IndyCars - The off-season: Series news and comment until the March 2014 kick-off

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Will Power and Roger Penske picked up some hardware on Wednesday night…

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At the Automotive News World Congress at the Marriott Renaissance in Detroit the 2018 Indy 500 WINNER and his boss and team owner were given their “baby Borgs” - the small version of the Borg-Warner Trophy that they get to take home forever, while the big one stays at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. This was Will Power’s first baby Borg and Roger Penske’s 17th…but who’s counting?

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Will Power (left) and Roger Penske - 18 baby Borgs between them

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Well, everyone who has been competing against Penske since he got his first baby Borg in 1972, thanks to Mark Donahue…that’s who. The scary thing is that Penske has so much more he wants to do.

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Day 4 at the Chili Bowl Nationals…The defending Champ comes through…

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On Thursday night at the Tulsa Expo Center Christopher Bell, the Chili Bowl Champion in both 2017 and 2018, WON the A main to advance to Saturday night’s big 55-lap Main. The 25-lap race was hard to get started and took 4 starts before it got fully underway. Bell, sitting in P3 for three false starts, was moved to P1 when pole-sitter Danny Stratton was penalized for a false start. Bell held the lead on the first complete race lap and kept the spot for the next 24 laps, which included no less that 8 restarts due to incidents and cautions.

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Bell in the battle-scarred A main

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On a lap 23 restart following a late caution, rival Shane Golobic actually got by Bell for the lead but Bell executed a perfect over-under on the low side of the track and regained the lead before the lap was over.

Christopher Bell

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Thursday night was IndyCar driver Conor Daly’s prelim night and unfortunately Conor got a flat tire during his heat race, relegating him to the C Main. In the C Main he went from P8 to P6, but that was not enough to transfer, so his last chance will be on Saturday.
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Conor Daly in his Midget for Jonathan Byrd

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Arrow Electronics is stepping up big for Schmidt Peterson Motorsports…

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Arrow Electronics started their association with Schmidt Peterson simply as the designers of the special in-car systems that allowed team owner Sam Schmidt, a quadriplegic for the last 19 years, to drive a street car with head movements alone. That eventually evolved into primary sponsorship of team driver James Hinchcliffe’s # 5 Honda for a last several seasons.

Arrow has now stepped up in a big way to be the title sponsor for the entire team, which will include James’ car and rookie Marcus Ericsson’s # 7 car as well as the # 6 car, waiting for Robert Wickens whenever he is able to again drive it. From this point on the team will be known as “Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports” or simply “Arrow SPM”.

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Marcus Ericsson (left) and James Hinchcliffe - both Arrow boys from now on

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A nice touch when the announcement was made was to include injured driver Robert Wickens with his teammates, next to his # 6 Honda, waiting for his return:

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Co-team-owners Sam Schmidt and Ric Peterson figure the huge commitment by Arrow can push the team to a level with rivals Andretti Autosport, Team Penske and Chip Ganassi Racing in the NTT IndyCar series. They are likely right.

Sam Schmidt (left) and Ric Peterson

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Friday night at the Chili Bowl - the weeknight prelims are completed…

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There are a record 355 Midget entrants in this 33rd annual Chili Bowl Nationals and the newly-added Monday night prelims allowed all of them a shot at getting into the Saturday Main, as the top two from each night’s A Main are now locked into Saturday’s 55-lap championship event.

On Friday night Justin Grant took the A Main, leading all 25 laps, with P-2 finisher Tanner Thorson being the only driver that could challenge Grant in his dominating performance. Coming in P3 and thus not locked into the Saturday Main was perennial favorite Chad Boat. P4 was was NASCAR’s Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

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Justin Grant takes the cake on Friday

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Justin Grant

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With 10 drivers locked into the Saturday Main the remaining 14 spots will be awarded with the alphabet of Saturday Mains, starting all the way back with the O Mains and advancing to two B Mains, where the 14 will come from.

IndyCar driver Conor Daly will start in the K Main-2 feature. If he makes the TOP SIX he advances to the J Mains. If he makes the TOP SIX there he advances to the I Mains…and so on. In theory, he can get to the A Main, but he has a lot of work to do to get there.

Conor Daly

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Tonight!

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The 2019 Race of Champion is on!..

