Indycar GP of Long Beach 2017

James Hinchcliffe won the Long Beach Grand Prix, officially completing his comeback from the awful crash at Indianapolis in 2015 that almost took his life.  It was the fifth win of his Indycar career and his first win since April 2015 at the GP of Louisiana.    On the other side of the spectrum, it was one of the worst races in recent memory for the Andretti Autosport team as all four of it's drivers dropped out of the race with mechanical failures.  Most heartbreaking was Ryan Hunter Reay who was in running in second with just 6 laps to go when his car quit.  The Andretti drivers finished 17th, 18th, 19th and 20th.

POLESITTER:  Helio Castroneves - His 3rd consecutive pole at Long Beach.

Top Ten

1. James Hinchcliffe: His 5th career win!
2. Sebastien Bourdais:  Leading the season points after a 1st & 2nd in the first two races of the season.
3. Josef Newgarden: His first podium driving for Roger Penske.

4. Scott Dixon: An early change in pit strategy cost him a chance at the win. 

5. Simon Pagenaud:  A great finish after starting last & suffering a flat tire early in the race.
6. Ed Jones:  The best start for an Indycar rookie since Nigel Mansell in 1993.
7. Carlos Munoz:  A strong finish in his second drive for A. J. Foyt
8. Spencer Pigot:  Ran in the Top Ten run all day after started back in 19th.
9. Helio Castroneves:  Had the fastest lap of the race at 104.542 mph
10.  Graham Rahal:  His best finish at Long Beach since 2013.

Different Teams: 7 (Schmidt Peterson, Dale Coyne Racing, Penske, Ganassi, A.J. Foyt Racing, Ed Carpenter Racing, Rahal Letterman Lanigan)

Different Countries: 7 (Canada, France (2), USA (3), New Zealand,  United Arab Emirates, Colombia, Brazil)

FUN FACTS

 Average Speed:  90.845 mph

 Time: 1 hour 50 Minutes 29 Seconds

3 Cautions for 11 Laps

Lead Changes: 6 among 3 drivers (Scott Dixon, Ryan Hunter Reay, James Hinchcliffe)

Best Lap: 104.542 by Helio Castroneves

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

GP of Louisiana recap

The inaugural Grand Prix of Louisiana had Indycars thundering through the swamps of Louisiana. (Literally)

Qualifying got cancelled because of lightning, so the starting positions were determined by entry points, giving Juan Montoya the pole.

The race was timed because of an impending rainstorm, and James Hinchcliffe was able to take home his first win since 2013.  
He won on only one pit stop!

The top 10 Finishers

1. James Hinchcliffe.  His first win since joining Schmidt Peterson Motorsports in 2015.

2. Helio Castroneves. His second top 4 in the 2 races this season.

3. James Jakes.  Finished a strong 3rd after returning to Indycar after a year off.  It was the second podium of his career.

4. Simona De Silvestro.  Another driver returning to the series after a year hiatus.  Is currently 6th in the Indycar season standings.

5. Juan Montoya.  Led the most laps of the race.

6. Tony Kanaan.  Passed by Simona in one of the few green flag laps in the second half of the race to drop out of the top five. 

7. Will Power. Fuel strategy left him in 7th. 

8. Graham Rahal.  Another strong run.

9. Josef Newgarden. A solid top ten finish leading into one of his strongest tracks at Long Beach.

10. Luca Fillipi.  Two top ten finishes to start his first full Indycar season.

Top Ten included..

* Drivers from 6 different teams

* Drivers from 8 different countries

* 6 Chevys, 4 Honda

* Both of the CFHR drivers

* Both SMP drivers

* No rookies

Robin Miller's interview with a very happy winner, James Hinchliffe.

Can't wait till the Grand Prix of Long Beach on
Sunday, April 19th on NBCSN.

Josef Update: Milwaukee Mile 2014

Yay!!!  No!!!  Yay!!!

 

This is what you heard from Alex during the Milwaukee Indyfest, because Josef had a very up and down race.  But luckily it ended on an 'up' and he finished 5th!!

 

Josef started 5th, stayed in the top 6 for the first stint, dropped back to 12th, up to 2nd on a pit strategy, and with 12 laps had to pit, and dropped back to 12th.  That didn't stop Josef. 
He made his way in 12 laps to finish 5th!

 

IN OTHER 'JOSEF' NEWS...

 

Alex wants to make sure that you don't miss the Forza 5 showdown starring Josef, and Justin Wilson,  They're racing the Forza Motorsport 5  game on xbox to raise funds for Teen Cancer America. 
Fans can win an opportunity to race the drivers by donating to Teen Cancer America through August 23rd.


