Monday, April 28, 2014

GP of Alabama Recap

What a great first road course race of the season!
 

 
Wet track...kinda dry track... keep on rain tires or go to slicks?

 Cars weaving around the track trying to find water so their rain tires wouldn't overheat, then trying to avoid water so they wouldn't go sliding off the track on their slicks (which many of them did).
 
After a 3 hour rain delay and a timed 1 hour and 40 minute race, Ryan Hunter Reay won for the 2nd consecutive time at Barber.


 
 
Race Stuff: 
 
* Josef finished 8th! (Alex wanted you to know)
 
* Sebastien Bourdais served a drive thru penalty for punting Mikhail Aleshin
 
* Helio pulled into Justin Wilson's pit because their crew uniforms are similar (he had to serve a stop and go penalty for his mistake)

* First time since Iowa 2013 that Andretti cars went 1-2

* Will Power is the only driver to finish in the top 5 every race so far

* There was 7 lead changes and 16 laps run under caution
 
* Saavedra led for the second time in his career

* Marco Andretti moved up 12 positions in the championship to 6th

* Dixon had the fastest lap of the race



The top 10 Finishers

1. Ryan Hunter-Reay (said driving on the slicks was like 'on an ice skating rink with sneakers)

2. Marco Andretti (a great run to the front but couldn't catch Hunter Reay)

3. Scott Dixon (his worst finish ever at Barber, he had four 2nds)

4. Simon Pagenaud  (another solid finish, he is 3rd in points)

5. Will Power (Awesome save when he skidded into the gravel and just grazed the wall, although it did cost him the lead)

6. Justin Wilson (led a lap)

7. James Hinchcliffe

8. Josef Newgarden (They finally gave him an in-car camera!)

9. Tony Kanaan (The biggest move of the race after starting 23rd)

10. Charlie Kimball (His best finish of the season thus far)
 
Top Ten included..
 
*  Drivers from 6 different teams
*  Drivers from 7 different countries
*  6 Hondas, 4 Chevys
*  Three of the four Andretti Autosport drivers
*  Three of the four Ganassi drivers
*  No rookies
*  And......Josef!
 

 
 
Can't wait till the Grand Prix of Indy on Saturday, May 10th on ABC!
 
 

Sunday, April 27, 2014

GP of Alabama Qualifying

 
Will Power earned the 33rd Pole of his Indycar career while having the fastest time in qualifying for the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama.  Only 3/10ths of a second separated him and the other Firestone Fast Six drivers.
 
 
 For the 2nd time in two races, James Hinchcliffe will start 2nd and Josef Newgarden will start 4th as Sarah Fisher Hartman's Racing's single car team hung with the big boys of Penske, Ganassi and Andretti on the 2.3 mile course.
 
 
 


Top Six
 
1. Will Power (Penske)
2. James Hinchcliffe (Andretti Autosport)
3. Ryan Hunter Reay
4. Josef Newgarden (Sarah Fisher Hartman)
5. Scott Dixon (Ganassi)
6. Helio Castroneves (Penske)
 
Visit the Indycar page for full Qualifying Results
 

Other Stuff:

*  Sebastien Bourdais was penalized and lost his two quickest laps for impeding Ryan Hunter Reay in the Round of 12. He will start 12th.

*  Will Power is now tie with Dario Franchitti on the Indycar pole winners list with 33 and will start on pole for the 3rd time in 5 races at Alabama.

*  All 3 of Penske's cars and all 4 of Andretti's will start in the Top 9

*  James Hinchcliffe will start 2nd for the 6th time in his Indycar career (he has never won the pole)




Mazda Road to Indy Series Races
 
*  Zach Veach started on pole and won the Indy Lights 1# race
 
*  RC Enerson won both USF2000 races
 
*  Spencer Pigot won both of the Pro Mazda races


 
 
Don't miss the race on April 27th at 2:30 on NBC Sports Network

Thursday, April 24, 2014

Throwback Thursday

31 days until the Indianapolis 500!

In 1994 Al Unser Jr. won the Indy 500 with the car number 31
 
 

Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Josef Update #3 Long Beach

Yes, we're a bit late in posting this update, but Alex was so upset with the outcome of Josef's race at Long Beach that we didn't talk about it for awhile.


The good news was that
Josef led at the GP of Long Beach!!
(and according to the Indycar website, that is only the 2nd time he's led a race in 2+ seasons in Indycar).

The bad news was that
 
After starting 4th and being in the top 5 the first two thirds of the race... very happy Alex :)
He was involved  in a crash (while leading!) with only 20 laps remaining. Very Sad Alex:(  she even refused to watch the rest of the race.