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The 2019 ROC actually got underway with practices on Friday at the Foro Sol in Mexico City and today the Nation’s Cup is being run all day, with two-driver teams competing for their country against other counties.
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The Foro Sol - part of the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez

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Watch this vid to see how the circuit will work:

https://twitter.com/RaceOfChampions/status/1086059227263598592

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And here is an introduction to the 2019 ROC:

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Race of Champions 2019 preview

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There are four current IndyCar guys in the 2019 ROC - Helio Castroneves, Patricio O’Ward, Ryan Hunter-Reay and Josef Newgarden. In addition Esteban Gutierrez, who has also driven IndyCars, is in the event.

Helio will represent Brazil in the Nation’s Cup with Lucas di Grassi. Patricio will represent Mexico with Esteban and Ryan and Josef will be Team USA.

left to right, Helio Castroneves, Pato O’Ward, Esteban Gutierrez…

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…and Ryan Hunter-Reay and Josef Newgarden

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It’s on!

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Saturday at the Race of Champions - Team Nordic comes through to WIN the Nation’s Cup…

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Today at the Foro Sol amphitheater in Mexico City, Team Nordic, comprised of endurance driver Tom Kristensen and World RallyCross Champion Johan Kristoffersson, beat Team Germany, made of Formula 1 driver Sebastien Vettel and Formula 3 European Champion Mick Schumacher, by winning two heats to one.

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Left to right, Team Germany, Mick Schumacher & Sebastien Vettel and Champions Team Nordic, Tom Kristensen & Johan Kristoffersson:

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IndyCar drivers did great, as Team Brazil with IndyCar driver Helio Castroneves and Formula E driver Lucas Di Grassi and Team Mexico, with IndyCar drivers Pato O’Ward and Esteban Gutierrez both made it to the Semi-Final, just below the Final, only to lose to Teams Germany and Nordic.

Pato was especially impressive, as his Semi-Final was against Johan Kristoffersson and was in the RX Supercar Lite cars - a car Johan drives regularly but Pato has never driven - yet he almost beat Johan.

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Watch this:

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https://twitter.com/RaceOfChampions/status/1086735466760671232

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Too close!

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Sunday will be every man for himself as they all go for the Champion of Champions.

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Tulsa, Oklahoma - Chistopher Bell takes his 3rd Chili Bowl Nationals in a row…

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After a full day of whittling the competition down to 24 final drivers, the A Main that was to determine the 2019 Chili Bowl Champion started in the wee hours of Sunday morning. Defending champion Christopher Bell of Norman Oklahoma took the lead of the 55-lap event on lap 54, passing leader Kyle Larson, on the low side, and as the two cars touched, Bell stayed low while Larson drifted up the track, unable to respond. Justin Grant completed the podium in 3rd.
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Christopher Bell’s late pass for the WIN

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The race started with Logan Seavey on the pole, Bell in P2 and Larson in P3. Two cautions voided the starts. On the 3rd complete start Larson jumped into P2 while Bell fell into P4 behind Justin Grant. For several laps Larson was all over Seavey, trying to take the lead. On lap 20 Bell passed Grant for P3.

NASCAR driver Larson took the lead of the race on lap 22 while shortly after, on lap 27, Bell passed Seavey to take P2 but a caution saw Seavey reclaim the spot. On lap 33 Bell slid under Seavey to retake P2 but again a caution allowed Seavey back into P2. On lap 34 Bell finally took P2 solidly and went after Larson, with Larson staying on the low side and Bell up high.

By lap 48 Larson and Bell were lapping the field. As lap 54 started Larson got Turn 1 wrong and slid up the track just enough to allow Bell in tight pursuit to go under him. The two cars banged wheels as Bell went to P1. Larson tried to get it back going into Turn 3 but harmlessly banged off Bell before clipping the wall after coming off Turn 4, as Christopher crossed the line in P1 for the WIN.

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Christopher Bell three-peats at the Chili Bowl

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IndyCar driver Conor Daly started the K Main on Saturday in P10 and finished in P7 - just out of the TOP SIX that advanced - ending his 2019 Chili Bowl adventure. Said Conor, “Pretty cool to be able to check the Chili Bowl Nationals off the racing bucket list. So badly wanted to transfer to at least the J Main today but we missed it by 1 spot. Track was tough to pass on this morning. Some great experience gained and I’ll definitely be back for more next year.”

Conor Daly (left) and Kyle Larson - day of disappointment

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That’s it for the SuperBowl of Midget racing for another year. Long live the Chili Bowl!

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ROC in Mexico - the 2019 Champion of Champions is Benito Guerra!..

