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INDYCAR signs multiyear media rights package with NBC Sports Group

INDYCAR signs multiyear media rights package with NBC Sports Group

22/03/2018, USA, Motorsport - Road Racing, Indy Car, Article # 26151945
               
     
Verizon IndyCar Series
  For Immediate Release  

INDYCAR signs multiyear media rights package with NBC Sports Group

INDIANAPOLIS (Wednesday, March 21, 2018) - INDYCAR will significantly increase exposure for the Verizon IndyCar Series beginning in 2019 through a media rights package announced today with NBC Sports Group.

The multiyear deal will put eight Verizon IndyCar Series races, including the 103rd Indianapolis 500 and its qualifications, on NBC next year. This is an increase from five races on broadcast television this year.

The rest of next year's Verizon IndyCar Series races will be on NBCSN, which has seen its average viewership of INDYCAR races increase by 78 percent over the past four years. Dates, times and networks for next season will be announced at a later date.

In a first for INDYCAR, an extensive amount of Verizon IndyCar Series content will be provided through NBC Sports Gold, a leading direct-to-consumer product. Subscribers will be able to choose the content they view and how and when they access it. Either at home or at the track, the service will provide feeds not available on any other platform, including practice and qualifying sessions not televised live. Fans will also be able to watch Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires races and programming such as INDYCAR's postseason championship celebration, Miller Lite Carb Day at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and additional ancillary programming.

All 2019 INDYCAR races will be streamed live on NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app to authenticated subscribers.

"This arrangement brings all of INDYCAR to one home, increases our exposure and includes our first direct-to-consumer offer for our fans," said Mark Miles, CEO of Hulman & Company, which owns INDYCAR and Indianapolis Motor Speedway. "We couldn't be happier to have start-to-finish coverage of INDYCAR's season with the NBC Sports Group."

The Verizon IndyCar Series and the Indianapolis 500 have been aired annually on ABC, the latter since 1965. In that time, both INDYCAR and ABC have enjoyed a long and fruitful partnership.

"ABC has been a fantastic partner, not only for the '500' but for its broad coverage of the Verizon IndyCar Series," Miles said. "This partnership will continue with the 102nd running of the Indianapolis 500 in May and together we look forward to the successful year ahead."

As part of this new alignment, the Indianapolis 500 will be included in NBC Sports' "Championship Season" marketing campaign, which touts numerous high-profile championship events presented on NBC Sports platforms from May to July. Other events include horse racing's Triple Crown, The PLAYERS, Premier League Championship Sunday, the French Open, the Stanley Cup Final, the Tour de France and The Open Championship. The entire Verizon IndyCar Series will receive unprecedented marketing and promotional support from NBC Sports, which will utilize not only its own assets but many NBCUniversal assets as well.

"We're excited to have NBC Sports serve as the exclusive home of INDYCAR, which represents the most competitive open-wheel racing in the world," said Jon Miller, president, programming, NBC Sports and NBCSN. "We're honored to bring the Indianapolis 500, one of the most prestigious events in all of sports, to NBC, further enhancing NBC Sports' 'Championship Season.' We've seen consistent growth for INDYCAR on NBCSN in the past decade, and we hope to continue that growth throughout the series by leveraging the television, digital, production and marketing assets that make NBC Sports a powerful media partner."

Securing this media rights package continues INDYCAR's recent momentum. Television ratings have increased 38 percent over the past four seasons and overall media impressions more than doubled in 2017. INDYCAR's social platforms gained more than 400,000 new followers last year alone.

INDYCAR remains the most competitive form of racing on the planet, with 21 drivers winning races over the past six seasons. In September, Josef Newgarden became the youngest Verizon IndyCar Series champion in more than a decade and the first U.S.-born champion since 2012.

Earlier this month, INDYCAR officially debuted its new car to rave reviews in the season-opening race in St. Petersburg, Florida, with close racing and a record number of passes around the 1.8-mile temporary street circuit. The addition of four new teams further reflects the series' growth. One of the largest fields in recent history is expected to attempt to qualify for this year's Indianapolis 500 presented by PennGrade Motor Oil.

NBCSN has been a telecast partner with INDYCAR since 2009 will air its first INDYCAR race of the 2018 season on Saturday, April 7, at ISM Raceway near Phoenix (9 p.m. ET).