And lets just say that Alex has a new least favorite driver on the Indycar circuit (move over Takuma Sato).



To check out Josef's post race interview and see what a great guy he is check out this article on Motorsports Talk.


There's a nice general interview with Josef at Open Wheel Now.

You can sign up for Josef's newsletter on his recently revamped website.


Watch Josef this weekend in the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama

on NBC Sports at 2:30.
 

Thursday, April 17, 2014

Throwback Thursday

 
 
For this weeks Throwback Thursday we dug up an old 1963 Milwaukee Mile program
for this photo of Dan Gurney and Jimmy Clark, two Indycar legends.
 
Mr. Gurney celebrated his 83rd birthday Sunday at the Long Beach Grand Prix. 
 He was instrumental in first bringing racing to that city in 1975.
 


Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Brandon Igdalsky - Indycar Behind the Scenes


Best thing about last year’s Indycar season for us….Indycars returned to Pocono Raceway!

Coolest thing…Brandon Igdalsky, President of Pocono,
invited us up on July 4th to watch Indycars test before the race.

Recently we asked him if we could interview him for part
of our ‘Behind the Scenes in Indycar’ interview series.
He said yes!

(Brandon Igdalsky is the grandson of ‘Doc’ and Rose Mattioli, the founders/builders of Pocono Raceway)
 

 
Q:  What kind of odd jobs did you have when your grandfather owned the track?

A:  I worked in the sewer plant, I pumped the poop. I did garbage. I’m not allowed to paint anymore, I’m banned from painting. I was supposed to paint the ceiling and after the job was done, we had to paint the whole wall and get new carpet.  

Q:  What are your favorite memories at the track?

I was six or seven and in victory lane for the first time. I had my little pen and notepad and was getting all the autographs from the drivers.  That’s my first big memory.

Q: Who was your favorite driver as a kid?

A: A.J Foyt was actually my favorite driver.  I had my whole room decorated in A.J Foyt stuff.  My brother liked Richard Petty, and I liked Foyt. I also really liked Tim Richmond

Q: What are your favorite memories at the track with your grandfather?

A:  Him firing me…laughs…three times, and I deserved it each and every one of them.

Q:  Did you race karts as a kid?

A:  Yes, I ran Beril Roos, which is here at the track, but I wasn’t that good at it, my brother was faster, so I didn’t race, I would just go out for fun. I would go out and race the go karts, anything I could climb into and have fun.

Q:  Did you always want to work at the track?

A:  Nope. (Laughing) I had always been interested in the restaurant business, but my Grandfather always had me at the track every summer.  When I turned 18, my grandfather said “Go do something else when you get out of college”. Like I said, I had always been interested in the restaurant business, but for some reason like moths to a flame, I wanted to come back to work at the track every summer and have fun at the races.

Q:  What was your first job away from racing?

A:  I was a bus boy at a Mexican restaurant, and I helped my dad.  He had a dental lab and my brother and I would go over there and file.   We’d put the filing cabinet in alphabetical order and organize….Ughh.

Q:  What has been your favorite task at the track?

A:  Well there are a lot of them, but one time at a NASCAR race one of the ad banners on the safer barrier was loose, I ran up the hill, took my headphones off, climbed the fence and fixed it during the race, and the whole fencing was shaking. After I was done I put my headphones back on; called my boss and said “Okay, the ad banners fixed” My boss answered “Don’t ever do that again.”  So the next year it happened again and they made me wait 130 laps until a caution came out to go fix it.  That’s the fun stuff.

Q:  What do you do in your job?

A:  Lots of planning.  Some days are interviewing like today, and others we are in meetings.  We plan for lots of different things that are coming up.  Sitting down on twitter, talking to the fans.

Q:  Do you go to any other races?

A:  Yes. I go to four or five NASCAR races a year and two to three Indycar races. This year I’m going to St. Pete and Indianapolis (Indycar) and I was at Daytona (NASCAR) and I am going to Darlington and New Hampshire (NASCAR)

 Q: As track owner, do you get privileges to interview all the drivers at the tracks?

A:  No.  We don’t ask. We just do it.  (Laughing)

Q.  Are there any tracks you are not allowed to interview at?

A.  No, not yet.  But we’ll get there…I’m sure we’ll be there soon… (Laughing)

Q: As a track owner, what are your duties in the offseason?

A:    We get ready for the season.  There’s a lot of work to do putting sponsorship plans together, selling tickets.   Figuring out what we’re going to do new for the fans and for ourselves.  How we’re going to grow.  We’re all planning all winter long because we have a quick little summer season where everything that you have to do has to get done easily without any snafus and without any issues.

