The 2 in TO

The 2 in TO (Toronto) was awesome!!

 

Race 1 got postponed from Saturday to Sunday because of rain,
so it made for a real double header on Sunday.





Race 1's were dominated by the French Drivers.

Sebastien Bourdais won the Indycar Race.

Alex Baron won the Indy Lights race
and the USF2000 race was won by Jake Eidson

Race 2 was run a few hours later in the afternoon
and after some sun and some rain and some more sun,
 Mike Conway won for his second time this year.

 

Race 1 - The Top Ten

  

1st. Sebastien Bourdais - 33 career win. First since 2008.

 

2nd. Helio Castroneves - Still championship points leader (6th podium in 2014)

 

3rd. Tony Kanaan - 9th Top Ten this year

 

4th. Simon Pagenaud - Led 6 laps after being involved in 1st lap incident

5th. Scott Dixon 

 

6th. Graham Rahal
 

7th. Charlie Kimball
 

8th. James Hinchcliffe
 

9th. Will Power - moved up 14 positions after starting in back after damaging his car in the rain Saturday before the race started.
 
10th. Justin Wilson

* No Rain
* 3 lead changes
* 3 different leaders
* 60 laps under green
*5 laps under yellow

*6 Chevys
*4 Hondas



Race 2 - The Top Ten:

1st. Mike Conway  - Second win of the year
                                  - 3rd win for Ed Carpenter Racing this season

2nd. Tony Kanaan - 2nd double header weekend this year that he had 2 podiums

3rd. Will Power - Gained points on his teammate Helio in the Indycar standings

4th. Charlie Kimball - Finished in the top ten both races

5th. Takuma Sato - moved up 17 places after starting 22nd

6th. Jack Hawksworth - 3rd in Rookie points standings

7th. Scott Dixon - 8th top ten this year but still no win

8th. Marco Andretti - finished where he started

9th. Sebastien Bourdais

10th. Justin Wilson

* 6 lead changes
* 5 different leaders
* 36 green laps
* 20 yellow laps

*6 Chevys
*4 Hondas





 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

Flashback Friday

Driver Card from the 1976 Schaefer 500 at Pocono.

 

A.J Foyt

 

 

John Hubbard

 Mario Andretti

Bobby Unser

 

 

 Steve Krisiloff

 Lloyd Ruby

Mike Mosley

 

 

 Tom Bigelow

Jim McElreath

 

 

 

 

 

RHR Wins the Iowa Corn Indy 300!

 

"That Was Like a Video Game at the End!"

 

Ryan Hunter-Reay and Josef Newgarden both said that the end of the race was like a video game.   That's how easy it was for them to move to the front of the pack after taking tires during a late caution.   Juan Montoya crashed with less than 20 laps to go, which allowed Hunter-Reay and Newgarden and a few others to come in for new tires when everyone else stayed out on their worn out tires.    When the race restarted with 8 laps to go, Ryan and Josef were the fastest cars on the track and they quickly moved to the front.   With 2 laps to go, Hunter-Reay and Newgarden passed Kanaan.   Josef didn't have enough laps to get to the lead, but he finished a career high 2nd place (Our little sister Alexandra was really excited that Josef did so well!).

That's the good news.

The bad news....We felt bad for Tony Kanaan since he dominated the race but had to settle for third.   But at least he led 247 laps!

Also, Aleshin and Sato got together for the second race in a row!    Oh No!!   A.J. Foyt was very unhappy again when they interviewed him.

The double header Honda Indy Toronto is this weekend, and we can't wait!     Hopefully the whole race will be like a video game!

 

Tricky at Pocono Raceway

 

Tricky the Fox

 

Tricky is Pocono Raceway's mascot

  

Tricky lives at the track and goes around in Trickys Kit Kamp, the Kids Zone, Victory Lane and basically all over.

  

We see him a lot, and trust us, he loves hugs!

(and kids and having fun)

 

 

 

So when you're at Pocono Raceway, look for Tricky,

although most likely Tricky will find you first!

 

 This is the stuffed Tricky kids will get when they join the Kids Club

 

 

Trickys Kit Kamp has play tents, campfires, and animals.

(including a fox, you can't forget the fox) 

 

 

We Love Tricky!!!
 

Indy Lights at Pocono

At Pocono Raceway on Saturday you could find the future Indycar stars racing in the Indy Lights series.

Zach Veach sat on the pole
but
after 40 laps (100 miles),
it was Gabby Chaves who took the win.

 

 

The Top Three in the Race
(and in the Championship)

 

Gabby Chaves

 

Zach Veach

Jack Harvey


 

Zach Veach accepting his Pole Winning trophy
from Brandon Igdalsky, President of Pocono Raceway

 

Zach being interviewed after his pole winning run by 2012 Indy Lights Champion Tristan Vautier



 

 

Catch there next race on Sunday July 20th in the streets of Toronto.

 

 

Josef Newgarden at the Pocono 500

We saw Josef at the Pocono Indycar 500! 
Again and again and again.