About INDYCAR
INDYCAR is the governing body of the Verizon IndyCar Series, the premier open-wheel racing series in North America; the Mazda Road to Indy presented by Cooper Tires development ladder, which includes Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires, the Pro Mazda Championship presented by Cooper Tires and the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship powered by Mazda; and the Battery Tender Global MX-5 Cup presented by BF Goodrich Tires. INDYCAR events are available to a worldwide audience through a variety of multimedia platforms, highlighted by long-term and broad-reaching partnerships with ABC and NBC Sports. INDYCAR is continually at the forefront of motorsports innovation with drivers, teams and tracks benefiting from safety and technological improvements such as the SAFER Barrier, SWEMS wheel and chassis component tethers, chassis enhancements, advanced aerodynamic bodywork kits, high-definition in-car cameras and E85 ethanol fuel.

About NBC Sports Group
When the Comcast-NBCUniversal transaction was completed in January 2011, the sports assets of the two companies combined to form NBC Sports Group, which serves sports fans 24/7 with premier live events, insightful studio shows and compelling original programming. The sports media company consists of NBC Sports, NBC Olympics, NBCSN, Golf Channel, NBC Sports Regional Networks, NBC Sports Radio and NBC Sports Digital, which includes NBCSports.com, NBCOlympics.com, GolfChannel.com, the digital assets of the NBC Sports Regional Networks, Rotoworld, the NBC Sports Talk franchise, multiple apps, and two transactional sports businesses, GolfNow and SportsEngine. NBC Sports Group possesses an unparalleled collection of television rights agreements, partnering with some of the most prestigious sports properties in the world: the International Olympic Committee and United States Olympic Committee, the NFL, NHL, NASCAR, PGA TOUR, The R&A, PGA of America, Churchill Downs, Premier League, INDYCAR, Rugby World Cup, Six Nations Championship, Tour de France, French Open and many more.  

Bourdais collects second straight St. Pete win in wild finish

Bourdais collects second straight St. Pete win in wild finish

12/03/2018, USA, Motorsport - Road Racing, Indy Car, Article # 26049034
               
     
Verizon IndyCar Series
  For Immediate Release  

Bourdais collects second straight St. Pete win in wild finish

ST. PETERSBURG, Florida (Sunday, March 11, 2018) - If the first race is an indication, the Verizon IndyCar Series is in for a wild, unpredictable and most exciting 2018 season.

Sebastien Bourdais repeated as winner of the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg today, but only after rookie Robert Wickens and Alexander Rossi collided while battling for the lead on the next-to-last of 110 edge-of-your-seat laps. It was the first of 17 Verizon IndyCar Series races this season.

FIRESTONE GRAND PRIX OF ST. PETERSBURG: Official results

For Bourdais, the spoils of being in the right place at the right time were the 37th victory of his Indy car career, which ranks the four-time season champion sixth on the all-time list. The driver of the No. 18 Team Sealmaster Honda for Dale Coyne Racing with Vasser-Sullivan trails Al Unser by two wins for fifth place.

It also brings full circle Bourdais' recovery from a fractured pelvis and hip sustained in a frightening crash during qualifying at last year's Indianapolis 500.

"This is emotional because I was able from a few broken bones to come back in this victory circle," said Bourdais, who lives in St. Petersburg near where the 1.8-mile temporary street course is constructed each year.

"We didn't have the fastest car today but we had consistency and we pulled it together. We were going to get a podium today, which was awesome. I was really happy for Robert (Wickens) and kind of heartbroken for him, but for us it is just such an upset. I can't quite put it into words."

Wickens, who started from the pole position in the No. 6 Lucas Oil Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Honda after winning the Verizon P1 Award in qualifying on Saturday, was vying to become the first driver to win an Indy car race in his debut since Buzz Calkins in 1996 at Walt Disney World Speedway.

After leading a race-high 69 laps, Wickens was in front for a Lap 108 restart following a full-course caution for the stalled car of Max Chilton. On the restart, Rossi, in the No. 27 NAPA AUTO PARTS Honda for Andretti Autosport, attempted an inside pass of Wickens heading into Turn 1 at the end of the Albert Whitted Airport runway straight, but Rossi's car slid wide and the two made contact.

Rossi continued but Wickens' car was disabled, bringing out the last of eight full-course cautions in the race.

