Tag: NTT Indycar Series

Indycar’s Top Stories of 2019

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Photo: Indycar

From the NTT Indycar Series:

Top INDYCAR Stories of 2019

INDIANAPOLIS (Dec. 18, 2019) — While INDYCAR enjoyed several intriguing stories during this year’s NTT IndyCar Series season, the blockbuster came after the season when Roger Penske announced that Penske Corporation would be acquiring Indianapolis Motor Speedway, INDYCAR and additional Hulman & Company holdings.

The November announcement was no doubt the most captivating story of 2019 for INDYCAR, but it also ranked among the top stories in all of motorsports with its worldwide interest.

Tony Hulman purchased the Speedway in dilapidated condition in November 1945 and turned it into one of the world’s most iconic sporting venues. Over the past 75 years, Hulman and his family have reshaped the facility and hosted Indy cars, NASCAR, Formula One, MotoGP, major golf tournaments and concerts, among other events.

The official sale is scheduled for early January and most expect the impact Penske will have on the sport and the famed track in the future could be even greater than his record 18 Indianapolis 500 victories.

With the Penske acquisition news leading the way, here’s a look at INDYCAR’s top stories of the year:

  1. Penske acquires IMS, INDYCAR: Tony George, Hulman & Company’s Chairman of the Board, said he first approached Roger Penske about buying the company’s assets on the final day of the NTT IndyCar Series season, which was Sept. 22 in Monterey, Calif., at the Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey. Private, highly confidential meetings were held over the next six weeks, with only a handful of executives included in the negotiations. Penske seemed genuinely pleased that one of the biggest secrets in motorsports history held until the deal was formally announced Monday, Nov. 4, at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
  2. NBC airs its first Indianapolis 500, becomes exclusive home of the NTT IndyCar Series: The 500 had been on ABC since 1965, so that alone made the switch to NBC newsworthy. But NBC also significantly increased exposure for the NTT IndyCar Series through its first of a multiyear deal. Eight races were shown live on network television, three more than in 2018, and fans enjoyed action of all on-track activity via NBC Sports Gold, a leading direct-to-consumer product. Another positive was the inclusion of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge in NBC’s “Championship Season” marketing campaign.
  3. NTT joins as the series’ title sponsor: The signing of a multiyear agreement with the global information technology and communications leader was executed in January at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. The agreement affords INDYCAR the opportunity to benefit from NTT’s digital innovations, including the evolution of the INDYCAR Mobile App and integration of NTT’s proprietary Smart Platform.
  4. INDYCAR introduces Aeroscreen, hybrid technology: INDYCAR announced a partnership with Red Bull Advanced Technologies during the Indy 500 race weekend for the development and implementation of an Aeroscreen for enhanced driver cockpit protection. The safety innovation, which will make its competition debut at the outset of the 2020 NTT IndyCar Series season, consists of a ballistic Aeroscreen anchored by titanium framework that encompasses the cockpit. The Aeroscreen had its first on-track test at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in October with Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon and Team Penske’s Will Power, who both considered the initial outing a success. Other tests followed at Barber Motorsports Park, Richmond Raceway and Sebring International Raceway. The Aeroscreen has been described by INDYCAR President Jay Frye as “a game-changer.” For 2022, INDYCAR, in partnership with Chevrolet and Honda, will implement a single-source hybrid system in its race cars. In keeping with INDYCAR’s history of integrating innovation into the sport, the hybrid powertrain will mark the first time that vehicles will depart from the traditional, manual hand-held electric starters to a hybrid component that can be activated by the driver from the cockpit. Additionally, engines are targeted to exceed 900 horsepower.
  5. Pagenaud has a history-making Month of May in Indianapolis: For the first time, the same driver won all three major Indianapolis Motor Speedway events in May: the INDYCAR Grand Prix, the Indianapolis 500 pole and the 500 itself. In the 500, Team Penske’s Simon Pagenaud led 116 of the 200 laps and outdueled Alexander Rossi of Andretti Autosport in the final laps to become the first Frenchman to win the race since Rene Thomas in 1914. Pagenaud also became the first pole winner to win the 500 since Helio Castroneves in 2009.
  6. Juncos/Kaiser bump McLaren/Alonso from Indianapolis 500 field: Who imagined Fernando Alonso, a two-time Formula One World Champion who ran so well in the 500 in 2017, failing to earn a spot in his return? Or revered McLaren, which came to Indy with its own program for the first time in this era of the sport, also going home early with Alonso? But the orange No. 66 Chevrolet was in a precarious position in the final minutes of qualifying, and Kyle Kaiser, driving for the small, part-time Juncos Racing team, ran four laps fast enough to make the show in a thrilling David-vs.-Goliath matchup.
  7. Newgarden wins four races, captures second series championship: Josef Newgarden won a season-high four races en route to his second series crown in three years with Team Penske. He also joined Sam Hornish Jr. as the only Americans to win multiple series crowns since Al Unser Jr. in 1994. Newgarden jumped to the top spot in the standings by winning the season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg and relinquished the position only once – after Simon Pagenaud won the 500 – to effectively go wire-to-wire against a strong field.
  8. History-setting Herta leads stout rookie class: Colton Herta of Harding Steinbrenner Racing made the first emphatic statement by winning the season’s second race, the inaugural INDYCAR Classic at Circuit of The Americas, to become the youngest race winner in INDYCAR history at 18 years, 11 months, 25 days. Herta added another victory in the season-ending Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. Felix Rosenqvist of Chip Ganassi Racing won the season’s Rookie-of-the-Year Award on the strength of two top-three and six top-five finishes while the Indianapolis 500’s top-finishing rookie, Santino Ferrucci of Dale Coyne Racing, produced three fourth-place finishes in addition to a seventh at Indy. Marcus Ericsson of Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports finished second in the second Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix race while Carlin’s Pato O’Ward put on a show at COTA in finishing eighth. Ben Hanley of DragonSpeed, a part-time team making only its third INDYCAR start, delivered a strong effort at the 500, qualifying 27th.
  9. McLaren, SPM merge, hire O’Ward and Askew: McLaren, with its Formula One pedigree and rich history, announced in August its full-time return to Indy car competition in a partnership with Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports. The team was rebranded Arrow McLaren Racing SP and also announced a partnership with Chevrolet. More change followed with the 2019 driving tandem of James Hinchcliffe and Marcus Ericsson being replaced by Oliver Askew and Pato O’Ward, the two most recent series champions of Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires. At 23 and 20 years, respectively, Askew, the 2019 champion, and O’Ward, the ’18 champ, form the youngest pairing in the series.
  10. Rossi re-signs with Andretti Autosport: The 28-year-old Alexander Rossi could have become a highly sought-after free agent with a number of enticing options, but he decided to re-sign with Andretti Autosport in July. In addition to announcing a multi-year deal with Rossi, Andretti Autosport also announced a renewal with Honda. The Rossi-Honda tandem was strong in 2019, with the Californian finishing third in the NTT IndyCar Series championship, which was the top finish for the engine manufacturer. He also delivered dominating wins at Long Beach and Road America, leading an impressive 134 of the combined 140 laps, and a runner-up finish in the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge.

