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

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Great news for Kyle Kaiser - He’ll be in the Bubba Burger SportsCar Grand Prix at Long Beach, this weekend…

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This coming weekend, IMSA’s WeatherTech SportsCar Championship series will unleash the DPi class and the GTLM class of cars on the street course at Long Beach, in support of the IndyCar race weekend, and announced today, the 2017 Indy Lights Champion Kyle Kaiser will be in the # 50 Cadillac DPi-V.R. for Juncos Racing, alongside another IndyCar alum, Will Owen.

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Juncos hot shoes Kyle Kaiser (left) and Will Owen

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Both Kaiser and Owen drove for Juncos in the Road to Indy and they were also in the # 50 in its debut at Daytona, this year. The car suffered the typical teething problems of a first effort but they are hoping for a much nicer ride at Long Beach, where Will made his SportsCar debut in 2017, with a P5.

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Other IndyCar guys at Long Beach for the Bubba Burger race will be Juan Pablo Montoya and Helio Castroneves for Team Penske in Acura DPis, PIpo Derani for Action Express and Tristan Vautier for JDC-Miller Motorsports in Cadillac DPIs, Connor de Phillippe in a BMW M8 GTE for BMW Team RLL and Ryan Briscoe in a Ford GT for Ford Chip Ganassi.

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IndyCar alums at Long Beach: (left to right), Juan Pablo Montoya, Helio Castroneves, Pipo Derani…

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…and Tristan Vautier, Connor de Phillippe and Ryan Briscoe

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Look for the Long Beach race thread to keep abreast of them…

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Fernando Alonso was a good 'ol boy for a day, this week…

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That is to say the former F1 Champion was tooling around Texas Motor Speedway for the day on Tuesday in his orange and blue Chevrolet IndyCar, getting acclimated once again to the high speeds of a super speedway, in preparation for his 2nd attempt at the Indy 500 this May. The car will be a McLaren stand-alone effort, rather than a satellite for Andretti Autosport, as was the case in his first 500 in 2017.

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Fernando’s new look - McLaren orange, of course, but a lot of blue, too

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Alonso was not trying to replicate the Indianapolis experience.TMS is a banked oval that doesn’t feel anything like IMS. He was instead trying to get all the little things out of the way - gelling with the team, seat fit adjustments, communications - anything that will be necessary for a smooth month of May.

He was also getting used to again driving an IndyCar at well over 200 miles per hour in a confined space, and the unique challenges that always imposes on nerves and senses.

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Here is a quick vid with Fernando and Champ Car legend Johnny Rutherford, who was with him on Tuesday:

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https://twitter.com/IndyCar/status/1115989058667208704

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Remember the Speedy Awards?..

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Those were the unofficial awards handed out by the numbers crunchers who work for IndyCar - the guys and gals who keep track of the statistics that often tell the story better than anything you will see on TV, because the numbers don’t lie.

We did several posts detailing the Speedy Awards, showing which drivers were best at several different categories that aren’t so obvious, like the number of on-track passes a driver makes, or the average running position he has over a season.

IndyCar has decided that a lot of that statistic-watching is as fun as we did and they will now keep a running total of a series of stats and nominate each week the IndyCar “Power Rankings.”

What’s in them? The race results, of course, but also the qualifying results, on-track passes, on-track position passes and average running position throughout the race of each driver. IndyCar will then keep a TOP TEN ranking, which will change, race to race.

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Here are the TOP TEN following the IndyCar Classic at Circuit of the Americas: (the number in brackets is the same driver’s ranking following St. Petersburg - the previous race.)

1 - Josef Newgarden (tied for 1)

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2 - Colton Herta (9)

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3 - Will Power (tied for 1)

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4 - Scott Dixon (3)

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5 - Alexander Rossi (4)

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6 - Ryan Hunter-Reay (20)

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7 - Graham Rahal (11)

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8 - Felix Rosenqvist (4)

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9 - James Hinchcliffe (6)

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10 - Simon Pagenaud (8)

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It’s clear the biggest mover was Ryan Hunter-Reay who broke at St.Pete, earning him a 20, but was on the podium at Austin and so moves up in the ranking. Colton Herta went from a decent 9 at St. Pete to a 2 after his WIN at COTA.

