Josef Newgarden Happy 25th Birthday

A few of our favorite pictures from

Josef's 2015 Indycar Season.

At the 99th Indy 500

Another very cool helmet (at Pocono).

As a four year Indycar veteran and 2 time race winner, there is FINALLY more Josef t-shirts available!!!

Have a SUPER HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOSEF!

Can't wait to see you win a few more in 2016!

Josef Newgarden Offseason Videos

We will admit, the reason we became Josef Newgarden fans after meeting him in his rookie season was his Incognito videos that he shot around 3 tracks on Indycar race weekends before anyone recognized him as an Indycar driver.

Actually, that's not quite true, since our little sister, Alex, watched those 3 videos over and over and over, a lot, and as funny as they were, we were a bit burned out on Josef.

Lucky for us, he continued to make more videos over his subsequent seasons in Indycar, so now there are plenty of 'Josef videos' to choose from and Alex doesn't watch any one too many times in a row.

So it seems that this offseason Josef has some free time and lucky for all of us fans he has been making quite a few new very funny videos.

His campaign #Shirts4Sage, his public service announcement for fellow Verizon Indycar Series driver, Sage Karam, is awesome.

 

 

Fake 2016 Indycar Schedule Announcement with a very amused Katie Hargitt  and Conor Daly

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And then there's this.... we just don't know what to make of it, although it makes our dogs bark when they hear it.

 

Don't act like adele is not a therapeutic angel that can cut you right to the very core of your soul.… https://t.co/rj7qKxDbcC

— Josef Newgarden (@josefnewgarden) November 2, 2015

2016 Indycar Schedule

Finally the 2016 Indycar schedule has been announced!

Phoenix, Boston, Road America added to the scheduled and we're excited that our hometown track at Pocono will return for the fourth year in a row.

Teams will be testing at Phoenix in February in anticipation for their first race there in several years. 

Tony Kanaan and Graham Rahal already did some Firestone tire testing at Phoenix in October.

.@GrahamRahal is testing @IndyCar tires today for @FirestoneRacing at @PhoenixRaceway. #indycar2016 pic.twitter.com/N7TX3WL4m3

— RLL Racing (@RLLracing) October 20, 2015

 

 

 

With 5 Road  Courses, 5 Street Courses and 5 Ovals in 2016 it should be another fun season showcasing the diverse driving skills of the Indycar Series drivers. 

 

Sure, we'd like to see a few more races in there, and yes, we'd like the season to go on into October like it used to, and we'll definitely miss Milwaukee and Fontana,

but there's lots of great racing to look forward to in 2016.

Why I Luv Josef Newgarden 2015

I'm Alex and I'm 8.  

Josef Newgarden is my favorite driver since I met him when I was 4 because him and his team are always really nice!

This year was my favorite year, because Josef and his team won  two races!!!!  

It was also my very favorite Indycar year because Josef's team was extra nice to me at Pocono this year when I sat outside his garage for over an hour watching them work.

 

First, I went in Josef race car!
(I was so excited my legs were shaking)
 

 

Next, I wore his helmet while in his car!

 

Finally, I wore his helmet, sat in his car and got a selfie with Josef!!!

 

 

This is one of my number 1 fans right here. Alex has always followed me with her family and has a… https://t.co/RYYNzB5q2j

— Josef Newgarden (@josefnewgarden) August 22, 2015

All thanks to Josef's really nice crew chief, Anton Julian!

I also got to go into the CFH Racing trailer and meet Sarah Fisher!!! 
She was really nice too.

 

 

 

In September we went to the DW Pro Am and Robopong Kart race and I got to see and talk to Josef and Anton even more!
(Anton is from New Zealand just like Scott Dixon so he was part of Scott and Josef's pit crew when they finished 2nd in Robopong.)
 

 

 Now I can't see Josef
until Indy next May,

 but I can mail him a lot!!!

 

 

 

Justin Wilson EBay Charity Auction

Justin Wilson's tragic death from an accident in the second last race of the season brought a wave of support for his family from the entire Indycar community. 

2015 Pocono Row 4

Special memorial t-shirts and stickers and paintings were designed and are for sale with all proceeds going to his wife and two young daughters.  Fans and competitors alike donated to the special Wilson Family Fund that was set up for them.