Q:  What about on raceday?

A:  Race day’s non-stop.  It starts before the sun comes up, I walk around to make sure everything’s in its place, and give a lot of high-fives.   I go to the drivers meetings and intros, that kind of stuff.  Then once the race starts I can relax until the end.  So once the race starts I’ll actually go sit with my family and watch the race.  I usually have lunch with my kids, meet with some sponsors and people I have to see, then, after the race I run down to victory lane to hand the trophy to the winner…. Then I go to sleep for the next three days. (laughing)

Q:  How excited were you to have Indycar back at Pocono?

A:  As excited as you were.  I grew up watching Indycar racing here, so to have them back was really great.  But seeing the new fans, that’s great, that’s what makes it more exciting.  That’s what it’s all about.

Q:  What do you think about the new double points for the Triple Crown races in Indycar this season?

A:  It is exciting because it puts pressure on the teams to get up there and run good.  It is also better because Indycar is more weighted to road and street, and it’s like a double header on the ovals.

Q:  What is your favorite thing about Pocono Raceway?

A:  It’s a triangle.  What’s cooler than that? And the fact that everyone is family.  All of our family works here.  Our staff is like family, the fans are like family, you guys are like family, you know, just come over and hang out.  It’s like coming home.
 
THANKS BRANDON!!!
 Here's a video of how much fun we had doing the interview
 
 
Catch the Pocono Indycar 500 Fueled by Sunoco 
July 6th, 2014
and Kids (14 & under) can join the new

 

Tuesday, April 15, 2014

GP of Long Beach Recap

Wow, that was an exciting race!!!
 
Mike Conway inherited the lead when Scott Dixon had to pit for fuel with just 2 laps left after the top contenders crashed with less than 25 laps left to go in the race.




 
What was great about the GP of Long Beach

* Paul Tracy was announcing on NBCSports

* A lot of action due to the change that allowed for some blocking and side to side contact

* Josef Newgarden led during the race (our little sister Alex was jumping up and down)

* Great moves by Power, Conway, Munoz and Montoya to avoid the 'big wreck' that took out the leaders (including Josef, which quickly ended the happiness of our little sister)

* Mike Conway started way back in 17th, won the race and did it with a damaged wing since lap 1




The Top 10 included

* Drivers from 7 different countries
* 6 Different teams
* 3 of the 4 Indycar rookies
* All 4 Columbian Drivers
* 6 Hondas and 4 Chevys

Other Stuff:

*  Mike Conway is the only driver to lead both Indycar races this season

*  Simon Pagenaud and Will Power are the only two drivers to finish in the top 5 in both races this season

* It was Montoya's first top five since he came back from Nascar

* We loved NBCSN overhead shots so we could watch all the action

* It was Carlos Munoz's second podium in just his fifth Indycar start

 

INDY LIGHTS RACE

Gabby Chavez overtook pole sitter Zach Veach at the start of the race and led all 45 laps to win the Long Beach 100.



Don’t miss the next Indycar race,
the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama on April 27th!

2:30 pm on NBCSports
 
and after Indycars watch
Indy Lights tape delayed at 5:30




Saturday, April 12, 2014

GP of Long Beach Qualifying



Four of the Firestone Fast Six drivers had never won an Indycar pole, but it was Ryan Hunter-Reay who won his 6th career Indycar pole (his first at Long Beach). 
 

Top Six:


 
1  Ryan Hunter-Reay

2  James Hinchcliffe

3 Sebastien Bourdais (A three time winner at Long Beach)

4 Josef Newgarden (Alex was a bit excited when he was P1 with under 2 minutes to go) 
 
5  Jack Hawksworth (rookie)

6  Simon Pagenaud
 
(Click here for the full results)
 
Other Stuff:
 
* Takuma Sato lost his two fastest laps in Round 1 because of a qualifying interference

* Five different teams are represented in the Top Six

* Today was the first time in the history of the Firestone Fast Six (Since 2005) that no Penske or   Ganassi car was in the Fast Six

* Five of the top Six are Hondas
 



INDY LIGHTS

Zach Veach won the pole for the Indy Lights race fresh off the success of his win at the GP of St. Pete
 
 
 
 

 
 
 

Thursday, April 10, 2014

Grand Prix of Long Beach

 
 
Almost time for the Indycar race at Long Beach!
 