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We’ll keep an eye on this.

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It’s a birthday! Jack Harvey turned 26 today…

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One of the best junior open-wheel drivers ever, the driver for the Meyer Shank Racing # 60 Honda IndyCar began his racing career like so many open-wheel drivers, in karting, starting at age 9 in his home town of Bassingham, Linconlshire in the UK. He was great at it, taking multiple national and international karting titles between 2003 and 2008.

In 2009 young Jack moved into Formula cars in Formula BMW driving for Fortec Motorsport and was Vice-Champion in 2010. He then went to Formula 3, driving for Carlin and became Champion for them in 2012.

In 2014 he came to the States to drive for Schmidt Peterson in Indy Lights and was Vice-Champion that year, tying Gabby Chaves for points and WINS, but losing to him on P2 finishes. In 2015 he made another shot at the Lights title but again had to settle for Vice-Champion, this time 2nd to Spencer Pigot.

Jack Harvey

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Jack has yet to get a full season of IndyCar, though this 2019 season will be his best, at 10 races, including his 3rd Indy 500. A great birthday present would be the news that 2020 will be his first full season in IndyCars. Happy Birthday, Jack!

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In case you missed it, NBC Sports has released an EXTENDED highlights reel…

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…from the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. Take a look:

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IndyCar Grand Prix of Long Beach 2019 | EXTENDED HIGHLIGHTS | 4/14/19 | NBC Sports

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It was Alexander Rossi Day, 2.0 at the Beach. The guy is making a modern Al Unser Jr. of himself. When you consider that more than half the field had the same car, essentially - a Honda Dallara - it’s remarkable how much Rossi took off. Just amazing.

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if you go looking for Gateway Motorsports Park on the web for any future event…

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…the place has changed names and websites. The great track in the shadow of the beautiful St. Louis Gateway Arch is now World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway.

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https://twitter.com/WWTRaceway/status/1118569110315646976

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The IndyCar race at WWT Raceway, the Bommarito Automotive Group 500, is on schedule for August 23-24. This will be the 3rd IndyCar race there since the series returned in 2017 after a 14-year absense, and if the first two are any indication, it’s going to be a barn-burner.

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The Power Rankings are out, following the race at Barber…

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The Power Rankings are Indycar’s way of watching the performance of drivers based on more than just WINS, podiums and series points. They also take a look at other factors, such as qualifying position, on-track passes in a race, on-track passes for position and the average running position throughout the race of each driver. All those numbers are calculated to give a post-race ranking for a TOP TEN running tally.

We last looked at the numbers following the race at Circuit of the Americas in post # 552. Now, we add in the numbers for Barber Motorsports Park. Here are the TOP TEN: (the number in brackets is the same driver’s ranking following COTA - the previous race.)

1 - Joseph Newgarden, Team Penske (1)

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2 - Takuma Sato, Rahal Letterman Lanigan (not ranked)

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3 - Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing (4)

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4 - Alexander Rossi, Andretti Autosport (5)

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5 - Will Power, Team Penske (3)

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6 - James Hinchcliffe, Arrow Schmidt Peterson (9)

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7 - Ryan Hunter-Reay, Andretti Autosport (6)

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8 - Sebastien Bourdais, Dale Coyne Racing w/Vasser Sullivan (not ranked)

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9 - Felix Rosenqvist, Chip Ganassi Racing (8)

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10 - Colton Herta [R], Harding Steinbrenner Racing (2).

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Notable:

• Takuma was so dominant at Barber that he not only got in the TOP TEN for the first time but almost took the top spot, but Josef Newgarden had just enough of a good weekend to keep the number 1 ranking.

• Sebastien Bourdais also snuck in for the first time and Scott Dixon, Alexander Rossi and James Hinchcliffe all improved.

• Colton Herta dropped almost out, due to his DNF at Barber. With less of a cushion, Graham Rahal DNFd at Barber and dropped out of 7th. Simon Pagenaud was 10 after COTA and just dropped off after Barber.