Dan Wheldon's widow generously named the Dan Wheldon  Memorial Pro Am Karting Challenge honoring Justin Wilson and donated funds from that great event to the Wilsons.

Road America donated $10 from each $20 admission ticket to the Indycar testing sessions in September to the Wilson Family Fund.

Graham Rahal has organized a massive ebay charity auction of motorsports and sports memorabilia that highlights the love and respect that fellow competitors have for Justin Wilson.  Fantastic, one of a kind items were donated from a phenomenal list of athletes, sponsors and individuals.  The auction began September 14th with race worn helmets donated by Indycar drivers and the event will end on October 26th.  New items are added each week.

Thanks to all the people donating items & the bidders. I owe a lot of people beers this offseason, especially @marshallpruett & @GrahamRahal

— Stefan Wilson (@stef_wilson) October 6, 2015

HERE'S a SAMPLING from the AUCTION

From IMSA:  VIP Experience for any 2016 race
From Nascar:  Race worn Suits from Jimmie Johnson and more.
From F1:  Race worn suits from Filippi Massa, Lewis Hamilton, and others
From Bridgestone:  Tire tread sports balls
From Firestone:  Field of 33 Autographed 2015 Indy 500 Tire
From Pirelli World Challenge:  Full Field Pirelli World Challenge Autographed helmet
From Indycar :  Race-Worn driver suits and more
From NHRA:  Race-used pistons from John Force, Courtney Force and more
MLB LA Angels team signed jersey
NHL: Columbus Blue Jackets signed jersey
NFL: jerseys

It's great to see so many people and organizations in racing and beyond supporting the Wilson family.  It is amazing to see how many people's lives Justin touched and to see everyone want to help him by helping Julia, Jess and Jane.  Keep them all in your prayers.

Hinchcliffe in an Indycar at Road America

James Hinchcliffe is back in an Indycar!!

After 4 months of recovery after his scary crash at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway,  James Hinchcliffe got back in an Indycar at a test session at Road America on Monday.  He technically got back in an Indycar when he drove the two-seater across the Golden Gate Bridge prior to the season finale at Sonoma, but we're pretty sure he was going a bit faster at Road America.

But he did shave his beard after the Golden Gate drive, since he said after the accident he wouldn't shave till he got back in an Indycar.  He let his Indycar fans decide if getting in the two seater counted.

Votes are in! Tight race. Margin was less than 10 votes! https://t.co/tgGuUIwPLO

— James Hinchcliffe (@Hinchtown) August 28, 2015

He also went racing in a go-kart a few weekends ago at the Dan Wheldon Memorial Kart Race were he seemed to be enjoying himself.

So Hinch seems pretty happy to be back in and Indycar and we know all the Indycar fans are just as excited to see one of everyone's favorite drivers suited and booted and back in an Indycar going fast.

Welcome back Hinch!

So, I don't mean to be a jerk about it, but my Monday was definitely better than your Monday. pic.twitter.com/9ohcPVdr87

— James Hinchcliffe (@Hinchtown) September 28, 2015

Dan Wheldon Memorial Kart Race

Dan Wheldon Memorial Pro Am Karting Race in honor of Justin Wilson

Each year, top-tier Indycar drivers return to their roots for the Dan Wheldon Pro-Am Karting Challenge at the 1 mile New Castle Motorsports Park.  The event raises money for the Alzheimer's Association, a cause that Dan dearly supported.  This year, the event also raised money for the Wilson Family Foundation. 

Each kart team has 3 amateur drivers and one pro driver.  The amateur drivers take the first three 15-minute stints, and then the pro drivers battle it out to the finish line.  This year, the likes of Scott Dixon, Josef Newgarden, Ed Carpenter, Marco Andretti and James Hinchcliffe, back for his first race since his accident at Indianapolis, took to bumping, bruising and some trash talking in 6 hp karts. 

A really cool part was when Dan's Wheldon's son, 6-year old Sebastien paced the field to the green and his youngest son, Oliver waved the green and checkered flags.  Cutest moment was when Oliver gave his big brother the thumbs up as he drove past.  After the race the Wheldon boys helped Poppy and Tilly Dixon hand out the trophies to the winners.

Our favorite shot from the Robopong weekend at New Castle Motorsports Park.