"I didn't get the best restart in the world, but that didn't really matter," said Wickens, who was scored in 16th place. "I (braked) really late into Turn 1. I defended a little bit, but the track was so dirty off line that I told myself that if Alex wants to go there, go for it, but he's not going to make the corner. He made a mistake on the inside and I guess he just couldn't keep it, and just slid into me.

"It's a shame. Everyone on the Lucas Oil team and Schmidt Peterson Motorsports did a fantastic job today. It would've been a fairytale to finish that one out, but sometimes it's not meant to be."

Bourdais and Graham Rahal, running behind Wickens and Rossi, avoided the incident and slipped past to finish first and second, respectively. Bourdais' victory is the sixth in the history Dale Coyne Racing and the fifth for Bourdais in cars entered by co-owners Jimmy Vasser and James Sullivan.

Team co-owner Dale Coyne admitted it wasn't the best car on track, but benefited from having Bourdais in the cockpit and a little good fortune after he had to pit on the opening lap to replace a punctured tire.

"We had an eighth-place car today," Coyne said. "(Bourdais') consistency makes that a fourth-place car, and luck made it a winning car."

The triumph also confirmed for Bourdais that he was right in not considering retirement following his Indy crash last May.

"When I got the verdict of what was broken and I was going to heal pretty well, it was never a question on whether I should continue or stop," the 39-year-old Frenchman said. "Guess I'm glad I did continue."

Rossi, who finished third, said he got the jump on Wickens for the decisive restart by activating earlier his push-to-pass - which provides an engine boost of approximately 60 horsepower.

"The run was perfect for me going into Turn 1 and I knew there wasn't going to be very many other opportunities," Rossi explained. "Obviously, he had a good car all day and they did a great job. Made the (pass attempt). He defended the position, which he has the right to do, but in doing so, in moving the reaction, he put me into the marbles pretty late into the corner.

"It's difficult with these cars and with how much we're sliding around in the first place, even on the racing line. When you're put in the marbles, it's hairy. Super unfortunate. You never want to see that happen. I feel bad because I feel like I could have won and he could have gotten second."

Rahal, driver of the No. 15 United Rentals Honda for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, logged his best St. Petersburg finish since becoming the youngest race winner in Indy car history in 2008.

James Hinchcliffe, Wickens' teammate at Schmidt Peterson Motorsports, finished fourth in the No. 5 Arrow Electronics SPM Honda. Ryan Hunter-Reay, Rossi's teammate at Andretti Autosport, placed fifth in the No. 28 DHL Honda.

Three-time St. Petersburg winner Helio Castroneves, this year's grand marshal, gave the call for drivers to start their engines in what quickly became an eventful race on the shores of Tampa Bay. There were five caution periods in the first 40 laps of the race as drivers adjusted to the lower downforce levels of the universal aero kit on all cars racing for the first time. Still, the new car produced incredible racing throughout the field, as there were a record 366 on-track passes to break the old race record of 323 set in 2008.

Verizon IndyCar Series competitors and fans have some time to catch their breath before the next race. The Phoenix Grand Prix will be run under the lights at ISM Raceway on Saturday, April 7. The race airs live at 9 p.m. ET on NBCSN and the Advance Auto Parts INDYCAR Radio Network.

Mazda Road to Indy weekend recap

Santi Urrutia (Belardi Auto Racing) avoided the mishaps that sidelined previous race leaders to win the second Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires race of the St. Petersburg weekend. Pato O'Ward (Andretti Autosport), the winner of Saturday's first race, was one of three drivers who faltered while leading in Race 2, opening the door for Urrutia. ... Rinus VeeKay (Juncos Racing) completed a weekend sweep of wins on the Pro Mazda Championship presented by Cooper Tires. ... Alex Baron (Swan-RJB Motorsports) drove to victory in the second race of the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship powered by Mazda weekend, a day after Kyle Kirkwood (Cape Motorsports) won the first race.  

'What They're Saying' from the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg

JOSEF NEWGARDEN (No. 1 Hitachi Team Penske Chevrolet): "It was a messy P7, but for us it was a good top 10. It's a decent start to the year. We had a great Chevy package - it's just sad we couldn't take better advantage of it. I felt we had really good power today from Chevrolet. The Hitachi car, overall, was pretty strong. We were just fighting all day to catch back up and we were on the wrong end on the fuel mileage and getting run into and cutting the tire didn't help us. But I think if a couple of things would've gone differently, I really think a podium finish was in the cards for today."

