News for the Week of August 17, 2015 – August 23, 2015
Pocono Links:
Entry List – Spotter Guide – Weekend Schedule – Circuit Map – Pit Lane Assignments
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RHR wins at Pocono; Wilson airlifted to hospital – Ryan Hunter-Reay won a caution-filled ABC Supply 500 at Pocono Raceway for his second win of the season. RHR won it at the end after a long delay due to a cleanup of an incident where a piece of Sage Karam’s debris struck Justin Wilson in the helmet requiring Wilson to be airlifted to a local hospital. The rest of the Top 5 was Newgarden, Montoya, Power, and Munoz. Graham Rahal’s day was ruined early on in an incident with Tristan Vautier. Montoya now leads the Championship Standings by 34 points over Rahal and 47 over Dixon. Full race results at the link. View our live blog of the race here. – INDYCAR – (8/23/2015)
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Castroneves fastest in final Pocono practice – Team Penske flexed its muscle once again in the final practice before the ABC Supply 500 at Pocono Raceway as Helio Castroneves and Simon Pagenaud posted the fastest laps of the session. Newgarden, Kanaan, and Sato completed the Top 5. The primary championship contenders finished P7 (Dixon), P9 (Montoya), and P12 Rahal. Marco Andretti (apparent water leak) and Charlie Kimball (qualifying incident) failed to complete a lap. Kimball will race in a backup car on Sunday. Full results at the link. – NBC Sports – (8/22/2015)
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Helio wins the pole at Pocono – Helio Castroneves won the pole for Sunday’s ABC Supply 500 with a 2 lap average of 220.530mph. He’s joined in the Top 3 by teammates Simon Pagenaud and Will Power but Juan Pablo Montoya will start in P19. Graham Rahal will start in P5. Qualifying was delayed for quite a while due to a fence repair required after this scary Charlie Kimball incident. Kimball was checked, released, and cleared to drive from the medical center. Full qualifying results at the link. – INDYCAR – (8/22/2015)
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Kimball fastsest in first practice at Pocono – Charlie Kimball’s lap at 221.373mph topped the charts in Practice 1 for the Verizon IndyCar Series ABC Supply 500 at Pocono Raceway. The rest of the Top 5 was Karam, Pagenaud, Montoya and Sato. Rahal finished the session in P11. A Stefano Coletti incident brought an early end to the session after the rookie made contact with the inside wall near pit exit on the frontstretch. Full results at the link. – INDYCAR – (8/22/2015)
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Miles talks ’16 schedule with IndyCar Radio – MotorSportsTalk’s Tony DiZinno posted an excellent recap of Mark Miles’ interview with IndyCar Radio during Saturday monring’s practice at Pocono. Miles talked a lot about the 2016 schedule and the 100th Running of the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race. Good read. – NBC Sports – (8/22/2015)
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Montoya takes Eagles player for a drive – Verizon IndyCar Series championship leader Juan Pablo Montoya took Philadelphia Eagles defensive end Fletcher Cox for a drive as part of a promotional effort for this weekend’s ABC Supply 500. Check out the videos at the link. – philly.com – (8/22/2015)
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Official INDYCAR Pocono preview – INDYCAR’s official preview of the ABC Supply 500 at Pocono Raceway is loaded with great information as always. It includes the weekend schedule, entry list, special weekend rules/notes, and much more. – INDYCAR – (8/22/2015)
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Andretti dispute settled by sale of Andretti Sports Marketing – From Andretti Autosport: “The parties involved in the recent filing of Andretti Sports Marketing v. Andretti Autosport reached a resolution Tuesday. The parties came to a preliminary settlement agreement through the assistance of Mediator John R. Van Winkle. Although the terms and conditions are confidential, the mediator commented that all parties, including Michael Andretti, John Lopes and Starke Taylor, went to extraordinary lengths to keep their employees, fans and the racing community in mind. There will be no further litigation and this matter will be dismissed. As a result of this settlement, the parties have agreed that Andretti Sports Marketing will be sold to Mr. Lopes and Mr. Taylor and will be renamed.” – NBC Sports – (8/19/2015)
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Foyt to miss last two races of the year after knee surgery – AJ Foyt will miss the last two races of the Verizon IndyCar Series season after undergoing knee surgery upon suffering a staph infection. “This is one of the worst things I’ve gone through in my life,” said Foyt. “Knowing I have five or six weeks dealing with this, and then having to get operated on again to take the spacer out and put in a new knee.” – AUTOSPORT – (8/19/2015)
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Miller’s Mailbag 8/19/15 – RACER’s Robin Miller’s weekly fan Q&A is an excellent read as always. – RACER – (8/19/2015)
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Trackside podcast 8/18/15 – 1070 The Fan’s popular Trackside with Curt Cavin and Kevin Lee radio show from 8/18/15 is a great listen as always. The pair is joined by Leigh Diffey, talks about the 2016 schedule, and previews this weekend’s race at Pocono. – 1070 The Fan – (8/19/2015)