The first three stints of the race were dominated by the 27 car.  Josef Newgardens team stayed in the top four the whole first three stints and Scott Dixon was lagging behind mid pack. (Pay attention, he's sort of important.)  The teams could buy back a lap that they lost for $100.  All the teams that were a lap down did, so that it came down to a full out sprint involving all the pros.  Marco Andretti, in the dominant 27 car, took the early lead but was sidelined late in the race when he was tapped off course and did his first front-flip in a go-kart.  Josef Newgarden stopped to check to see that Marco was unhurt, and then Marco got out from under the car, flipped it back over and managed to finish the race.  Matthew Brabham and Sage Karam fought for the lead and didn't notice Scott Dixon until he and Will Power got by them on the final lap. 
 Matthew Brabham came home third.

Wheldon Memorial Pro Am Karting Challenge

New Castle Motorsports Park will host the Dan Wheldon Memorial Pro-Am Karting Challenge and RoboPong 200 this weekend.

Josef Newgarden, will be there racing for the two time defending champ team, Big Machine Records.  They won with Marino Franchitti and Tony Kanaan the past two years.

An even bigger draw is that James Hinchcliffe will be racing a kart!!!
Back from his awful injuries at Indianapolis this past May, and fresh off  having driven the Indycar Championship trophy across the Golden Gate Bridge in the two seater a few weeks ago.
On driving this weekend Hinch (from Trackside on 1070 the Fan with Curt Cavin) "The doctors are ok with anything they don't know about..."

The Dan Wheldon Classic kicks off at 12:45 and features 16 teams racing in stock karts.  Each team has a Indycar pro that runs the final stint of the race.  The race was started by Dan Wheldon's widow Susie Wheldon in 2013 and benefits the Alzheimers Association and The Justin Wilson Children's Fund.

Some of the drivers scheduled to participate along with Josef and Hinch are 2015 Indycar champ, Scott Dixon, 2014 Champion, Will Power, Marco Andretti, Sage Karam, Ed Carpenter, Ryan Briscoe, 2015 Indycar Rookie of the Year, Gabby Chaves, Sebastian Saavedra, Sarah Fisher, Matt Brabham, Steve Harvey and 2015 Indy Lights Champion, Spencer Pigot.

Sunday features the 12th Annual RoboPong 200  preceeded by 3 support races. 
The race is 200 miles broken up into 4, 50 lap stints.  The winner receives $10,000 and the Dan Wheldon Cup.  Many of the pros from Saturday will also race on Sunday. 


<

Who will I be seeing this weekend @NewCastleMP for the Dan Wheldon pro am race and robo pong?!

— Sage Karam (@SageKaram) September 17, 2015

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The Indy Lights Championship

The Indy Lights series crowned the 2015 Champion Sunday at Laguna Seca Raceway. 

Heading into the weekend, Jack Harvey had a 6 point advantage over Spencer Pigot. 

Pigot swept the double header to win the 1 million dollar Indycar  scholarship and give Juncos Racing its first Indy Lights Champion.

It was fitting that Pigot won the championship since he has spent his career winning at each level in the Mazda Road to Indy feeder system that is to prepare drivers to race in the Indycar Series. 
He has 24 total wins in the MRTI series.

With his Indy Lights Championship, the (almost) 22 year old driver from Orlando, Florida receives a 1 million dollar scholarship to use towards an Indycar ride.

We look forward to seeing him in the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500 in 2016.

Josef Newgarden update. Sonoma.

Josef did really well in qualifying

and started 2nd to Sonoma master, Will Power.



cool photo from racer.com

 

He ran second most of the first half of the race, even after Simon Pagenaud briefly trapped him in his pit box by stopping to let Will Power out. (I really like Pagenaud, but I was not happy about that).

 

Josef ran second behind Scott Dixon for a while too, but then Josef had a bad pit stop.  He stalled the car and then there was a fire and then he ended up a lap down.

 

He finished 21st in the race and 7th in the Indycar season final points standings.  I think he was as high as fourth in points at one time in the race!

 

I'll miss watching him racing but I like that he posts to twitter sometimes so I still get to see him during the offseason. 

