and then shortened with two red flags at the end of the session for separate incidents with Castroneves and Briscoe. Castroneves, Dixon, Power, and Hinchcliffe were the rest of the top 5. Full results here. – INDYCAR – (7/18/14)

Newgarden blows away the field in practice 1 at Toronto – Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing and Josef Newgarden led the way in the first practice in Toronto by over two tenths of a second with a lap at 1.00.2385. The rest of the top five were Will Power, James Hinchcliffe, Helio Castroneves, and Carlos Munoz. Full results here. – INDYCAR – (7/18/14)

Cosworth to announce 2015 engine possibilities soon – Cosworth owner Kevin Kalkhoven told RACER Magazine that they have an engine design ready to go for 2015 and that they’re working with two manufactures on possibly entering the Verizon IndyCar Series in 2015 as the third engine manufacturer. “Yes, we are in serious discussions with a number of companies – two in particular – and it doesn’t take a huge imagination to think about who might be bringing a new car into the U.S. for the first time in a long time,” said Kalkhoven. “Specifically, the project with one manufacturer is going to final recommendation sometime in the next month. That decision’s going to be binary: Yes they will, or no they won’t.” He goes on to say that the new aero kits may be the biggest hurdle: “Chevy and Honda have invested in aero kits for next season, so any new manufacturer who wants to be competitive not only needs an engine, but they also need a body kit. It turns out this second element is not as easy as one might think.” – RACER – (7/18/14)

Power still focused on title challenge – Team Penske’s Will Power lost the lead in the championship race after a rough stretch of results but his goal remains the same. “I think everyone has their good races and their bad races; it’s how you deal with the bad ones,” said Power. “Just keep racing. Keep racing, man.” – Indianapolis Star – (7/18/14)

Iowa wants to stay on IndyCar calendar – RACER’s Robin Miller caught up with Iowa Speedway president Jimmy Small after the race on Saturday night and he was encouraged about the track’s future with the Verizon IndyCar Series. “I had a good meeting with the IndyCar people on Saturday about the future of IndyCar for 2015 and beyond,” said Small. “This is a major market for IndyCar, it’s one of our three big weekends and we believe it’s really important to hang onto them. We bill it as the fastest short track on the planet but it wouldn’t be without IndyCar and we’re happy with our relationship with them. I like where they’re at.” – RACER – (7/17/14)

Hunter-Reay wins “Best Driver” ESPY for the 2nd straight year – Andretti Autosport’s Ryan Hunter-Reay won the ESPY for “Best Driver” at ESPN’s ESPY Awards on Wednesday night for the second straight year. He won over fellow Verizon IndyCar Series driver Scott Dixon, NHRA owner/driver John Force, and NASCAR’s Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. – INDYCAR – (7/17/14)

Kanaan believes Ganassi win is coming – Target Chip Ganassi Racing driver Tony Kanaan believes his team has recovered from a disappointing start after two great performances at Pocono and Iowa. “I always try to look at the positives,” Kanaan said. “It’s not going to do me any good to dwell on the strategy. We dominated the last two races. For one reason or the other, we didn’t win. But to win a race, you got to be up front. That’s what we’ve been doing. I’m not going to say I’m extremely happy about [losing], but I am extremely satisfied with the way we’re doing things in the team. A win is around the corner, for sure. We’re going to Toronto, where Dixon dominated last year. We have high hopes there, [we’re] trying to finish the season on a high note.” – RACER – (7/16/14)

Miller’s Mailbag 7/16/14 – RACER’s Robin Miller’s weekly fan Q&A is another good one. It largely focuses on Miller’s recent article on ways to improve attendance at the ovals the Verizon IndyCar Series travels to. A must read as always. – RACER – (7/16/14)

American Rossi leaves Caterham F1/GP2 team – American Alexander Rossi, who along with Conor Daly are the USA’s biggest hopes for putting an American back in F1, announced this morning that he’s parted ways with his long time team Caterham. His intentions are still to progress towards a Formula 1 ride, but it will be interesting to see if such a big, young American talent will get linked with IndyCar in the near future. UPDATE: Rossi will drive for Campos in the GP2 race this weekend at Hockenheim (link). – AUTOSPORT – (7/16/14)