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The final for the Champion of Champions on Sunday at the Race of Champions came down to Le Mans WINNER Loic Duval and Mexican Rally Champion Benito Guerra in a best-of-3, after all the other drivers in this first ROC in Mexico had been eliminated. Final Heat 1 was in the RX Supercar Lite and Final Heat 2 was in the Vuhl 05 ROC Edition car and Guerra took both of 'em to take the title for 2019, 2 to 0.

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Benito Guerra - 2019 Champion of Champions

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The partisan Mexican crowd mobbed the Champion

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Perrenial favorites and former champions Sebastien Vettel and David Coulthard had been eliminated rather early. Yesterday’s Nation’s Cup WINNERS Tom Kristensen and Johan Kristoffersson lost out to Duval and Pato O’Ward in the Quarter Finals.

Mexican IndyCar drivers Pato O’Ward and Esteban Gutierrez both made it all the way to the Semi Finals, which further delighted the Mexican crowd, only to lose to Duval and Guerra, respectively.

IndyCar drivers do great - Pato (left) and Esteban

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Here is the final contest in the Vuhl 05 ROC Edition cars:

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https://twitter.com/RaceOfChampions/status/1087101857359675392

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That’s it for another fun Race of Champions!

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He did it again!..Rinus Veekay triumphs in Malaysia…

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As we reported in post # 381, 2018 Pro Mazda (now “Indy Pro 2000”) Champion Rinus VeeKay is keeping sharp in the off-season by competing in the Asian F3 Winter Series, driving for Dragon Hitech GP. A week ago the talented Nederlander debuted in the 9-race series by taking 2 WINS and a P3 at the Thailand rounds 1, 2 and 3. This weekend in Malaysia at Sepang in series rounds 4, 5 and 6, Rinus took 2 more WINS and a P2.

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Rinus WINS again for Dragon Hitech GP

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Rinus led from pole to checker in both Race 1 and Race 2, beating Ye Yifei for Absolute Racing in both cases. In Race 3 VeeKay again led from pole but his front wing flap broke mid-race and Ye was able to pass him for the WIN. Rinus’ Dragon teammate, Alessandro Ghiretti, was P3 in all 3 races.

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The Race 2 podium - that’s Ye Yifei in P2 on the left, Rinus van Kalmthout in P1 in the middle and Alessandro Ghiretti in P3 on the right:

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VeeKay now leads Yifei in the title hunt 133 points to 104, with Ghiretti a distant 3rd with 74 points. The final 3 rounds will be in late February, again at Sepang.

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Carlin firms up their plans for 2019 a bit more…

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Announced today, one thing we already knew and one thing we suspected was true - both regarding NTT IndyCar Series team Carlin, which was new to the series in 2018, following years of excellence in junior formulas in both the United States and in Europe.

We knew that Carlin’s 2018 driver Max Chilton would be returning to the team to drive the # 59 car for 2019, again with sponsorship from financial services company Gallagher Global.

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Max Chilton

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We also knew that veteran Charlie Kimball, Carlin’s other 2018 driver, was going to have less sponsorship from his guys at Novo Nordisk and suspected that might affect his 2019 plans. Today, Carlin CONFIRMED Chilton’s return full-time and Kimball’s return on a part-time basis. What Carlin did not confirm was how many and which races Kimball would run in the # 23 car, and if someone else would be in the car for the races he would not run.

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Charlie Kimball, with wife Kathleen and baby Hannah

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Way back in post # 239 we mentioned that the only other guy to test a car for Carlin in the off-season has been Road to Indy ace driver RC Enerson, who tested at Circuit of the Americas for the team. So, we are STILL waiting to see if Carlin and RC have come to any kind of agreement for 2019, or if the # 23 will sit idle for some races.

We can also tell you that RC just started a new website and this is all it has on it, but it’s enough to have us geeking out!

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C’mon, Carlin. Give us the full story!

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With this announcement, the only 2018 team that has not given out with any confirmed 2019 plans is Juncos Racing.