• Will Power, Ryan Hunter-Reay and Felix Rosenqvist all slid down a little bit.

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Graham (left) and Simon - fall off

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The SCCA’s F3 Americas series is racing at Road Atlanta this weekend…

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…and we’ll be keeping an eye on it, as there are a bunch of IndyCar kids in the series, this season. Following two practice sessions the series was supposed to qualify, but the qually got rained out - flooded out, really.

The grid was instead set by series points, with USF2000 alum and F3 series rookie Dakota Dickerson on the pole for Global Racing Group, by virtue of his points lead.

But when Season Round 3 was run, this afternoon in the dry, it was F3 Americas sophomore Jacob Abel taking his first series WIN from his P2 start. Jacob is also a current IndyPro 2000 driver for family-run Abel Motorsports - his F3 Americas team. P2 was sophomore Baltazar Leguizamon for Global Racing Group from his P6 start, and Dakota came in P3.

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IndyCar driver Jacob Abel in P1 at Road Atlanta, Round 3

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The Round 3 podium, left to right - Jacob Abel in P1, Baltazar Leguizamon in P2 and Dakota Dickerson in P3:
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Notable:

• Abel was P1 in one practice and P2 to Dickerson in the other, so his WIN is no surprise. Both guys are fast.

• Leguizamon was more the surprise performer, as he was P4 and P7 in the two practices, but was speedy in the race.
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Congrats, Jacob! Season Rounds 4 & 5 will be run on Saturday.

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On Friday, three series rookies tasted the high-banked oval at TMS…

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IndyCar rookies Colton Herta for Harding Steinbrenner, Ben Hanley for DragonSpeed and Marcus Ericsson for Arrow Schmidt Peterson all got their first drive on a super speedway at 225 miles per hour as all three visited Texas Motor Speedway for the day - All in service of their 2019 Indy 500 attempts in May.

Just as Fernando Alonso had done a week previous with his McLaren Chevy, (see post # 551) the three just wanted to get used to life at those speeds with walls just off their right shoulders.

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Colton Herta (right) confers with Al Unser Jr. on the Speedway pit lane

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Marcus Ericsson gets advice from teammate James Hinchcliffe

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Ben Hanley gets the once-over before going out

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Herta and Ericsson had some real oval pros helping them out, with veterans Al Unser Jr. and James Hinchcliffe respectively, whispering in their ears, while Ben Hanley had no such advice to get. For him, it was build up more slowely but get their at the end of the day.

Said Ben, “(It’s) like nothing else. You watch the (camera) on-boards and stuff and you think, ‘Yeah, yeah, yeah,’ but then it’s a completely different sport.

“It’s good. I’m just taking to take it easy and slowly build up. The first time this morning was just for me to get comfortable in the car with the driver position and resting the head on the headrest and things like that. I’m just trying to take it really easy and slowly build up, but I’m enjoying it a lot.”

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left to right, Ben Hanley, Colton Herta and Marcus Ericsson

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Of the three, only Colton Herta has experience at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and it’s great experience. Colton was the 2018 WINNER of the Indy Lights Freedom 100 at IMS, but those cars don’t get near the speeds of the big cars.

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Saturday at Road Atlanta - the SCCA’s F3 Americas series hold 2 races…

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Following Season Round 3 on Friday, (see post # 557), the gang from F3 Americas held Rounds 4 & 5 on Saturday, in sketchy weather. Starting on pole for Round 4 was 2018 F4 United States Champion and USF2000 alum Dakota Dickerson for Global Racing Group.

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Dakota Dickerson, # 72 and Jacob Abel, # 51 at the start

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Early in the race the rain started to sprinkle a bit and P2 Jacob Abel for Abel Motorsports, P3 Baltazar Leguizamon for GRG and P5 James Roe for GRG all went off in the esses on their slicks, with only Leguizamon needing a push to rejoin. A little later, Dickerson also went off from a good lead and rejoined 2 laps down.