And it was great because he led 8 laps of the race!!!
Which was terribly exciting for Alex even though we broke it to her that he had to stop for fuel.

Josef finished 8th!...
which isn't fantastic but was great considering the bad luck (and finishes) he's been having recently. 
(You'll note that we never did a Josef update from Houston because it was not good 
and he finished 20th in both races.)

 

Alex was happy, okay, ecstatic, that we got to see and talk to Josef within moments
of arriving in the paddock.  He seriously was walking behind the van
that we were riding in and even though he was in a hurry to get to his car
on pit lane for the practice session he stopped a moment
for the obligatory photo with Alex.
Thanks Josef!
 



Watching Josef get ready to qualify
(She's still trying to forget about his run, the crash was very upsetting for her)
 



That's Josef waving to Alex after we yelled to him as he drove by for driver introductions.

Alex with Josef's dad, Joey Newgarden
(technically he's not Josef, but he is Josef's dad,
and he told her stories of Josef and Josef's rescued kitty, Simba so she really likes him)
Mr. Newgarden, I hope you don't mind we used your picture but Alex really wanted it in the post.

Josef at the raceday autograph session
(we  told Alex that we would not wait in line for his autograph, since we already have it,
so she was content to get his attention and he waved to her)



Josef in the pits
(we had lots more of him in the pits, but we decided to narrow it down)

Josef in the pits talking (or is it dancing) with Simon Pagenaud
 



Josef's crew working on some stuff after the race. 
 Alex thought that they were making dinner. Seriously.
We explained that it's like a garage in the bottom of the hauler, not a kitchen




 

Alex by Josef's pit.....

we spend way too much time peering through fences looking at Josef's pit box

(even when he and his car aren't in it.)

If she wasn't only 7 we'd just leave her there all day and she'd be content.

 

 

Josef's car being pushed back after the race
(isn't it a beautiful shot, with the flag in the background and Josef' banner waving in the wind)

Watching for Josef in his garages after the race.
(We didn't see him, but we did see his crew members, his gear and his car...
way too many times except for Alex.)

And our favorite picture of the Pocono 500...
JOSEF LEADING THE RACE!

Schaefer 500 1976 Mario Andretti Card

How cool is this?!

 

A 1976 Mario Andretti Schaefer 500 card!

 

 

 

 

Indycar Pocono 500 Videos Getting to the Track

 

We decided to have a little fun at Pocono before the 500.

Enjoy our two short videos!

Thanks Brandon Igdalsky and Pocono

for letting us run around outside your track unquestioned!

 

 

 

Pocono 500 Indycar Mission

 

 

 

Pocono 500 Weekend is Here!

Pocono Indycar 500 Re-cap

The Pocono Indycar 500 was amazing!!

 

Will Power, Helio Castroneves, Juan Montoya and Tony Kanaan dominated the race, with a determined rookie Mikael Aleshin running in 5th for much of the day.
The race stayed green for the first 168 laps until Graham Rahal brought out the only caution of the day.

It was the fastest 500 mile race in Indycar history at 202.402.
The fans at Pocono seemed really got into the closing laps and seemed thrilled to see Montoya win in Indycar for the first time in 13 years.
 

 

 

After starting from the last position, Josef Newgarden led with just 6 laps to go, but had to make a splash and dash pit stop and finished 8th.  Kanaan took over the lead but also had to stop for gas. Will Power was penalized for blocking Helio.

So pole sitter Juan Montoya won the race, Helio Castroneves 2nd, and rookie Carlos Munoz finishing 3rd.

How many Montoya's does it take to win at Pocono? Just Juan.... Congrats @jpmontoya on the win! And @CarlosMunoz034 on another great run!
— James Hinchcliffe (@Hinchtown) July 7, 2014

 

 

The Top Ten:

5 Chevys, 5 Hondas
5 Different Teams
7 Different Countries

 

1st Juan Montoya 

 

-First driver this year to win from the pole

-His 12th Indycar win
-Can he win the championship?

 

2nd Helio Castroneves

 

-Now tied with Will Power in the season points

-His 5th podium this year

 

3rd Carlos Munoz 

 

-He has 3 podiums this year                                                                              

-Is 6th in points         

 

4th Ryan Briscoe

 

-Highest Ganassi Racing finisher

-His best finish this season

 

5th Scott Dixon

 

- Last year's Pocono winner

- Is this the turning point in his season?

 

6th Simon Pagenaud

 

- 3rd in points

- Can he beat the Penske team to the championship?

 

7th Mikhail Aleshin

 

- Was running fifth all race till the last 10 laps

-  For someone who has never been to these tracks he is amazing!

 

8th Josef Newgarden
 

- Led laps 188 to 194
- Previously had only led 1 lap in his Indycar career

 

*9th Marco Andretti

 

- 2nd top ten in 2 years at Pocono
- Had a drive through penalty for speeding on pit lane early in the race

 

10th Will Power

- Seriously blocked his teammate late in the race

- His 5th penalty of the season cost him a podium finish


 

 

 

 

 



Indycar Pocono 500 in Photos

The Pocono Indycar 500 was fantastic!!