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Jack Harvey’s workload has been increased by about 70% for 2019…

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Last year England’s Jack Harvey drove in 6 IndyCar races for Meyer Shank Racing, including the Indy 500. Just announced, the team have committed to doing 10 races this year, including again the Indy 500.
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Jack gets in the # 60 Honda for MSR more times in 2019

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It was an increased commitment by sponsors AutoNation and Sirius XM that will allow the two-time Vice-Champion of Indy Lights to increase his workload. In addition to the Indy 500 Jack will do St. Petersburg, Circuit of The Americas, Barber Motorsports Park, Long Beach, the INDYCAR Grand Prix at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Road America, Mid-Ohio, Portland and Laguna Seca - all road or street course races. Meyer Shank Racing will once again be technically partnered with fellow Honda team Arrow SPM.

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Team owner Mike Shank (left) with Jack Harvey at Indy in 2018

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In the off-season Jack has been intensely working out and is at least 24 pounds lighter, due to both training and nutrition. His intention is to make a big enough splash in 2019 to get the team a full season budget in 2020. The # 60 Honda will be at Circuit of the Americas for the February IndyCar test, there.

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Racer magazine’s Marshall Pruett interviews Ricardo Juncos at Daytona…

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IndyCar team owner Ricardo Juncos will also be an IMSA SportsCar team owner in 2019, with a brand new Cadillac DPi-V.R. program in the DPi class of the Weathertech SportsCar Championship series, with the team making its debut this weekend at the Rolex 24 at Daytona.

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Here, Pruett interviews the Argentinian:

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RACER: Juncos Ready For IMSA Cadillac DPi Debut

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Driving the # 50 Caddy all season will be Pro Mazda alum Will Owen, while added in for Daytona will be 2017 Indy Lights Champion Kyle Kaiser and IndyCar driver Rene Binder, as well as Argentine Agustin Canapino. Binder is also scheduled to drive at Sebring, Watkins Glen and Road Atlanta - the other three Michelin Endurance Cup races on the schedule.

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It’s TIME!..for the first big race of the 2019 motorsport season…the Rolex 24 at Daytona…

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2019 is the 50th anniversary of the International Motor Sports Association - aka IMSA - the premier sanctioning body for SportsCar competition in North America. And IMSA is kicking off their 50th season by once again sanctioning one of the world’s great endurance races, the Rolex 24 at Daytona.

This is the 57th iteration of this race and this year there are 47 cars in four different classes entered. Here is the 2019 class picture:

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So, let’s GO!

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continued…

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It’s TIME!..for the first big race of the 2019 motorsport season…the Rolex 24 at Daytona…(part 2)…

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It’s the first race of the 2019 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and the first of the four Michelin Endurance Cup races - the endurance racing championship within the IMSA championship. This is one that great drivers from all disciplines the world over want to try and want to win, and that includes IndyCar drivers - a LOT of them, every year - and that is why we follow the Rolex 24.

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There will be two races this weekend - the Rolex 24 at Daytona, starting on Saturday and ending on Sunday, and the first race of the Michelin Pilot Challenge series, the BMW Endurance Challenge at Daytona on Friday, and IndyCar drivers, past and present, will be in both. Let’s see who they are, starting with the WeatherTech series:

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DPi class - IndyCar driver Mike Conway will be an add for Daytona in the # 5 Mustang Sampling Cadillac DPi-V.R. for Action Express. his co-drivers will be regulars Filipe Albuquerque and Joao Barbosa and fellow add Christian Fittipaldi. Fittipaldi, who started his long and distinguished career as a Champ Car star, is ending it this weekend. This is his last race.

Mike Conway

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IndyCar driver Juan Pablo Montoya will drive the full season in the # 6 Acura ARX-05 with co-driver and former champion Dane Cameron, for Acura Team Penske. Added in for Daytona will be IndyCar driver Simon Pagenaud.

Juan Pablo Montoya (left) and Simon Pagenaud

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IndyCar driver Helio Castroneves will be in the other Acura Team Penske car for the full season, the # 7 Acura ARX-05 DPi, with co-driver and former champion Ricky Taylor. Added in for Daytona will be IndyCar driver Alexander Rossi.

Helio Castroneves (left) and Alexander Rossi

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Eric Curran and Felipe Nasr were the 2018 IMSA P-class Champions in the # 31 Whelen Cadillac DPi-V.R. for Action Express. Felipe returns for 2019 and his all-season co-driver will be Pro Mazda alum Pipo Derani, while Eric will be the add for all 4 Michelin Endurance Cup races.