That left the WIN for Indy Pro 2000 driver Jacob Abel - his 2nd of the weekend. P2 was another Indy Pro 2000 guy, Parker Locke for Velocity Racing Development, while P3 went to rookie Austin Kaszuba for Kiwi Motorsport.

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The Round 4 podium guys, left to right - Jacob Abel in P1, Parker Locke in P2 and Austin Kaszuba in P3:

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Round 5 had rookie Kent Vaccaro for Momentum Motorsports on the pole, with Dakota Dickerson next to him in P2, but when the contest was over the experienced guys all returned to the podium as Dickerson took the WIN for Global Racing Group, while P2 went to teammate Baltazar Leguizamon and Jacob Abel took his 3rd podium of the weekend with a P3 for Abel Motorsports.

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The Round 5 podium, left to right - Dakota Dickerson in P1, Baltazar Leguizamon in P2 and Jacob Abel in P3:

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Series points have yet to be awarded for the three Road Atlanta rounds, but Jacob Abel should be leading, with Dakota Dickerson in 2nd, when they are. The next rounds for F3 Americas will be at Pittsburgh International Race Complex, June 21-23.

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It was a great weekend for the IndyCar guys in the field - Two WINS for Indy Pro 2000 driver Jacob Abel and a WIN for USF2000 alum Dakota Dickerson, with a P2 for Indy Pro 2000 driver Parker Locke - Proud of you boys!!

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He’s in!..JR Hildebrand is confirmed for the 2019 Indy 500…

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…and as he did last year, JR will once again drive for Dreyer & Reinbold Racing, once again sponsored by Saleforce, but this time in the # 48 car, as a tribute to the late Dan Gurney, whose team took that number to many great victories…

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JR Hildebrand

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Hildebrand will be teaming with another Dreyer & Reinbold favorite, Sage Karam, who was already confirmed for the WIX Filters sponsored # 24 car. (see post # 474). Both drivers have shown great speed at Indianapolis in the past and both were young lions in the Mazda Road to Indy, where BOTH were Champions in USF2000 and Indy Lights.

Sage had a P9 in his rookie assault at Indy, from a P31 start, and JR famously had a P2 in his rookie start, when he hit the wall to avoid a slower car on the final lap, while leading the 2011 Indy 500, allowing the late Dan Wheldon to WIN, instead.
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Sage Karam (left) and Dan Wheldon

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Said JR, “Last year, we had a great relationship with Dennis Reinbold’s DRR team in our initial Indy 500 effort. I started my IndyCar career with Dennis back in 2010 when he brought me up to the big leagues in IndyCar racing. We have always had a great rapport over the years. I have always been impressed with the speed in the race of the DRR team.

I’m thrilled to have Salesforce back on our racecar, and also honoring the great Dan Gurney with the # 48 this year. Dan was one of my racing heroes, [and his] # 48 won the 1975 Indy 500 with Bobby Unser driving. Now, we’ll celebrate Dan’s great racing achievements with the #48 car.”

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So far, there are 34 drivers and 36 cars CONFIRMED for the 2019 Indy 500. There are going to be more driver confirmations, as we head into May. Stay tuned!

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Speaking of Sage Karam…

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…as we did in the post above, the 24-year-old IndyCar driver, Road to Indy ace and IMSA SportsCar driver will be adding rallycross to his resume this year, as announced last week, Sage will drive an ARX2 car for Dreyer & Reinbold Racing for 4 races this year, starting at Mid-Ohio on June 8-9 in the # 24 WIX Filters car and also including World Wide Technology Raceway (Gateway), on July 13-14 in the # 24 ISMI Springs car.
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Sage Karam - rallycross added to an extensive resume

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Sage will team with DRR’s regular Americas Rallycross Championship driver, Cole Keatts, who was recently announced for an ARX2 full season in the # 53 DRR machine.

Cole Keatts

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Said Sage, “I am very excited to jump into the ARX2 class at Mid-Ohio and Gateway in June and July with Dreyer & Reinbold Racing. I have tested the ARX2 car for DRR last year, but the dirt component is completely new to me. I have only raced on pavement throughout my career, so getting onto the dirt side will be a learning process. Cole’s background is through the dirt in off-road racing and he can help me a bit.