 

 

Tough way to end the year here in Sonoma, but I really feel great about what we were able to put… https://t.co/WzFdVbdDaD

— Josef Newgarden (@josefnewgarden) September 1, 2015

posted by Alexandra (age 8)

Indycar Championships 1999 vs 2015

In the 2015 Verizon Indycar Series Championship,

Scott Dixon (Chip Ganassi Racing) tied in season points with Juan Montoya (Penske Racing).  The tie was broken based on wins, Dixon had 3 wins to Montoya's 2.

Ironically, in 1999, Juan Montoya (racing for Chip Ganassi Racing) tied with Dario Franchitti (Team Kool Green) for the season championship. Juan Montoya won his only Indycar title based on his 6 wins to Dario's 3 that season.

 

 
In the same year that Juan won the Championship, Scott Dixon was a rookie in Indy Lights, and had just won his first Lights race.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Juan Montoya gave Chip Ganassi his 4th Indycar title in 1999.

 



Scott Dixon gave Ganassi Racing it's 11th Indycar title in 2015.
(It was Scott's 4th title)



Sonoma Indycar Race Recap

                                          

Scott Dixon wins the GoPro GP of Sonoma, giving Chip Ganassi his 100th Indycar win.


For the first time the Indycar season finale was held at Sonoma Raceway.  Will Power, who has made Sonoma his playground, dominated in the first practice and throughout qualifying.  Power started on pole and led 26 laps in the early stages of the race. On lap 38, Power and Montoya tangled and both fell to the back of the pack.  Josef Newgarden ran a very strong second most of the day behind either Dixon, who took the lead on lap 51, or Power. During a pit stop on lap 61 Josef stalled the car and had a small fire, putting him a lap down and ending his hopes for a strong finish to the year.  Though Power, Montoya, Newgarden, Rahal and Castroneves all had either bad cars or problems, Scott Dixon lived up to his nickname, The Iceman' and took home his third win in the season and won the Championship on a tiebreaker for most season wins.

 

The top 10 Finishers

1. Scott Dixon was lurking in the top ten the whole race and eventually took the lead on lap 51. He then led 34 of the remaining laps and got the bonus points for leading the most laps. 

2. Ryan Hunter-Reay had an awful first half of the season until a breakout win in Iowa.  He finished the season with 2 wins and a 2nd place in the last four races.

3.  Charlie Kimball He tied his best finish of the year (Indy 500).    A strong way to finish his season leaving him twelfth in the season Championship.

 

4. Tony Kanaan earns his 6th top 5 this year.  He was one of the first people to the #9 car to congratulate Scott Dixon on the Indycar title.  

5. Ryan Briscoe did a great job salvaging a top five and holding off Montoya while on old tires.  Hopefully, Ryan Briscoe can get a ride next year, because he did a great job filling in for James Hinchcliffe. He earned 4 top tens in 8 starts this year.

6. Juan Montoya stayed in the top ten until his altercation with Power put the back to the 23rd and 24th positions.  He made a great comeback to 6th but couldn't get past Ryan Briscoe, which would have given him the Championship. As expected he was a bit upset after the race having lost the Indycar title after leading all year.

I think it's photoshop!!!! LOL https://t.co/ojyoeTEqJo

— Juan Pablo Montoya (@jpmontoya) August 31, 2015

7. Will Power was also eligible for the Championship and got upset at race control for closing the pits under yellow. Will Power ended up finishing 3rd in the Championship.
 

8. Takuma Sato closes off the season with a solid finish, and has a ride at A.J Foyt for next year.
 
9. Rodolfo Gonzalez had a surprising finish for Dale Coyne racing, his best finish of the season. 

10. Mikhael Aleshin was in his first race in an Indycar since his scary crash at Fontana last year, Mikael Aleshin finishes strong and might have a full time ride in Indycar next year.

 

Top Ten included...

*   5 Chevys and 5 Hondas.  Chevy still came out on top with the win and the Manufacturer Championship for the fourth year in a row.

*  Drivers represented 8 different countries.   Two Americans finished on the podium for the second week in a row.

*  There were 6 different teams

 

OTHER

* 7 different drivers all led laps.  There were 10 lead changes

* 7 different cars helped bring out 4 cautions for 14 laps, including

Power, Montoya and Munoz.

 

* Will Power set the fastest leader lap on lap 1 at a speed of 107.930

* Scott Dixon paced the way to an average speed of 94.117 mph

Shout Out To....