Thoughts

I have no argument that these afre the top stories. I would have put the Herta story 5th and moved the Pagenaud story to 7th. The others I think are appropriately ranked. Let’s face it. The top story should have been 1, 2,and 3.

Bill Simpson, Racing’s Life Saver

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Photo: Bill Simpson demonstrates the safety of hone of his fire suits.

We will never know the number of lives Bill Simpson saved with his safety innovations, but we are grateful for every one of them. Simpson, 79, died Monday afternoon after suffering a massive stroke Friday. He raced and knew the dangers. Simpson decided to do something about it. Today’s drivers have much longer careers thanks in part to Simpson and his safety equipment.

Simpson began racing dragsters and SCCA Formula cars before joining USAC in 1968. He qualified for the Indianapolis 500 in 1974. Simpson started 20th and finished 13th. His best finish in a USAC race was 6th at Milwaukee in 1970. He retired from racing in May 1977. During a practice run, he started thinking about a phone call he had to make.

From drag chutes to fire suits to lap belts to helmets, Simpson continuously worked to make racing safer. He is credited with creating more than 200 safety products. Simpson has left a legacy of safety across the entire sport. I remember when he first set himself on fire to prove the worth of his fire suit. It was shocking to see at first, but then I realized he wasn’t hurt. The days of watching drivers race while wearing T-shirts and slacks was officially over.

We rarely think of Simpson when we watch a race, but every crash where a driver walks away or survives is in part due to his work. I often wonder where racing would be without Shaw, Foyt, Andretti, the Unsers, Mears, and others. Yet you have to wonder where they would be without Bill Simpson.

I hope every racing series takes a moment of two in 2020 to honor Simpson at a race. He has helped keep the sport alive.