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Pocono entry list and spotter guide released – The official INDYCAR entry list and spotter guide for this weekend’s ABC Supply 500 at Pocono Raceway have been released. There are no major surprises. Stefano Coletti remains in the No. 4 though speculation has quieted about that seat. Sage Karam will have another new Big Machine Records/Comfort Revolution livery. Check it out at the link. – Entry List / Spotter Guide – (8/18/2015)
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Pocono Raceway names Grand Marshalls for ABC Supply 500 – “Pocono Raceway announced today Jeff Smith, Managing Partner of ABC Supply Co., Inc. in Reading, PA, and Tom Wills, Managing Partner of ABC Supply Co., Inc. in Wilkes-Barre, PA will serve as the Grand Marshals for the ABC Supply 500 at “The Tricky Triangle” on Sunday, August 23rd. David Beattie, President of Bay Roofing in Fairfield, NJ, will serve as the Honorary Starter. Additionally, the United Stated Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) Band Herald Trumpets will perform the National Anthem. The green flag for the ABC Supply 500 is scheduled for 2:30 pm.” – Pocono Raceway – (8/18/2015)
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Karam hoping for strong showing at home race – Sage Karam is excited to compete in his first Verizon IndyCar Series race at Pocono this weekend as he grew up in nearby Nazareth, PA. “I’ve done better this year on the ovals and super speedways,” Karam said. “Super speedways gel well with me. This one’s tricky. Turn 1 gets a lot tighter than you think it is. I know in the Indy Lights car, every time you went in there, you prayed it would stick. I can’t imagine it with an extra 20-30 mph. I talked to my teammates and it’s one of the hardest turns on the schedule. The extra hour for us on Saturday will help get me up to speed quicker.” – NBC Sports – (8/18/2015)
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NBCSN confirms broadcast team for Pocono – From NBCSN’s Ashley Wilson: “@IndyCaronNBCSN booth: @leighdiffey @paultracy3 @MrSteveMatchett. Pits: @JonBeekhuis @KevinLee23 @katiehargitt & Robin.” – Ashley Wilson – (8/18/2015)
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Soon to be free agent Newgarden keeping things interesting – Josef Newgarden, a 2-time race winner this year in the Verizon IndyCar Series with CFH Racing, is the highest profile free agent to be at the end of this season and is certainly adding plenty of intrigue to where he might end up with his recent social media posts. Newgarden has recently purchased a car from one of Bobby Rahal’s dealerships and enjoyed a concert and truck test thanks to Ganassi sponsor Big Machine Records and Scott Borchetta. As MotorSportsTalk’s Tony DiZinno points out, one has to wonder if these are mere coincidences or all part of the courtship of one of the best young drivers in the Verizon IndyCar Series. – NBC Sports – (8/17/2015)
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Cavin Q&A 8/17/15 – The Indianapolis Star’s Curt Cavin answers questions on championship predictions, future schedules, and Max Chilton. – Indianapolis Star – (8/17/2015)
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INDYCAR teams finances still a struggle – Amidst the Andretti vs. Andretti legal battle with Andretti Sports Marketing taking Andretti Autosport the IBJ reports on the financial status of many INDYCAR teams and it’s far from sunshine and roses. This excellent article has updates and quotes from most of the field. A must read. – IBJ – (8/17/2015)
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Fontana off the 2016 calendar – “INDYCAR announced today that Auto Club Speedway, the 2-mile oval in Fontana, Calif., will not return to the Verizon IndyCar Series schedule in 2016. INDYCAR explored several options to retain the event as part of its 2016 calendar, including plans to race later in the season to comply with the track’s request to host the season finale. Ultimately, the two sides were unable to identify a start time and broadcast window that would not adversely impact television viewership on the East Coast.” – INDYCAR – (8/14/2015)
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Clauson announces ’16 Indy 500 program as part of ambitious 200 race season – Bryan Clauson will attempt to qualify for the 100th Running of the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race next May as part of a 200 race schedule he recently announced for the 2016 calendar year. The program is called “The Chasing 200 Tour: Circular Insanity.” “It started as a crazy idea I had and took shape in Las Vegas,” said Clauson. “It’s going to be a lot of racing and a lot of travel, but we feel pretty good about the partners and everybody we have involved. – NBC Sports – (8/14/2015)
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Brembo to continue as exclusive Verizon IndyCar Series brake supplier – “Brembo’s innovative braking system incorporates lightweight CER200 carbon-carbon rotors (324 mm x 30 mm), similar to rotors used in Formula One and the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and CCR400 carbon pads,” said Dan Sandberg, Brembo North America president and chief executive officer. – INDYCAR – (8/14/2015)
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