MATHEUS "MATT" LEIST (No. 4 ABC Supply AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet): "This was a pretty good weekend till now. Pretty happy with the performance we had - we were fast in all of the sessions. Today it was unfortunate. We had a shifting problem when I was running fourth, so I couldn't change gears up or down. I stayed in pit lane for like 10 laps trying to solve the problem. (They went back out on track.) Then we had another problem and came back to the pits. The third time I went back on the track, I had a mega understeer going into Turn 3 and I missed the corner and hit the wall. Happy for the performance - we had a fast car. I think it was my fault when I hit the wall that time. The car was good. It happens, so we'll go to the next one."

JAMES HINCHCLIFFE (No. 5 Arrow Electronics SPM Honda): "It wasn't quite the ending we wanted, but it was a good race. I tapped the wall in Turn 8 early in the first stint, and that kind of bent it out of whack a little bit. Man, on our own in clean air, the Arrow Electronics car was a rocket ship, we were setting fast laps at one point on Firestone red (alternate) tires and black (primary) tires, but once we got into traffic, I think we lost the front end too much and couldn't do anything about it. At the end there, Graham (Rahal) had a lot more push-to-pass than we did, so I was trying to threaten him and make him use up as much as he could, but it is what it is. Gutted for Robbie (Wickens) obviously, it was a storybook race from pole, but a few laps to go going for the win, Alex (Rossi) is a fast, aggressive guy and we knew something was going to be tried at least, and it's unfortunate he ended up there. Huge congratulations to the team for a solid result."

ROBERT WICKENS (No. 6 Lucas Oil SPM Honda): "I need to see it before I think I comment on anything, but I didn't really want to defend too hard because there was so many marbles off line, so I figured if Alex (Rossi) wants to go there, go for it. I gave him space around the outside. I broke late. I made the corner and then we had some contact, and obviously it put me into a spin into the wall. I ended my day with one lap left in the race. Not the way I imagined the day going for the No. 6 Lucas Oil SPM Honda. It was all a little bit confusing because I was told on the radio we were going green, but they didn't turn the lights off the pace car, so I didn't get the best restart I could have done. Probably the worst one of the whole day. I want to kind of speak to the officials to see why they didn't turn the lights off the pace car before we went green but I don't know. I just need to see everything before I comment."

SCOTT DIXON (No. 9 PNC Bank Honda): "Obviously not the way we wanted to start the season here in St. Pete with the PNC Bank car today. We had a fast car this weekend, led practice Saturday, but qualifying didn't go our way and we started mid-pack. I got loose in turn one and made contact and we went to the back. After that we just focused on clawing our way back up and getting as many points as we could. I thought we could work on strategy and get a solid finish but then we served a drive-through penalty for pit lane speeding which took us out of it. We never give up and we just kept fighting to the end."

ED JONES (No. 10 NTT DATA Honda): "We had a great start and made up a lot of ground, which I was happy about. I think we were smart all day and had a solid race. Everything considered, I think the first race went well. You always go back and look at some things you may have been able to do better. I'm excited about the start to the season and can't wait for Phoenix."

WILL POWER (No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet): "It was pretty wild at times.  It was actually good racing at times, and you can get close to people. It is a good car to race. I was on the back foot from the very beginning. (Robert) Wickens and I touched in Turn 1 and I spun around. There wasn't a lot of room. That set us back and we fought the rest of the day. The field is just very, very competitive. There are good cars all through the field with many teams. But you can race close to people. You don't get a draft, but you can almost get right behind them. They did a good job of making the kit with almost zero tow, so it makes the racing better I think. Not a perfect day, but we have a good Verizon Chevrolet team, and we will come back ready to race at Phoenix."

TONY KANAAN (No. 14 ABC Supply AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet): "Eventful day. I got hit in the beginning - that wasn't good, but we came from the back and passed a lot of cars. We had a clean day in the pits, which I asked the guys for that. The goal was a top 10 and we finished 11th, so came up a little bit short, but we'll take it. We'll go from there."