Luis Felipe “Pipo” Derani

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Pro Mazda alum Will Owen is running the full season for Juncos Racing in their first year campaigning the # 50 Cadillac DPi-V.R. Added in for Daytona are Agustin Canapino, IndyCar driver Rene Binder and fellow IndyCar driver and 2017 Indy Lights Champion Kyle Kaiser. All of these drivers are either current or former drivers for Juncos in other series. Rene is slated to do all 4 Michelin Endurance Cup races in the car.

left to right, Will Owen, Rene Binder and Kyle Kaiser

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Indy Lights alum Juan Piedrahita is slated to drive the # 84 Cadillac DPi-V.R. for JDC-MIller Motorsports as an add for Daytona to the regular squad of Stephen Simpson and Simon Trummer. Also added for Daytona will be Chris Miller.

Juan Piedrahita

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Indy Lights Champion and IndyCar driver Tristan Vautier will be in the other JDC-Miller Motorsports Cadillac DPi-V.R., the # 85, for the full season with co-driver Misha Goikhberg. Formula 1 legend and IndyCar driver Rubens Barrichello is an add for Daytona, along with GP3 young gun Devlin DeFrancesco.

Tristan Vautier (left) and Rubens Barrichello

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LMP2 class - IndyCar driver Sebastian Saavedra will be an add in the # 18 ORECA 07 Gibson for DragonSpeed, with regulars Roberto Gonzalez and Pastor Maldonado. Also added for Daytona will be Ryan Cullen.

Sebastian Saavedra

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2018 IMSA Prototype Challenge Champion and Pro Mazda (now “Indy Pro 2000”) driver Kris Wright will drive the # 38 ORECA 07 Gibson for Performance Tech Motorsports at Daytona. His co-drivers will be season regular Kyle Masson and adds Cameron Cassels and Dr. Robert Masson. Indy Lights driver and 2017 PC class Champion James French is slated to be the regular in this car, along with Kyle, for the rest of 2019, but he’s not in the car at Daytona.

Kris Wright

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Brit Ben Hanley will be an IndyCar driver in 2019 for the first time. He is an add for Daytona in the # 81 ORECA 07 Gibson for DragonSpeed, helping out regulars Henrik Hedman and Nicolas Lapierre. Also added in is Aussie James Allen.

Ben Hanley

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It’s TIME!..for the first big race of the 2019 motorsport season…the Rolex 24 at Daytona…(part 3)…

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GTLM class - Two-time IndyCar Champion Alex Zanardi will come to Daytona as an add in the # 24 BMW M8 GTE for BMW Team RLL. Co-drivers will be team regulars John Edwards and Jesse Krohn and fellow add Chaz Mostert of Supercars fame. The car is fitted with a special steering wheel so that double-amputee Zanardi can compete. (see post # 342)

Allesandro Zanardi

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Connor de Phillippe - a Pro Mazda alum and also a Team USA Scholarship WINNER - will be a season regular in the # 25 sister BMW M8 GTE for BMW Team RLL. Co-driver for the season was supposed to be Tom Blomqvist but the Englishman is having visa problems and will be replaced with Brazilian Augusto Farfus for Daytona, at least. Daytona adds for the car will be Philipp Eng and Indy Lights / IndyCar driver Colton Herta.

Connor de Phillippe (left) and Colton Herta

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4-time IndyCar Champion Sebastien Bourdais will jump into the # 66 Ford GT for Ford Chip Ganassi for Daytona, helping out regulars Joey Hand and Dirk Mueller. This same teaming has been very successful at both Daytona and Le Mans in the past.

Sebastien Bourdais

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The sister car, the # 67 Ford GT for Ford Chip Ganassi, will be piloted by IndyCar driver Ryan Briscoe for the season, with co-driver Richard Westbrook. Added in for Daytona will be 5-time - including 2018 - IndyCar Champion Scott Dixon. As with the other Ford, this teaming has yielded a lot of success at both Daytona and Le Mans.

Ryan Briscoe (left) and Scott Dixon

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GTD class - Scott Hargrove - a Road to Indy ace driver and the holder of multiple Porsche Cup titles - will run the full season with fellow Canadian and 2018 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada Champ Zacharie Robichon, driving the # 9 Porsche 911 GT3 R for PFAFF Motorsports. Added in for Daytona will be Lars Kerns and Dennis Olsen.

Scott Hargrove

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New IMSA team AIM Vasser Sullivan will put IndyCar driver and broadcaster Townsend Bell in the # 12 Lexus RCF GT3 for the season, with co-driver Frankie Montecalvo. Added in for Daytona will be Jeff Segal and Indy Lights driver Aaron Telitz, the 2017 Pro Mazda Champion. This is the only all-American team on the grid.