 



Drivers, start your engines!
 A great day for racing, upper 70's and sunny. 
Missed having rookie Jack Hawksworth in the field after he bruised his heart
in a vicious 100G crash in practice on Saturday.



Let's go racing!

And the winner is... Juan Pablo Montoya!
What an exciting finish with Josef Newgarden & Tony Kanaan both leading late but having to stop for fuel, and front runner Will Power falling back after getting a penalty for blocking his teammate Helio.

 

The top 6.
Montoya, Castroneves, Carlos Munoz, Ryan Briscoe,
Scott Dixon and Simon Pagenaud

  

Hinch signing autographs....
Why does he always look like he's about to get into trouble?



We ran into Robin Miller!
(We'll have to thank Alex for that, we were
 hanging around the garages to watch Josef)




Cheering Josef on in qualifying
(that didn't go so well when he crashed in turn 2 and had to start last)

 

Your pole sitter and eventual winner
(being interviewed in The Fan Zone before the race)

Carlos Munoz taking a post-race bike ride
after another very successful 500 mile race.



The obligatory 'Josef' photo with Alex
(We honestly don't stalk him. 
We were getting off the van in the paddock and he walked behind it.)

 

 

GP of Houston

Breaking News!

 

 Houston we have a problem...

 

That was probably heard by a lot of teams this weekend as 2 crazy indycar races took place on the streets of Houston.

 

The GP races 1 and 2 held lots of chaos, finger pointing and exciting racing. 
Saturday's Race 1 got off to an interesting start in the rain. taking out drivers like Mike Conway, Simon Pagenaud, Takuma Sato and Mikael Aleshin. 
Josef Newgarden slammed the wall halfway, as did many others when their tires hit a wet spot or two.  We interviewed one of his biggest fans, Alex in Pa, and she was not happy. 
 

The really interesting part of the race was when the rookie Carlos Heurtas won. 
He was the first Indycar driver to win in his rookie year since Marco Andretti in Sonoma in 2006.
 Juan Montoya finished 2nd, and Carlos Munoz, another rookie finishing 3rd,
which made for a Columbian podium sweep,
the first in Indycar History.






Race 2 was just as exciting and crazy, despite no rain.

Race 2 began with a rolling start, and all was pretty status quo until the mid-way point when perhaps the intense heat and humidity started to affect the drivers and crews.
 

Lots of contact and wild racing ensued including pole sitter Helio Castroneves who crashed while running in second.  Josef Newgarden had a wheel come off after his final pit stop, Sebastian Bourdais ran the last twenty laps with a broken front wing (and still finished 5th) and points leader Will Power finished 11th after a problem with just a lap and a half left.
 

The winner?

 Simon Pagenaud, for the second time this year, and
Schmidt Peterson Motorsports who had there first one two finish ever
with rookie Mikael Aleshin finishing second.
The podium was rounded out with another rookie, Jack Hawksworth( Who had a great battle with Juan Montoya) finishing third.

So if you're keeping tabs,

All four (full season) Indycar rookies finished on the podium this weekend! 
Wow!








 

 

 

The top ten:

 

Race 1:

* 7 Hondas and 3 Chevys
* 3 Rookies

* 5 teams
* All the Andretti Autosport cars

 * A Columbian Podium Sweep

 

* Carlos Heurtas

* Juan Montoya

* Carlos Munoz

* Sebastien Bourdais

* James Hinchcliffe

* Jack Hawksworth

* Ryan Hunter-Reay

* Marco Andretti

* Helio Castroneves

* Justin Wilson

Fun Facts:

* 7 drivers had DNF's
* Marco Andretti got penalized for holding up Takuma Sato
* 5 different drivers led
* There were 6 lead changes

 

 

 

Race 2:

* 8 Hondas and 2 Chevys
* 2 Rookies
* 6 teams


* Simon Pagenaud

* Mikael Aleshin

* Jack Hawksworth

* Charlie Kimball

* Sebastien Bourdais
* Ryan Hunter-Reay
* Juan Pablo Montoya
* Ryan Briscoe
* Marco Andretti
* Tony Kanaan

Fun Facts:

* 5 drivers had DNF's
* 2 different drivers led
* There were 3 lead changes

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4 more days!

It's only 4 more days
Till the
Pocono Indycar 500!
 

We never thought four days would seem so long... at least we have plenty of time to get ready!
(that means bug our mom and dad to leave earlier)

And luckily it's only 3 more days till the
Pocono Indy Lights 100 Race
which is Saturday!
 

 

 

 

 

 

Pocono Indycar 500 Countdown 5 Days

 

The Countdown from 5 to the

Pocono Indycar 500 has begun!!

 

 

 

 

Check out the Pocono Fan Store! 

(off Rt 113 across from the track)

Lots of Pocono Raceway stuff for sale

plus

They give track tours most weekdays.