 
Past winners
2013-Takuma Sato
2012-Will Power
2011-Mike Conway
2010-Ryan Hunter-Reay
2009-Dario Franchitti
2008-Will Power
2007-Sebastien Bourdais
2006-Sebastien Bourdais
2005-Sebastien Bourdais
2004-Paul Tracy
2003-Paul Tracy
 

 
There's some other great racing at Long Beach besides Indycar:
* Pro/Celebrity Race
* TUDOR Championship
* Indy Lights Race
* Stadium Super Trucks Race
* Pirelli World Challenge Race
* Motegi Racing Super Drift Challenge Finals



See what last year's winner Takuma Sato, Ryan Hunter Reay and Josef Newgarden have to say about the GP of Long Beach




 
 
 
Watch the action on NBC Sports Network

Indycar Qualifying
Saturday (4/12) at 6:00 pm EST

Indy Lights Race
Sunday (4/13) at 2:30 pm EST
 
The Grand Prix of Long Beach
Sunday April 13th 
4:00 pm EST
 
 
Follow along with the practices
on Indycar.com Live Timing and Scoring
 

Monday, April 07, 2014

The Indy Family Foundation


Check out this cool charity!!
 
Name: The Indy Family Foundation

Goal: To work together to help people in motorsports who have financial problems from an injury, sickness, or death. 

Who they help: Race car drivers, crew members, course workers, public relations, media , team owners, their family, and more.

Why is this really great?

* They help people involved in motorsports who really need some help.

* They have lots of fun stuff that they do to raise money for people.  Like bowling tournaments, golf outings and drivers Simon Pagenaud and Tristan Vautier 'sumo wrestling' at their street festival in Speedway last year.



 



Okay, know that you know who they are, go check out their great website,
 
 
 
P.S.  Josef is 2nd to the left. (Alex wanted to make sure you noticed him)

Plus there's some other great drivers who support the charity pictured, like Conor Daly, James Hinchcliffe, Zach Veach Graham Rahal, Martin Plowman and Simon Pagenaud
 
 

Wednesday, April 02, 2014

Josef Update #2 GP of St. Pete



JOSEF finished 9th at the GP of St. Pete!

Josef Newgarden started last for the GP of St. Pete  and stayed in the back for a long, long time.  Alex was almost ready to stop watching the race.  Little did she know it was tire strategy.  He used his black tires first (which he wasn't very fast on) and then had his grippier red tires left (which he was much better on) for the rest of the race.

As Josef moved up thru the field there was much smiling, cheering and jumping up and down from Alex and although ABC did not interview Josef after the race, always a disappointment, Alex was thrilled to find this post race interview from the Sarah Fisher Hartman racing team.



With a good finish after his first race with a new engineer and new chief mechanic, Alex can't wait to see how Josef does the rest of the season!  First Indycar win?...or two?



Tuesday, April 01, 2014

GP of St. Pete Recap



Will Power continued his winning streak from last season to three races by winning the GP of St. Pete by holding of Ryan Hunter Reay and teammate Helio Castroneves for his 22nd career win.
Scott Dixon and Simon Pagenaud rounded out the top five.  (Mikhail Aleshin was the highest rookie finishing in 12th)




It was great seeing the cars back in action and with only two cautions (back to back) after the first 75 laps were run under green, it was a lot of good racing. 

Love hearing Paul Page announcing again, check out this highlight video to hear him.




A few of the reasons why the GP of St. Pete was so awesome:
      ·         The top ten included drivers from 7 different teams and 7 different countries

·         To keep it interesting there were 5 Chevys and 5 Hondas in the top 10

·         It was cool to see Dario Franchitti back at the track helping the Ganassi drivers (but boy we really miss watching him drive)

·         It was great to see A.J. Foyt smiling as his driver (Takuma Sato) led the first 26 laps of the race

·          It was Will Powers 22nd career Indycar win tying him for 19th on the all-time win list with Tony Bettenhausen and Emerson Fittipaldi.

·         Josef Newgarden started last and got off to a slow start but it was exciting watching him move up 13 spots to finish 9th

Other Stuff:
            *   Juan Pablo Montoya finished 15th in his first race back in an Indycar in more than a decade

·         It’s going to take us a while to get used to the team changes and new car paint schemes, like Bourdais is driving Kanaan’s car and Kanaan is driving Dario’s car and Dario isn’t driving a car at all. 

·         Will Power gave his fellow racers an ‘accordion lesson’ they won’t soon forget. But everyone knows restarts can be tricky.

·         We saw Tricky made his rounds in St. Pete and tweeted lots of cool selfies with drivers and VIPs over the weekend….way to go Tricky!

·         Great to see Kurt Busch win at Martinsville, can’t wait to see him driving in the Indy 500!!!

Don’t miss the next Indycar race,
the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach on April 13th!

4:00 pm on NBCSports
Indy Lights race on at 2:30