Townsend Bell (left) and Aaron Telitz

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In the sister car, the # 14 Lexus RCF GT3 for AIM Vasser Sullivan, the drivers for the season will be IndyCar driver Jack Hawksworth and Richard Heistand. Added in for Daytona will be Nick Cassidy and the very versatile USF2000 alum Austin Cindric.

Jack Hawksworth (left) and Austin Cindric

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2017 Pro Mazda (now “Indy Pro 2000”) Champion and Indy Lights driver Victor Franzoni will drive the # 13 Ferrari 488 GT3 for Via Italia Racing at the Roar, along with co-drivers Chico Longo and Marcos Gomes. These guys are coming off a spectacular WIN at the 500K of Sao Paulo in a Lamborghini Huracan GT3, also for Via Italia Racing (see post # 351). Also driving at Daytona will be Andrea Bertolini.

Victor Franzoni

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It’s TIME!..for the first big race of the 2019 motorsport season…the Rolex 24 at Daytona…(part 4)…

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IndyCar driver Katherine Legge will campaign for the full season in the # 57 Acura NSX GT3 for Heinricher Racing w / Meyer Shank Racing with co-driver Jackie Heinricher, but Jackie is out for Daytona with a back injury, so 2-time GTD-class Champion Christina Nielsen will substitute at Daytona. Added in for Daytona will be former IndyCar drivers Ana Beatriz and Simona de Silvestro. Beatriz will also do Sebring, Watkins Glen and the Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta.

left to right, Katherine Legge, Ana Beatriz and Simona de Silvestro

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In the sister car, the # 86 Acura NSX GT3 for Meyer Shank Racing, IndyCar alum AJ Allmendinger returns to drive for MIke Shank for Daytona, with co-drivers and team regulars Trent Hindman and Mario Farnbacher. Also added in will be Justin Marks.

AJ Allmendinger

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Next, let’s see the IndyCar folks in the Michelin Pilot Challenge race, the BMW Endurance Challenge at Daytona, to be held on Friday;

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Grand Sport class - Road to Indy ace driver and multiple Porsche Cup title-holder Scott Hargrove will pull double duty, as in addition to his debut in the GTD class of the WeatherTech series, he will also debut in the Michelin Pilot Challenge in the # 13 Porsche Cayman GT4 MR for AWA. His co-driver will be fellow Canadian Orey Fidani.

Scott Hargrove

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Also pulling double duty this weekend will be multi-talented USF2000 alum Austin Cindric. Not only will Austin be in the WeatherTech GTD class for AIM Vasser Sullivan but he will also campaign the # 22 Ford GT4 Mustang for Multimatic Motorsports - a duty he has done in years past. His co-drivers will be Chase Briscoe and Billy Johnson.

Austin Cindric

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Champ Car veteran driver Jan Heylen will drive the # 28 Porsche Cayman GT4 MR for RennSport 1. His co-drivers will be Charlie Luck and Fred Poordad.

Jan Heylen

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USF2000 alum and Porsche Cup champion Jesse Lazare will once again team with fellow Canadian Porsche Cup driver Corey Fergus in the # 69 McLaren GT4 for Motorsports In Action, as they did in 2018 with great success.

Jesse Lazare

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Touring Car class - USF2000 driver Russ McDonough will drive the # 12 Audi RS3 LMS TCR for eEuropartsDotCom ROWE Racing. His co-driver will be New Yorker Ryan Nash.

Russell McDonough

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Indy Lights driver Shelby Blackstock will drive the # 37 Honda Civic TCR - a new car make to the series - for LA Honda World Racing, with co-driver Tom O’Gorman.

Shelby Blackstock

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Driving the LA Honda World Racing sister car, the # 52 Honda Civic TCR, will be Road to Indy Shootout participant and Team USA member Colin Mullan - a WINNING veteran of the now-defunct ST class from 2018. His co-driver will be Max Faulkner.

Colin Mullan

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Pro Mazda alum and paraplegic Michael Johnson will once again drive the # 54 Audi RS3 LMS TCR for JDC-Miller Motorsports, using hand controls. MJ’s co-drivers will be Stephen Simpson and South African Mikey Taylor. Simpson and Johnson earned 8 podiums last season, including their first series WIN.

Michael Johnson

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Thursday will be a day of a lot of practice for all classes and both series racing this weekend, as well as qualifying for all classes and both series that will be racing - a very busy day!