GRAHAM RAHAL (No. 15 United Rentals Honda): "The United Rentals guys did a great job out there. Certainly, yesterday wasn't what we expect of ourselves, isn't what we hoped for. Last night, what can you do. Put your heads down, you work hard. Even this morning the car wasn't phenomenal in practice. With Tom (German, engineer) and the boys, they made great changes. Our guys had good pit stops and frankly good strategy. We had the pace when we needed it, we could save a lot of fuel when we needed it, we could make passes if we needed to. It just kind of all played out for us. We will take second (place) any day. It's the best start to a season I have had since I won here in 2008. Thank you to all the fans, the turnout was great this weekend. I hope you guys enjoyed the new car. We are going to put on some great shows this year as you can see."

SEBASTIEN BOURDAIS (No. 18 Team Sealmaster Honda): "I hope history is going to repeat itself until Indy, to be honest, but yeah, it's kind of interesting. We ended up qualifying poorly. We didn't get a good lap. I didn't get a good lap yesterday with one or another circumstance. With the one lap after the red flag we were comfortably in, in Group 2 prior to the red flag, and it felt like we just missed a good opportunity to start at the front. It definitely seems like this race is disjointed enough that it doesn't really seem to matter where you start, you're still going to have opportunities to make it happen, and we sure did today."

ZACHARY CLAMAN DE MELO (No. 19 The Paysafe Car Honda): "It was a good race. At the beginning we were running fourth for quite a while. The cautions didn't fall our way at the beginning, but we had a good pace. We were probably missing a little bit to the guys in front of us. Although, I did have a good battle with Dixon and kept him behind me for a while. I'm happy we held on. It's unfortunate that a small fuel issue at the end cost us couple of positions, but it's part of the game. It was all a learning experience today."

JORDAN KING (No. 20 Ed Carpenter Racing Fuzzy's Vodka Chevrolet): "On the positive, I led my first INDYCAR race. It is nice to be able to say that. I am reserved, so I didn't actually do it, but I did have a little bit of a mental fist pump in my mind when we took the lead. The speed was really good during the race, we genuinely had the pace to challenge for the race win. After the first stop, we picked up a puncture and slid against the wall and had some damage. It was frustrating more than anything to be hindered by that. Overall, I am happy from the sense that the speed is there, but disappointed to throw away a result. I know not every weekend is going to be like this, but it was great to be fast and challenging for the race win. It just hurts a bit when you throw away a good result like that."

SPENCER PIGOT (No. 21 Autogeek Chevrolet): "It was a pretty wild race out there. It was very tricky at the beginning going into Turn 1, trying to pass people on the paint. Early on, we were hit from behind and stalled. From there, we just had to try and battle back. We had a really good restart in the middle of the race and passed a lot of cars, then unfortunately we had another issue in the pits and couldn't get any fuel into the car. We had to make a few unscheduled pit stops to make up for that and went a lap down, putting an end to our competitiveness. We had good pace and a good chance of finishing up towards the front. It was great to have the support of Autogeek this weekend and I appreciate the all of the hard work put in by my guys."

SIMON PAGENAUD (No. 22 Menards Team Penske Chevrolet): "It was a hard-fought day. We had a tire gun problem on the first stop and I feel bad for the Menards crew. That's a tough thing to happen and they did such a good job on the next two stops. Unfortunately, that put us back in the pack and we just couldn't make up ground from there. I expected more tire degradation and that might have created some opportunities, but that never happened. It's definitely not the start to the season that we wanted but we know the Menards Chevrolet is good and we know we will bounce back strong."

CHARLIE KIMBALL (No. 23 Tresiba Chevrolet): "Honestly it was a disappointing day results-wise. At Carlin, you don't come to the track to finish 19th and 20th, our goal really is to be fighting for race wins and podiums. We came into this weekend with limited knowledge and experience in the series, but I'd say we probably doubled or even tripled our knowledge on the Indy cars here in St. Pete. I'm looking forward to going back and getting with the engineers, learning, digesting, and figuring out what we need to do in the future. We've got a couple of tests before the Phoenix race and we tested there a few weeks back, so I know that we'll be more competitive at the next race and continue to work our way forward." 
    