 

 

Drivers Branching Out- A Good Thing

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Photo: James Davison at Indianpolis in 2018

What used to be routine is now causing a stir. Several drivers made  news last week when they announced deals to drive a few races in a series other than their main one. To me, this is not a big deal. Drivers used to be itinerant gypsies, driving several times a week in different kinds of cars.

It wasn’t unusual to see the winner of the Indianapolis 500 in a sprint or midget race three days after collecting his check at the Victory banquet, then heading to Milwaukee the next weekend for another Indycar race. I seem to recall a year when A. J. Foyt led the standings in Indycar, USAC sprints, and USAC midgets. Foyt also won the Daytona 500 and LeMans. Mario Andretti also won Daytona and the F1 world championship. Lloyd Ruby and Dan Gurney had success driving almost anything.

Those days are pretty much gone now, but it seems as if drivers are starting to look for rides in different series again. In the past 12 months, Alexander Rossi has driven in Indycar, the Baja 1,00, and the Bathurst 12 hour race. I like that racers are starting to fill gaps in their schedules with more races. Fans find a newseries they enjoy while their favorite competes inanoher form of racing.

Outside of Indycar, Fernando Alonso left his Formula 1 ride to drive in the World Endurance Championship full time. He also drove for the winning Wayne Taylor Racing entry in the 2019 Rolex 24. Alonso has one Indianapolis 500 start on his resume and will participate n the Dakar Rally.

The most fascinating announcement last week concerned James Davison, mainly because he will have the same sponsor in both the Daytona 500 and at Indy. I think we may be seeing the beginning of a sponsorship trend.

I would like to see more arrangements like this for these two races. It gives potential sponsors two races instead of one. Sponsors also get great exposure from the two largest U.S. events on the racing calendar.  We also get to see a driver run in both NASCAR and the NTT Indycar Series.

To recap last week’s announcements:

Indianapolis 500 veteran James Davison will attempt to qualify for the Daytona 500 and the Indianapolis 500. The effort is part of Jonathan Byrd’s Racing. Byrd’s, led by David Byrd, has paired with Davison the last two years at Indianapolis.  Oilfire Whiskey will be the primary sponsor at Daytona and an associate sponsor in May.

Davison has four start in NASCAR’s Xfinity series, all on road courses. The Daytona 500 will be his first drive in a Cup Series race. Davison has four starts in the Indianapolis 500. He had a career best finish of 12th in 2019.

Dixon Gets a Ride Near Home

Scott Dixon will drive in the Bathurst 12 hour in Australia. In 2019, Alexander Rossi and James Hinchcliffe teamed up in this race. Dixon will drive an Aston Martin Vantage GT3 car sponsored by Castrol. The race is just a week after the 2008 500 winner participates in the Rolex 24 with Wayne Taylor Racing.

After the Indycar opener in St. Pete in March, Dixon will have driven in three different series in seven weeks.

Bourdais, Leist Focus on IMSA

As of now, Sebastien Bourdais will drive full time in IMSA. He may get an Indycar drive or two.

Matheus Leist, who drove for A. J. Foyt Racing the last two seasons, will join JDC-Miller car 85 as the extra driver for IMSA’a four endurance races- the Rolex 24, 12 Hours of Sebring, Watkins Glen and Petit LeMans. Leist will not drive for Foyt. I don’t see him getting any Indycar rides except possibly in May. In two Indianaolis 500s, Leist finished 13th in 2018 and 15th in 2019.

Thoughts for Bill Simpson

Safety innovator Bill Simpson suffered a major stroke this weekend. Please keep him in your thoughts.

 

Team Penske News: XPEL Sponsorship for Newgarden; McLaughlin Gets Indycar Test

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Photo from Team Penske

From the Team Penske news release yesterday:

“Team Penske and XPEL, Inc. (NASDAQ: XPEL) a leading provider of automotive paint protective film and window tint, today announced a multi-year partnership. XPEL will be the primary sponsor of the No. 1 Dallara/Chevrolet driven by reigning and two-time NTT IndyCar Series Champion Josef Newgarden for two races in 2020. XPEL will also serve as the “Official Protective Film Partner of Team Penske.

The partnership with Team Penske – the most successful team in motorsports history – represents the first racing sponsorship for the San Antonio, Texas-based company. Newgarden will race the No. 1 XPEL Dallara/Chevrolet in the INDYCAR Grand Prix on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course on May 9 and in the Texas Indy 600 at Texas Motor Speedway (TMS) on June 6. XPEL will build on the partnership and become a primary sponsor for a third IndyCar Series race with Team Penske in 2021 and beyond.”

This is a nice looking car with hints of a Shell livery from a few years ago.