“But overall the ARX Rallycross series looks to be a blast and I can’t wait to test the DRR race car soon and then drive the WIX Filters/ISMI Springs machine at the races.”

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Sage’s car, the # 24 ARX2

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Wednesday at Indianapolis - the first test of the year on the big oval…

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…At least 29 cars and drivers showed up at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway today for the first test of the cars this season, in anticipation of the 2019 Indy 500. The weather was not cooperative and rain stopped the first session from starting on schedule, though it abated enough for an afternoon session and as many as 49 laps were turned by drivers in the first session before the yellow flag for rain came out again and stopped it.

We have here the first session results. This was the veteran’s session for veteran drivers who are full-season drivers, wih respect to ovals. The rookies and the non-full-season veterans will drive alone, later in the day, if the rain subsides.
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Here are the results from the T-1 session with times for the TOP FIVE: Total laps for this driver in ( )

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1 - Takuma Sato, Rahal Letterman Lanigan - time of 39.649s for a speed of 226.993mph (32)

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2 - Ed Carpenter, Ed Carpenter Racing - time of 39.750s for a speed of 226.414mph (33)

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3 - Spencer Pigot, Ed Carpenter Racing - time of 39.766s for a speed of 226.325mph (40)

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4 - Will Power, Team Penske - time of 39.783s for a speed of 226.225mph (40)

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5 - Ryan Hunter-Reay, Andretti Autosport - time of 39.826s for a speed of 225.982mph (32)

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6 - Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing (40)
7 - Ed Jones, Ed Carpenter Racing (27)
8 - Simon Pagenaud, Team Penske (40)
9 - Sebastien Bourdais, Dale Coyne Racing w/ Vasser Sullivan (31)
10 - Alexander Rossi, Andretti Autosport (39)

11 - Graham Rahal, Rahal Letterman Lanigan (47)
12 - Zach Veach, Andretti Autosport (39)
13 - Marco Andretti, Andretti Autosport (39)
14 - Josef Newgarden, Team Penske (38)
15 - James Hinchcliffe, Aroow Schmidt Peterson (49)
16 - Jack Harvey, Meyer Shank Racing w/ Arrow SPM (35)
17 - Matheus Leist, AJ Foyt Enterprises (28)
18 - Charlie Kimball, Carlin (14)
19 - Max Chilton, Carlin (19)
20 - Tony Kanaan, AJ Foyt Enterprises (3)

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Notable:

• Taku drives a Honda, Ed, Will and Spencer drive Chevys and Ryan is in a Honda - a good mix for the TOP FIVE.

• Max Chilton blew his Chevy engine, though we haven’t been told what failed, at this point, and it was the only expiration, so no reason for Chevy to panic, yet.

• Veteran Oriol Servia is here and in the # 77 for Arrow Schmidt Peterson, though he has yet to be confirmed for the race. This is a good sign he will get the ride. He will test in the afternoon Rookie / Refresher session, as he is not a ful-time driver and didn’t drive in all of last year’s ovals.

Left to right, Takuma Sato, Max Chilton and Oriol Servia

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The rain stopped eventually and will allow a Rookie / Refresher session in the afternoon.

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continued…

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Wednesday at Indianapolis - the first test of the year on the big oval…

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…The first session of the day was eventually stopped by a sprinkle of rain, but the rain ended early enough in the day to allow the track to dry, despite the cloud cover, and so a Rookie / Refresher session was able to be run.

This session is for the 4 series rookies and for all the veterans who were not full-timers last season and thus need a refresher on ovals - especially the super speedway. Ed Carpenter was not a full timer last season, but he was with respect to ovals last season, so he was in the veteran’s session, and needs no refresher.