Oriol Servia, for getting into the #25 car and racing it in Justin Wilsons honor.  He finished in twelfth position.
 
Mikael Aleshin, finishing 10th in his first Indycar race since his crash at Fontana.  Hopefully, he can get a full time ride in 2016.

 

A Championship to remember

 

 

 

The Indycar Championship.  Six hopefuls came into Sonoma eligible for the championship.  Only one driver came out victorious, in both the season title and the race. 

Scott Dixon  prevailed on a championship tie-breaker over Juan Montoya, earning his 4th Indycar Championship.   He joins the likes of Mario Andretti, Sebastien Bourdais and Dario Franchitti as four time Indycar champions.  The only driver who has more is the legendary A.J. Foyt, with 7 championships. 

Scott Dixon came into to Sonoma 47 points out of 1st place, somewhat of a long shot to win the championship, but with double points on the line the Iceman still had a fighting chance. While a mid race tussle sent teammates Montoya and Power to the back of the field, Graham Rahal struggled with a ill handling car.  Meanwhile Scott Dixon never faltered once, leading the last 22 laps en route to win the race. 

Montoya gave it all he had in the final 10 laps. He needed to pass 3 cars to get to 5th place, to secure the championship. Sebastien Bourdais helped him out when he punted Graham Rahal off the track, and ended up getting a drive-through penalty. With the two of them quickly out of the way Montoya was tie with Dixon and just one pass away from his second championship in his 4 year Indycar career.  Unfortunately for Montoya he was unable to catch the fifth place car of Ryan Briscoe, and as the front five cars remained in position as they crossed the finish line.  Juan ended up 6th for the race, and lost the championship on a tiebreaker, his two wins to Dixon's three.

The Championship Rundown


1. Scott Dixon gave the crowd a huge show at Sonoma, coming back from 47 points down in third to win the title.  The win marked Chip Ganassis and 100th Indycar win and his 11th Indycar championship .  Can't wait until next year to see Scott go for 5!

2. Juan Montoya won the 1999 Indycar championship on a tie breaker with Dario Franchitti and now loses on a tie breaker.  He has been involved in two of the three Championship ties in Indycar history.

3. Will Power finished third.  His average finish in the Championship for the past 6 years is 2.3, finishing 2nd 3 years in a row.

4. Graham Rahal had a previous best Championship finish of 7th and was 19th last year.

5. Helio Castroneves finishes in the top five, yet again and misses out on his first championship.

6. Ryan Hunter-Reay has a great second half of the season.  Could it carry over into 2016?

7. Josef Newgarden dropped one position in the standings and happens to be behind RHR, who he finished behind in two races this season as RHR won at Iowa and Pocono.

8. Tony Kanaan did his job for Chip Ganassi Racing in helping Scott Dixon win the Championship, while finishing a solid top ten.

9. Marco Andretti was consistent this year, completing all the laps until Pocono.  Will next year be his year, as with Graham Rahal this year?

10. Sebastien Bourdais dominated Milwaukee and was one of the two time winners this year. But he certainly isn't on the Rahals friend list after punting Rahal late in the race.

I'm gonna suggest Indy Car Drivers meetings are held in French so that instructions not to hit Championship contenders are understood!

— Bobby Rahal (@BobRahal) August 31, 2015

What will the 2016 season hold?  Will Scott Dixon win his fifth Championship?  Can Graham Rahal do 3 positions better? Can Helio finally win his first championship?

 

And now the Silly Season officially begins.

Where will drivers like Josef Newgarden, Ryan Briscoe, James Jakes and others end up?  We'll just have to wait and find out.

Why we're excited about the Indycar finale at Sonoma

Why We're excited about the Indycar Season finale at Sonoma Raceway.

1.  Drivers are donating their helmets to be auctioned off on ebay for Justin Wilson's children's fund.

Helmets being donated for auction w/ proceeds to @justin_wilson Children's Fund. #INDYRIVALS #BadAssWilson #IndyCar pic.twitter.com/NKjVaapvtz

— Pippa Mann (@PippaMann) August 30, 2015

2.  Six drivers will fight for the season Championship (including Josef!!!!...Alex is excited even if he is a super super super longshot at 87 points back)

3.  The Championship Astor Cup was delivered by James Hinchliffe across the Golden Gate Bridge.

4.  James Hinchliffe shaved his beard!!!

 

 

5.  Justin Wilson's good friend Oriol Servia is driving his #25 car in the race and Tristan Vautier's Dale Coyne car is decked out in honor of Justin.