It’s always good to see another sponsor in Indycar. I am also glad to see the Newgarden will carry the No. 1 on his car. I think the series should require the champion to do so every year.

McLaughlin Will Test Indycar at Sebring

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Photo: Team Penske

Back to back Supercars champion Scott McLaughlin will drive a Team Penske Indycar at a January 13 test at Sebring. McLaughlin drives for DJR Team Penske in Virgin Australia Supercars. He won a record 18 races this year.  Since joining the team in 2017, McLaughlin has won 35 times to go along with 44 poles in taking series title in 2018 and 2019.

I don’t expect an Indycar ride to happen from this test. Right now It is a reward for achievement in Supercars, but with of Penske’s current NTT Indycar Series drivers approaching retirement, maybe he’ll be in the series in a few years.

The link to the full story:

bit.ly/2qTrqPK

 

Richmond Raceway Adds USAC.25 to Indycar Weekend-Update

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Richmond Raceway today announced an addition to the NTT Indycar Series weekend June 27-and 28. The USAC.25 series will race, adding some value for the fans. I like when tracks add series such as midgets or Silver Crown cars to the Indycar weekends. Not only does it provide more track action, which oval need, but it gives fans a glimpse at the roots of Indycar. Here is the full story at the link below.

http://www.richmondraceway.com/Articles/2019/12/USAC.aspx

Update: Portland has also added the USAC .25 Series to.its Indycar program Labor Day weekend. Link:

 

https://portlandgp.com/news/257-usac-25-series-releases-2020-national-schedule-including-a-debut-at-the-grand-prix-of-portland

Podcasts: The Fans’ Best Friend Between Races and During the Off Season

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What to do to get your Indycar fix when the next race is 10 days away or it’s the doldrums of the offseason and you need some bench racing? Turn to a podcast. Sadly the great  More Front Wing is no more and Push to Pass had a very brief life. But there are some good ones running weekly now . Each one takes a different approach and has some unique features.  Many of you probably already listen to some of these. Today I will profile four of the best. I want to thank the hosts for taking time to answer my questions for this article.

Pit Lane Parley

Mike Joachim and Jess Baker launched this podcast in early December, 2017. The show has seen phenomenal growth in the last year.    Matt Hickey joins Mike and Jess on their weekly episodes which usually are available Friday morning.

Pit Lane Parley provides unique content weekly, including breaking down complicated topics, interviews,  and trivia nights. Each show typically has a trivia segment. The podcast has a three fold mission according to Mike.

” To bring new fans to the sport, to have casual fans understand complicated things by breaking it down for them, and giving hardcore fans unbiased talk.”

Mike said the best show moments were interviews with Jay Frye and Mark Miles. On the flip side, he thinks the funniest unintentional moment was when he called Scott Dixon an American.

You can listen to the podcast on Apple podcasts. Google podcasts, Spotify, and all podcast apps. I listen on the Castbox app.

For 2020 Pit Lane Parley partners with HMD Racing and a team to be announced later for in depth team content on race weekends. The show also is launching a video channel next season.

Race Fan Heaven

This podcast is in its infancy. Race Fan Heaven began in February of this year. Founder and host Ric Clark teams with Mandi Curi and Rhonda Clark.

I met this Austin, Texas based trio at Laguna Seca in September. They have a lot of fun working together and it comes across in their episodes. All of them are passionate about racing in general.

The podcast focuses on F1, Indycar, NASCAR and NHRA. The episodes usually come on air Friday evenings. Currently you can listen on Speaker.com and RaceFanHeaven.com. The show will be available on most major podcast platforms in 2020.

Ric told me Race Fan Heaven’s mission  is ” To cover, comment on, debate, and promote motorsports. We are passionate fans who are lucky enough to have the opportunity to bring our excitement to fans worldwide!”

At selected races they do live Twitter and Facebook videos.

The best moment for the podcast was their in person coverage of the NTT Indycar Series Finale at Laguna Seca.

Ric said the funniest unintentional moment was when Mandi had to make a “pit stop” in the middle of the show.

For 2020 Race Fan Heaven will have more coverage including live video of their shows and interviews and commentary from the tracks.

Fast Cars Fast Girls

You can believe I made sure I spelled the second fast correctly.

Abby and Molly began the podcast in 2017 with an official release date of June 15. They had recorded after the Indycar GP and the Indianapolis 500. The podcast began during 500 qualifications in 2017. They realized that there were not a lot  of women expressing their opinions and thoughts about Indycar.

The podcast focuses mostly on Indycar and each episode features a segment on females in and around motorsport. I find that segment very interesting and educational. The show’s focus coincides with their mission to talk about Indycar and enjoy the sport.