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Here are the results from the T-2 session, with times for all: Total laps for each driver is in ( )

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1 - Colton Herta [R], Harding Steinbrenner Racing - time of 39.804s for a speed of 226.108mph (61)

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2 - Helio Castroneves, Team Penske - time of 39.900s for a speed of 226.565mph (45)

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3 - Oriol Servia, Arrow Schmidt Peterson - time of 40.403s for a speed of 222.755mph (38)

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4 - Felix Rosenqvist [R], Chip Ganassi Racing - time of 40.435s for a speed of 222.578mph (72)

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5 - Conor Daly, Andretti Autosport - time of 40.615s for a speed of 221.594mph (56)

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6 - Santino Ferrucci [R], Dale Coyne Racing - time of 40.791s for a speed of 220.637mph (63)

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7 - Marcus Ericsson [R], Arrow Schmidt Peterson - time of 40.838s for a speed of 220.384mph (59)

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8 - JR Hildebrand, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing - time of 40.867s for a speed of 220.227mph (42)

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9 - Fernando Alonso, McLaren Racing - time of 41.154s for a speed of 218.690mph (29)

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Notable:

• This test session counts towards all or part of the rookie orientation program for the 4 series rookies and all those needing refreshers. Following 10 laps at 205 - 210 miles per hour, they must run 15 laps between 210 and 215 miles per hour and then 15 laps between 215 and 220 miles per hour. They may or may not get them all in today.

• Completing rookie orientation were Felix Rosenqvist, Colton Herta, Santino Ferrucci and Marcus Ericsson. Completing refresher orientation was Conor Daly.

• Fernando Alonso had a mechanical early in the session, but managed to turn laps later in the session, once repaired. He was working on Phase 3 of his refresher orientation when the session ended and will finish Phase 3 in May, instead.

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Colton Herta - session fastest

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This was officially a test. The first official practice sessions for the 2019 Indy 500 will be in mid-May - right after the IndyCar GP of Indianapolis, on the road course. The track will be a lot warmer then.

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IndyCar has released a test highlights reel from Indianapolis…

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Open Test at Indianapolis Motor Speedway

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Racer magazine’s Marshall Pruett and driver Sebastien Bourdais speak of Wednesday at the Speedway…

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…and they involve McLaren’s Gil DeFerran - an old IndyCar guy, himself. Take a look:

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RACER: Indy Open Test Report

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Andretti Autosport’s Ryan Hunter-Reay will be racing at Mid-Ohio next weekend…

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There will be a number of IndyCar drivers at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course next weekend for the big IMSA SportsCar extravaganza, topped by the Acura Sports Car Challenge at Mid-Ohio - the fourth round of the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season. Most of those guys are former IndyCar drivers. There will be a few current ones, though, and Ryan Hunter-Reay will be one of them, as he will substitute for Brit Harry Tincknell in the DPi class # 55 Mazda RT24-P for Mazda Team Joest, sharing the car with Jonathan Bomarito. Tincknell will be out of the country.

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Ryan Hunter-Reay

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This will be Hunter-Reay’s first WeatherTech Championship start of the season. His last start was the 2018 season-ending Motul Petit Le Mans, which he WON with Jordan Taylor and Renger van der Zande in the # 10 Cadillac DPi-V.R. for Wayne Taylor Racing.

Said Ryan, “The car is obviously very fast and I’m excited to race it at Mid-Ohio. Jonathan is a good friend and we’ve been teammates in the past, so it will be great to share the # 55 Mazda RT24-P with him and fight for a win.

“I’ve driven race wining Daytona Prototypes in IMSA for a long time, the Prototype field is as strong and deep as it has ever been, and I’m thrilled to be a part of it again this season.”

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Another current IndyCar driver, Sebastien Bourdais, may also need to substitute for injured Joey Hand in the GTLM class # 66 Ford GT for Ford Chip Ganassi, as he did at Long Beach, earlier this month. It depends on if Hand is ready to race, by next weekend.

Sebastien Bourdais

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We got us a new face in USF2000, as Jak Crawford joins DEForce Racing this May…

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When he starts racing at the Grand Prix of Indianapolis young Crawfiord will be the youngest driver in IndyCars, at 14, and just barely. He missed the first race of the season at St.Pete because he was still 13 and ineligible.