 

 Looking forward to running this livery in honor of Justin this weekend, thanks @DaleCoyneRacing . #BadAssWilson pic.twitter.com/wGhNcIt4Gu

— Tristan Vautier (@TristanVautier) August 27, 2015

ABC Supply 500 Indycar at Pocono

An exciting race at Pocono was marred by the fatal crash of fan favorite Justin Wilson when he was hit by flying debris from Sage Karam's single car crash. 

Ryan Hunter Reay beat the arguably stronger car of Josef Newgarden to the finish line.
Deja vu from Iowa a few weeks ago.
Only 10 cars were running at the end of the race.


 
 

The top 10 Finishers

1. Ryan Hunter-Reay - His second win in the last three races after a terrible start to the season.

2. Josef Newgarden - Led the most laps (47) and would have had a strong chance of passing Hunter Reay had the race stayed green for the last three laps.  Josef was super passing cars on the outside of turn 1 all day including jumping from 4th to 1st on lap 1.
 

3. Juan Montoya - Ties his average finish in 500 mile races, 3rd.  Although he didn't lead a lap he was steady all day and not surprisingly finished on the podium increasing his season points lead to 34 over Graham Rahal.
 

4. Will Power - A spin in the pits and a near stall in the pits didn't deter him from hanging out near the front most of the day.  His 7th Top 5 in 15 races this season.

5. Carlos Munoz - Ran in the Top 5 most of the race.  Has finished in the Top 5 in 25% of the Indycar races he has run in his career (9/36).

6. Takuma Sato - His 4th Top 10 of the season.

7. Simon Pagenaud - Simon led 30 laps and ran in the Top 3 most of the day.  It looked like he might be able to get his first 500 mile win, but he fell back after a late race pit stop.
 

8. Ryan Briscoe - Led 3 laps and ran solid all race after starting 18th on the grid.
 
9. Scott Dixon - The 2013 Pocono winner was uncharacteristically quiet all day.  Didn't ever contend during the race.

10. James Jakes - His fourth Top 10 of the season, the most in one season in his four year Indycar career.
 

Top Ten included...

*  5 Chevys and 5 Hondas

*  Drivers from 7 different countries

*  1-2 Finish for Americans

*  Both Schmidt Peterson cars

*  3 Penske cars



OTHER

Lead Changes: 33

Caution Laps: 74

Fastest Lap: 219.927 mph by Juan Pablo Montoya

Average Speed 146.245


Shout Out To:

Gabby Chaves  He had such a good race car and was leading laps, but his engine blew with three to go.

Takuma Sato  It looked like he might be able to get the win for his sponsor, at their title race.  The ABC Supply car was out front with just 7 laps to go before falling back to 6th.

Honda  They have won 4 of the last 5 races going into the finale at Sonoma. 

Alex's Josef Newgarden Update Pocono

Josef had a great racing weekend at Pocono.

 

He started 4th, finished 2nd and moved up to 6th in season points.

 

But none of that really mattered by the end of the race.

A special special person. Until next time #BadassWilson pic.twitter.com/F5AkKmzdHV

— Josef Newgarden (@josefnewgarden) August 25, 2015

I hope Josef does really well at the final in Sonoma this weekend, but I more just want him to stay safe. 

 

 

Posted by Alex (age 8)

Justin Wilson Indycar driver

Justin Wilson is one of our favorite Indycar drivers and one of the most fan friendly Indycar drivers in the paddock.
 

This year when in Indianapolis for the 500 we were able to meet and talk with him at the Indianapolis Children's museum where he was doing a promo with one of his young daughters. 

 

 

Our mom, being a mom, talked to him about his girls and how he likes to always have them with him, and how not having a full time Indycar ride has afforded him the chance to spend more time with his family.

 

Yesterday's Pocono race was a race that his family was not along for the trip.  Unfortunately they had to come to the area late in the day after a terrible crash left Justin Wilson in a coma.  As he drove through the debris from Sage Karam's crash the nose cone of Karam's car hit him in the head.
 