Big TV ratings for Iowa race on NBCSN – The Iowa Corn Indy 300 drew 444,000 viewers on NBCSN on Saturday night. That’s one of IndyCar’s best ratings on the channel. For comparison, the MLS game the night before on NBCSN only drew 69,000 viewers. – @Ourand_SBJ – (7/15/14)

KVRT and an LLC of Simona’s settle a lawsuit – A lawsuit between KV Racing Technology and Racing 78 GMBH, an LLC co-owned by Simona de Silvestro, was settled today. The only details that have emerged are that KVRT and this “78” entity were supposed to “share resources” and that KVRT was supposed to receive payments (it didn’t and thus the case). This link here shows the official case information with a link to full details (requires subscription). – @stevewittich/@indy44/@RyanAdams – (7/15/14)

12 entries for Toronto Lights field – There are 12 entries for the Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires Grand Prix of Toronto. In addition to the car/driver combinations seen at Pocono returning to the field are Team Moore Racing’s Zach Meyer, Ryan Phinny with BHA/JMM, and Matthew Di Leo with MDL Racing. The full entry list can be viewed at the link. – Indy Lights – (7/15/14)

Veteran broadcaster Gary Lee found dead – From Curt Cavin’s report in the Indianapolis Star/USA Today: “Longtime motor sports broadcaster Gary Lee, 63, was found dead in his Indianapolis home today, likely the result of a heart attack, friends confirmed. Lee, who lived on the city’s Eastside near Shadeland Avenue, was synonymous with ESPN’s earliest televised events. He teamed with former driver Larry Rice to broadcast the “Thunder” short-track series that featured drivers such as a young Jeff Gordon at what was then Indianapolis Raceway Park in the late 1980s and early 1990s.” – USA Today – (7/15/14)

Cavin Q&A 7/15/14 – Curt Cavin’s fan Q&A answers a questions on which former drivers currently in the paddock could still be competitive on track (he said Arie and Mario in the 500!), the low financial winnings for one-off teams at races like Pocono, and Jim Nabors’ potential replacement. – Indianapolis Star – (7/15/14)

Carpenter apologizes to Montoya for Iowa incident – Ed Carpenter has apologized for his role in the accident that ended Juan Pablo Montoya’s race at Iowa. “I feel bad,” Carpenter said. “I certainly wasn’t trying to take him out. I knew he had been working the inside; I was struggling and I was going to try the low side that time, and I didn’t know he was there. My spotter was trying to tell me he was there but it was too late, I’d already started coming down.” – RACER – (7/14/14)

Cavin Q&A 7/14/14 – Curt Cavin’s fan Q&A answers a question on why you don’t see team/driver race payouts outside of the Indy 500 in IndyCar. – Indianapolis Star – (7/14/14)

Miller editorial on IndyCar and ovals – RACER’s Robin Miller wrote a brilliant editorial on “Why IndyCar must make ovals work”. Too good to highlight it all but does feature the following ideas: shorten track activity to one day on ovals, add more series to the schedule to keep fans entertained, and as he’s long said IndyCar needs to adjust their sanctioning fee philosophy. A must read. – RACER – (7/14/14)

Power stages massive Twitter Q&A – Will Power skipped watching TV Sunday night and decided to host a fan Q&A on Twitter. He answered over 100 questions. Take a look at his reply timeline at the link. – @12WillPower – (7/14/14)

Montoya doesn’t hold back in post-incident TV interview – Juan Pablo Montoya may get into a little bit of trouble for this post-incident interview on NBCSN after a late collision with Ed Carpenter knocked him out of the race. – openwh33l YouTube – (7/12/14)

Hunter-Reay keeps the Andretti Iowa win streak alive – Ryan Hunter-Reay took advantage of fresh tires after a late caution to overtake a dominant Tony Kanaan and hold off a surging Josef Newgarden. Full results here. – INDYCAR – (7/12/14)

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