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Thursday at Daytona - lots of practice and qualifying…

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Both the cars from the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and from the Michelin Pilot Challenge series held practices today and also qualified for their respective races. The Weathertech series held 2 practices followed by qualifying and then ended the day with another practice in the night and under the lights - as the 24 hour race demands. The fastest times of the day in all but the GTD class were posted during qualifying. Let’s see who did what, starting with the DPi class:

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DPi class - during the qualifying the 26-year-old standing record for Daytona in any kind of car was finally broken by Oliver Jarvis in the # 77 Mazda RT24-P for Mazda Team Joest with a new track record of 01:33.685s for a speed of 136.792mph. Oli beat out former champion Ricky Taylor, qualifying the # 7 Acura ARX-05 for Acura Team Penske, by 0.188 seconds. 3rd on the starting grid will be the other Acura Team Penske car, the # 6, thanks to the qualifying efforts of IndyCar driver Juan Pablo Montoya.

Co-drivers in the # 77 are Tristen Nunez, the other season regular, and Daytona adds Timo Bernhard and Rene Rast. Co-drivers in the # 7 Acura are fellow regular and IndyCar driver Helio Castroneves and Daytona add and IndyCar driver Alexander Rossi. Co-driver in the # 6 Acura are fellow regular Dane Cameron and Daytona add and IndyCar driver Simon Pagenaud.
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The holder of Daytona’s track record - Oliver Jarvis for Mazda Team Joest

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LMP2 class - During qualifying James Allen posted the TOP TIME of the day and got on pole in the # 81 ORECA 07 for DragonSpeed with a time of 01:35.904s for a speed of 133.627mph. He was able to out-qualify Gabriel Aubry in the # 52 ORECA 07 for PR1 / Mathiasen Motorsports by 0.523 seconds. The 3rd-fastest time on the day was posted in the evening P-3 session by IndyCar driver Ben Hanley in the pole-sitting # 81 for Dragonspeed, while P3 for qualifying was Dragonspeed’s other ORECA, the # 18, thanks to season regular Pastor Maldenado.

Co-drivers in the # 81 are regulars Henrik Hedman and Nicolas Lapierre. co-drivers in the # 52 are regular Matthew McMurry and Daytona adds Mark Kvamme and Enzo Guibbert, while co-drivers in the # 18 are Roberto Gonzalez, the season regular, and adds Ryan Cullen and IndyCar driver Sebastian Saavedra.

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LMP2 pole-sitter and TOP TIME of the day for Aussie James Allen

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GTLM class - It was veteran Nick Tandy who pulled down pole and the day’s TOP TIME in the # 911 Porsche 911 RSR for Porsche GT Team with a time of 01:42.257s for a speed of 125.325mph. He was on top of 2018 Champion Jan Magnussen in the # 3 Corvette C7.R for Corvette Racing by 0.326 seconds. Qualifying P3 was IndyCar driver Ryan Briscoe in the # 67 Ford GT for Ford Chip Ganassi.

Nick’s co-drivers in the # 911 are fellow regular Patrick Pilet and Daytona add Freddy Makowiecki. Co-drivers in the 'Vette are fellow regular and 2018 Champion Antonio Garcia and the add for the 24, German MIke Rockenfeller. Ryan will drive with fellow regular Richard Westbrook and Daytona add Scott Dixon, the 2018 IndyCar Champion.

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Nick Tandy grabs yet another pole for Porsche GT Team

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GTD class - The TOP TIME of the day for the class was posted in the night, in the P-3 session by BMW great Bill Auberlen in the # 96 BMW M6 GT3 for Turner Motorsports with a time of 01:45.165s for a speed of 121.859mph. Bill was able to top the pole-sitting time of Marcos Gomes, driving the # 13 Ferrari 488 GT3 for Via Italia Racing. Marcos’ time was 01:45.257s for a speed of 121.753mph. The 3rd-fastest time of the day was again in the P-3 session and it was posted by Daniel Serra in the # 51 Spirit of Race Ferrari 488 GT3. P2 in qualifying was Ben Keating in the # 33 Riley Motorsports / Team AMG Mercedes-AMG GT3 and P3 on the grid will be Trent Hindman in the # 86 Acura NSX GT3 for Meyer Shank Racing.