Molly told me that they always enjoy their interviews with IMS president Doug Boles and Mike Ford, who spots for Simon Pagenaud.

The unscripted show doesn’t lead to much unintentional incidents. Molly thinks the most famous ad lib quote was ” Daddy doesn’t do ovals. daddy only does ovals.”  :(It) will forever live on,” Molly says.

Podcasts go live on Wednesday on all apps.

Fast Cars Fast Girls will continue the Unplugged events at races and continue to spend time with other Indycar fans. in 2020.

“:Other than that, we’ll see where the season takes us, ” Molly said.

The Indy SportsCar Podcast

This podcast is I believe the longest running of the fan podcasts. The Indy SportsCar Podcast recently had its fifth anniversary. Sustaining this type of format as a hobby for five years is quite an achievement these days.

Frank and Missy Linker, the hosts, launched their first episode December 3, 2014. They focus on Indycar, the Road to Indy, and Formula 1.

The podcast airs Friday on iTunes, Podbean, Stitcher, iHeart Radio, Spotify, RedDragonsRadio.com, Tunein Radio , and all other podcast apps.

The podcast mission, Missy said, “…is to get Indycar fans excited about the upcoming races, season, and bring more fans to the sport and bring more eyes to the ladder series to watch the young drivers go through the ladder series and eventually to Indycar.”

Over five years the podcast has had many great moments. Missy notes their interview with Alexander Rossi before his Indycar debut, interviewing the late Justin Wilson, and their interviews with several current Indycar drivers when they were in the Road to Indy, including Oliver Askew, Pato O’Ward, Spencer Pigot, and Colton Herta.

Missy admitted there is a funny unintentional moment every episode.

Missy and Frank are working on some new things for 2020 but are not ready to share their plans at this time.

 

 

 

 

GMR Sponsors IMS Road Race

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GMR, the parent company of AMR, sponsor of the NTT Indycar Series Safety Team, hjas entered a multi year agreement with Indianapolis Motor Speedway to sponsor the May Indycar road race at IMS. The race is the opening event at the track leading up to the Indianapolis 500. This great for several reasons.

It adds another sponsored race to the schedule. They will use the race to honor first responders. It helps identify the race better.

The race has been without a sponsor for the last couple years after the Angie’s List sponsorship ended. Calling it the Indycar Grand Prix was vague and it seemed the track had to work to make fans aware this race was at IMS. This gives the event a more solid standing, and it will be easier for the sponsor to connect fans to its location.

The  full story from IMS can be found at this link:

https://www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com/news-multimedia/news/2019/12/10/medical-services-leader-gmr-to-sponsor-annual-ntt-indycar-series-road-race-at-ims-2019

The GMR Grand Prix will run May 9, 2020.

Has Daly Found a Home?

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Today’s announcement of Conor Daly getting the road/street course seat in the number 20 car was the most positive driver news of the past seven weeks. It has been an off season of seismic changes in the NTT Indycar Series paddock. What a great feeling to see the news and smile instead of thinking “What?” Here are some of my thoughts about what this could mean for Daly and the series.

I can’t think of a better fit at ECR than Conor Daly. Both he and Ed have very strong ties to IMS and the series. The move strengthens ECR as Indycar’s ambassador team.

2020 will be the first year since 2017 that Daly will drive for just one team. He drove for multiple teams in 2015, 2018, and 2019.

I’m very happy the Air Force continues with Daly. They could not have picked a better representative.

We can call car 20 the Indiana car.

I hope Ed Carpenter will allow Daly to drive in other series as his schedule allows.  He had success in the Super Trofeo Series last year. Daly is willing to drive anything; I hope gets the opportunity.

I could see Daly at ECR for a few years. Next season may be a getting acquainted period, but it will be interesting to track Daly’s performance compared to Ed Jones’s and Jordan King’s in comparable events.

Daly should be a huge help to Rinus VeeKay in his rookie year in Indycar.

I have seen Daly drive in several series. It seems as the car he is in always improves when he drives it. The road/street course help he can give this team will be invaluable.

Daly may have an even better chance at the 500 in 2020 than he had last season at Andretti. He will get more attention at ECR since it’s a smaller team. Also, the team is really good at IMS.

Wild conjecture on my part: Is this hire a part of Carpenter’s succession plan? Is Ed contemplating giving up the ovals other than Indy in a year or two and letting Conor drive full time?

 

If nothing else breaks, I will be back Thursday with annual (okay first annual) podcast edition.