But don’t let his youth fool you. Crawford is already a race WINNER in formula cars, having placed 2nd in the 2018-2019 NACAM series championship to Manuel Sulaiman, his new teammate at DEForce. Jak pulled in 2 WINS and 7 podiums, with 6 Fastest Laps in the Mexican racing series, driving for Martiga - a satellite team for DEForce.

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Jak Crawford

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Prior to the NACAM series Jak was another talented kid in karts, with several championships to his name. He also has racing experience in Legends cars, where he is the 2018 Road Course World Champion.

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"Jetpak Jak" Crawford and his Legends car.

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One reason that Crawford is as talented as he is, is because his father owns a racetrack in Houston, and Jak has been around fast things all his life. We are expecting BIG things from Crawford. Welcome to the fray, Jak!

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IndyCar driver Scott Hargrove recovers a podium over the weekend…

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The Road to Indy ace driver and multiple Porsche Cup Champion was driving in the # 58 Porsche GT3 R for Wright Motorsports last weekend with co-driver Patrick Long in the Sprint X races at VIRginia International Raceway, for the SRO Blancpain GT3 World Challenge series.

On Saturday, while battling in 2nd place, Scott went off track and ended up the race in P13 overall, but on Sunday he recovered to once again take the car to P2 in the early stages, which co-driver Patrick Long held onto to the end.

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Scott (left) and Patrick - a P2 on Sunday

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The Wright Motorsports # 58 Porsche GT3 R at VIR

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The Bentley team, K-Pax Racing, had the great weekend, as on Saturday Alvaro Parente and Andy Soucek took the # 9 Continental GT3 to the WIN and on Sunday it was the sister car, the # 3 Continental, with Rodrigo Baprtista and Maxime Soulet for the WIN.

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Points haven’t yet been awarded but Scott should be in the TOP FIVE. The next outing for Scott will be at Mid-Ohio, this coming weekend, as he also drives a Porsche GT3 R for PFAFF Motorsports in the GTD class of the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, with co-driver and fellow Canadian Zacharie Robichon.

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Monday - the Honda IndyCars test on the Indy road course…

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On Monday, 14 cars took advantage of a test day on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course, in anticipation of the next race of the season, The IndyCar Grand Prix, May 9-11. This was a manufacturer’s test for Hondas only.
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Here are the results of the Honda only test on the IMS road course, with times for the TOP FIVE: [R] denotes rookie

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1 - Colton Herta [R], Harding Steinbrenner Racing - time of 69.5283s from 60 laps

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2 - Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing - time of 69.6653s from 91 laps

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3 - Felix Rosenqvist [R], Chip Ganassi Racing - time of 69.7164s from 93 laps

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4 - Jack Harvey, Meyer Shank Racing with Arrow SPM - time of 69.7496s from 74 laps

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5 - Ryan Hunter-Reay, Andretti Autosport - time of 69.8900s from 74 laps

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6 - Marcus Ericsson [R], Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports
7 - Alexander Rossi, Andretti Autosport
8 - Santino Ferrucci [R], Dale Coyne Racing
9 - James Hinchcliffe, Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports
10 - Marco Andretti, Andretti Autosport

11 - Sebastien Bourdais, Dale Coyne Racing w / Vasser Sullivan
12 - Takuma Sato, Rahal Letterman Lanigan
13 - Graham Rahal, Rahal Letterman Lanigan
14 - Zach Veach, Andretti Autosport

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Notable:

• Colton continues to say “phenom” with his every action. The youngster TOPPED Will Power’s 2018 pole time by 0.290 seconds, and he did it on black primary tires, instead of the reds that Power used.

• Herta knows well the Indy Road course. In 2018 he WON both Indy Lights races at the track during the race weekend. Today he got his time with less laps than anyone but James Hinchcliffe, who also put in only 60 laps.

• Felix Rosenqvist was fast today, but he also went off course, bringing out a red flag that stopped the test for ten minutes. It was a case of Felix “forgetting” how to do Turn 4 and going in too hot in third gear.

• Jack Harvey, like Herta, is an Indy Lights race WINNER here, and also a pole man.

• All 14 cars were well within less than a second of each other.

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Colton Herta - is “phenom” the right word?

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