Co-drivers in the # 96 are Robby Foley, Dillon Machavern and Jens Klingmann. Co-drivers in the # 13 are Chico Longo, Andrea Bertolini and IndyCar driver Victor Franzoni. Co-drivers in the # 51 are Paul Dalla Lana, Pedro Lamy and Mathias Lauda. Co-drivers of the # 86 are Mario Farnbacher, Justin Marks and IndyCar alum AJ Allmendinger.

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On the pole in GTD class is Marcos Gomes for Via Italia Racing - first time at Daytona.

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continued…

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M

[MarkyS]

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Thursday at Daytona - lots of practice and qualifying…(part 2)…

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Next, let’s look at the performances of the Michelin Pilot Challenge series, through 4 practices, followed by qualifying, starting with the top-performing Grand Sport class and ending with the Touring Car class:

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GS class - following the 4 practices the TOP TIME of the day was posted in qualifying by Paul Holton in the # 75 Compass Racing McLaren GT4 with a time of 01:52.143s for a speed of 114.277mph - a new track record. He bested the qualifying time of Corey Fergus in the # 69 McLarent GT4 for Motorsports in Action by a healthy 0.804 seconds. P3 on the grid was Christian Hohenadel in the # 57 Winward Racing / HTP Motorsport Mercedes-AMG.

Co-driver in the # 75 is Kuno Wittmer . Co-driver in the # 69 is IndyCar driver Jesse Lazare and co-driver in the # 57 is Bryce Ward.

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The pole-sitting / record-holding McLaren GT4 of Compass Racing

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TCR class - Again following the 4 practices the TOP TIME of the day was posted during qualifying and on the pole is IndyCar driver and paraplegic Michael Johnson who drove the # 54 Audi RS3 LMS TCR for JDC-Miller Motorsports with a time of 0 1:58.433s for a speed of 108.208mph - again, a new track record. Michael beat out Lee Carpentier in the # 10 eEuropartsDotcom ROWE Racing Audi RS3 LMS TCR by a healthy 0.852 seconds. P3 on the grid will be the # 84 Atlanta Speedwerks Honda Civic TCR, thanks to the efforts of Brian Henderson.

Co-drivers in the # 54 are Stephen Simpson and Mikey Taylor. Co-driver in the # 10 is Kieron O’Rourke and co-driver in the # 84 is Todd Lamb.

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Michael Johnson takes pole and the record for JDC-MIller Motorsports

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On Friday the Michelin Pilot Challenge guys will have a final practice, followed by a practice by the WeatherTech gang. Then, the Michelin guys will hold their race, the BMW Endurance Challenge At Daytona.

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M

[MarkyS]

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The Missus is retiring…

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IndyCar driver Graham Rahal’s wife Courtney Force, announced on Thursday that she is going to retire from competition in the NHRA Funny Car division.The reasons given were a bit cryptic, as she stated, “This was a personal choice as I feel I’m ready to see what the next chapter in my life has in store for me, while spending more time with family.”

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Courtney Force

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The immediate rumor - shot down by the family - was that Courtney was pregnant. Apparently not so, though it may be that Graham and Courtney are planning on a family. Force says she is not going to entirely leave the NHRA but rather just stop driving. Her sponsorship will now go to her sister Brittany Force - a great driver in her own right. .
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The 30-year old is the most successful female Funny Car driver in the sport’s history and one of the sport’s biggest draws. The NHRA is going to miss her being in the car.

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M

[MarkyS]

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Mike’s out - British IndyCar driver Mike Conway will not be at Daytona, after all…

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Endurance specialist Mike Conway was supposed to be one of the adds for the # 5 Mustang Sampling Cadillac DPi-V.R. for Action Express at the Rolex 24 at Daytona but apparently Mike’s people didn’t put in for his visa to come to the States early enough, as he doesn’t have the dingus in hand to get here in time for the Saturday / Sunday race.

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Mike Conway

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Typically, it takes about two months to get approved and Mike was late. He’s not the only one. Also failing to get a visa is Tom Blomqvist who was supposed to race for BMW Team RLL in the # 25 BMW M8 GTE in the GTLM class. He is being replaced by Augusto Farfus for Daytona, but should be here for Sebring, in early March.

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Rather than replace Mike the Action Express boys will run instead with just three drivers - regulars Joao Barbosa and Filipe Albuquerque and the other add, Christian Fittipaldi, making his last SportsCar start before retiring. Mike is going to be the add for the other 3 Michelin Endurance Cup races.

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M