 

Josef did the ALS ice bucket challenge along with some other drivers.
Josef's video is her favorite although she pointed out that he did use a rather smallish bucket of ice water.

 

 

Drivers in carts

Do Indycar drivers race Indycars or golf carts?

 Ryan Hunter-Reay
(well, the back of him anyway, we'll get a better one)

 Helio Castroneves
(on Will Power's cart!....is this allowed?)

 

 

Helio, on a bike this time.
And still smiling!

 Tony Kanaan defending 500 champion
(love his shoes)

James Hinchcliffe
(glad he recovered from the hit in the GP)

Simon Pagenaud
(congrats on the Indy GP win)

 Rick Mears - 4 time 500 winner!!!
(got his autograph!)

 Ryan Hunter-Reay
(we told you we would get a better one)

 Dario Franchitti - 3 time 500 winner
(miss him on the track but great to still see him at the track!)

 Jack Hawksworth rookie
(awesome helmet)

 

Carlos Huertas a

(another rookie)

 

 

 

 

 

Josef update #4 Barber Motorsports Park

Josef Newgarden finished a strong 8th in the rain delayed, wet and tricky GP of Alabama.

 

After starting fourth for the second race in a row Josef dropped to tenth by lap 4, but slowly worked his way back up to 6th before falling back to 8th after his final pit stop.
He is now 10th in Indycar Points!

And it seems like Josef had some fun before the race too.

Here he is selling race tickets from atop a spider (with an 'interesting' voice):

 

He also had some fun with Hinch at the space camp at the US Space and Rocket Center:

 

 

 

OTHER JOSEF STUFF:

 

*  There was a article about Josef in the USA Today before the Alabama Race! 

 

*  Sarah Fisher Hartman racing announced Klipsch Audio will be Josef's primary sponsor for the GP of Indy on May 10th.

 

Cool Car.
Can't wait to see it in person when we're at the race!!!

 

 

Watch Josef May 10th in the Grand Prix of Indianapolis on ABC.

Hinchcliffe can't live without...

In a Toronto Life newspaper article, James Hinchcliffe wrote down in his own words what he can't live without, here are a few of them.

My onesie pajamas
 I’ve wanted a pair of these forever. Last year, Kirsten (His girlfriend) finally got me some. They’re the full deal: red flannel, bum flap and everything. When you’re hanging around the house on a Sunday, there’s nothing better to have on.

 
My lighters I’ve been collecting lighters since I was a kid. I have about 80 of them now (just to look at—I don’t smoke). My favourite is from WWII. I love thinking about where it’s been, whose it was and what happened to him.


My hero’s steering wheel It’s from Greg Moore’s first race car, which he used before he made it big on the CART circuit, and it’s signed. I met him after a race in Toronto in ’99. I stood outside his trailer for hours before he finally came out.

 

 

If you want to read more of Hinch's things he can't live without, click here.

Hinchcliffe Wins at Iowa!

* James Hinchcliffe won his third race of the season, and the first oval race of his career.

* Hinch jumped up 5 spots in the season point standings to 5th.

* 7 Different Teams finished in the Top 10....

* ...Why only 7?  Because all 4 of the Andretti Autosport cars finished in the Top 10.

* Andretti Autosport had cars finish one-two for the second year in a row and won the race for the 5th time in 7 races with 5 different drivers. (Hinchcliffe, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Marco, Tony Kanaan and Dario Franchitti.)



On to Pocono, only an hour from our house....we're so excited!!!

Racing for Kids Charity

Indycar drivers aren't just great racers, they also do a lot of great stuff through charities.   
Racing for Kids is a charity that consists of drivers.  The drivers visit kids in hospitals wherever they race.

 

 

Racing for kids was founded in 1989 and since then drivers from many forms of motorsports have visited more than 25,000 kids in 500 hospitals worldwide and raised more than 6 million dollars.

  Ryan Hunter-Reay, James Hinchcliffe, Tristan Vautier, Michael Andretti, Katherine Legge, Justin Wilson, Simona deSilvestro, Oriol Servia, and Graham Rahal, are just some of the drivers who have made a sick kid feel special in the past year.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hinchliffe Wins in Brazil

 

James Hinchcliffe wins his second Indycar race.

* We thought it was the best Indycar road race ever

* Takuma Sato had second podium finish in a row and is first in points

*  Marco Andretti finished third and is second in points

* Josef Newgarden almost won and finished 5th but they still didn't interview him after the race (our little sister Alexandra was a bit upset about that)