Justin has had some bad injuries in the past, a broken pelvis at the season finale in Fontana in 2013 and a back injury at practice at Mid Ohio in 2011 that kept him out the final 6 races of the season.

 

 

Everyone's thoughts and prayers have been with Justin Wilson and his family since the accident and there has been a huge outpouring of love on social media from peers, fans and media alike.

 

 

Medical update on @justin_wilson #INDYCAR #PrayersForJustin pic.twitter.com/jy98qhh1k6

— IndyCar Series (@IndyCar) August 24, 2015

Keep fighting @justin_wilson. We're all pulling for you mate.. Thoughts with Justin's family at this difficult time #PrayersForJustin

— Jenson Button (@JensonButton) August 24, 2015

@justin_wilson is one of the best human beings I've ever met. #PrayForJustin

— Dario Franchitti (@dariofranchitti) August 24, 2015

Continuing to pray for Justin Wilson, his family, & the doctors & nurses this evening. #PrayersForJustin

— J. Douglas Boles (@jdouglas4) August 24, 2015

#PrayersForJustin, one of the absolute best humans in our sport #IndyCar pic.twitter.com/Cv6HXTOKqf

— Simon Pagenaud (@simonpagenaud) August 24, 2015

I love racing. I hate the reminders of the inherent danger, the moments where time stands still. 🙏 #PrayersforJustin

— █♥█ (@CNDGirlinCali) August 23, 2015

.@TonyStewart, you’re a hell of a man for donating your plane for JWs family. Hats off to you, you’re a very generous human being! 👍🏻

— Graham Rahal (@GrahamRahal) August 24, 2015

As I sit praying for good news about @justin_wilson I reflect that I cannot remember ever hearing him utter an ungracious word. #rareman

— Tommy Kendall (@TommyKendall11) August 23, 2015

#PrayersforJustin

2015 Pocono Qualifying Day

 

GOOD THINGS ABOUT TODAY AT POCONO:

1. Alex got to see Josef (more on that in a future post)

2. We got to meet Sage's dog Max!  (He was so cute and gave lots of kisses)

3. There were drivers everywhere signing autographs and taking photos with the fans, or riding around on scooters (I think we counted Graham Rahal 10 times)

4. Alex finally got to go in the garages this year because they removed the age limit (Thanks Pocono!)

5. All the really cool vintage cars racing on the infield track

6. The weather was really nice (although we still got sunburned, so don't forget your sunscreen)


NOT SO GOOD THINGS ABOUT TODAY AT POCONO:

1. Charlie Kimball crashed in qualifying (but he wasn't hurt, which was definitely good)

2.  We didn't get to see Tricky at the track today  (I hope we see you tomorrow Tricky!)



Qualifying and practice

 

We had a really good view for qualifying and practice (we were right across from Josef's pit) and it was really cool how we could see almost the whole track even though we were on a lower level!
Alex was really happy for Josef when he got fourth, which was only behind three Penske drivers. 
Congrats to Helio for the pole, it will be another addition to the  Penske P1 display on the back of their truck!

And thanks to the Holmatro crew for making sure Kimball was okay and for cleaning up so quickly so that qualifying could continue. 
Although when you were cleaning you blew the sand into Jarod and our dad (actually, that was pretty funny)

Thanks Pocono for a great day and we can't wait until the race tomorrow!!

1 day till Pocono!

#1 Will Power
is looking for a win at Pocono
to help keep his chances alive of repeating as Indycar champion .




In his two starts at Pocono, he has two top tens,
with a fourth and a 10th.

He is 59 points out of the championship lead heading into Pocono.

2 Days Till Pocono!!!

The #2 car driven by Juan Montoya

will start the ABC Supply 500 in 2 days

with a slim lead of just 9 points in the Indycar championship.

 

As the defending Pocono winner and with an average finish of 3rd in 500 mile races, he seems to be an easy bet to come out of the weekend still in the lead.

 But Graham Rahal is on a roll, coming off a win at his home track at Mid Ohio.   He will no doubt have a lot of support in the mountains of Pennsylvania from fans eager to see the second generation Indycar driver go for the championship. 

So things may not be as predictable as they seem.

 

 

 

 

 

Montoya returned to Indycar last year and won at Pocono

in his first ever Indycar start at the Tricky Triangle.