ZACH VEACH (No. 26 Group One Thousand One Honda): "Today was just too messy, honestly. The biggest thing that hurt me was taking that year off of racing (due to injury in 2016). Once you're in these situations over and over again, you're honed and jump into it - it's easy to minimize the mistakes. There were just too many of them today from me to be proud of. I want to apologize to (Tony) Kanaan. He kind of left the doorway open, and I felt, invited me in and it didn't work out for either of us. All in all, had to walk away P16... but a lot learned, a lot gained. I know we weren't the fastest rookie, but with circumstances, finishing the highest rookie - that's what this year's going to be about. You're going to have good days and bad days. It's just all about consistency. The speed is there, it's just all of the details I have to clean up. Most of all, I can take away patience. Just understanding how the races are going to fold out. And just how long the races actually are. The two races I did last year really don't quantify how long these races are. The more I get under my belt, the easier it will get."

ALEXANDER ROSSI (No. 27 NAPA AUTO PARTS Honda): "Normally they don't allow push-to-pass on restarts. You'd normally have to do a timed lap before you did it, but because of the late call to go green that lap, they allowed it, and I actually got the call when I was in the middle of Turn 13 and 14. So I had a big jump on Rob (Wickens), and he got to the push-to-pass pretty late. The run was perfect for me going into Turn 1, and I knew there wasn't going to be many other opportunities. Obviously (Wickens) had a good car all day, and they did a great job. I made the pop. He defended the position, which he has the right to do, but in doing so, in moving the reaction, he put me into the marbles pretty late into the corner. It's difficult with these cars and with how much we're sliding around in the first place, even on the racing line. When you're put in the marbles, it's hairy. Super unfortunate. Like you never want to see that happen. I feel bad because I feel like I could have won and he could have gotten second. You never want to see that happen, but nevertheless, it was a great job by the whole team all weekend. I think that we showed that we had a car definitely to qualify up front yesterday, and we redeemed ourselves a little bit today. So, a great work by the whole Andretti Autosport NAPA AUTO PARTS Honda team."

RYAN HUNTER-REAY (No. 28 DHL Honda): "The bad luck seems to end up happening at just the worst times. The car has been awesome all weekend, so to have an electronic issue happen when we are coming to the green - man, the luck.  We started the race from pit lane and ended up fifth, so a great job by the team. I was hustling my rear end off out there today. That No. 28 DHL Honda sure was quick and deserved a better finish than it had. We just need to have better luck, or no luck, and hopefully we can start finishing these things right up at the front. It was great to have all our friends from DHL and AutoNation here with us today, and a big thanks to the fans for making this such a great event."

TAKUMA SATO (No. 30 Mi-Jack / Panasonic Honda): "It was a wild race. The start was actually pretty sketchy. Will (Power) spun in front of us and did a great job to not hit anything. We gained a position there then we lost it again. After the restart it looked like our pace was OK. It was a fun battle through the field, but then we got hit by (Scott) Dixon and got a right rear puncture and it also damaged the diffuser. It was a shame after qualifying in the Firestone Fast Six. Then we were running in the middle of the pack and tried to recover by doing a different pit strategy, but nothing worked and we finished 12th. Big congrats to Graham (Rahal). He was having a difficult weekend and brought the team a fantastic result. I think we learned a lot. There are a lot of positives. We will keep on pushing."

RENE BINDER (No. 32 Binderholz tiptop timber Chevrolet): "It was my first Verizon IndyCar Series race and I found it quite tough, but I am pleased with the progress we have made. In the beginning of the race there were several safety cars and dust, which made it more difficult. Unfortunately, I did not finish the race, but came close. We are still analyzing our data to improve. Overall, I learned a lot and I want to thank Binderholz, Chevrolet, Ricardo Juncos, and the entire Juncos Team."

MAX CHILTON (No. 59 Gallagher Chevrolet): "We just finished our first race ever for the Carlin INDYCAR team. The No. 59 Gallagher Chevrolet started 20th, but we finished 19th so we moved forward one position. It was a long hard race. I think it was around two hours and 20 minutes and there were probably six or seven yellow sessions, so it was really hard to keep our tires up to temperature which was something we were struggling with all day. When the tires were in, we had good performance so we made gains throughout the weekend. Considering this was Carlin's first INDYCAR race, I'd say it wasn't a bad showing at all. We definitely have work to do and we aren't where we want to be yet. I think all-around we did a good job and we'll make sure we're ready for Phoenix."

JACK HARVEY (No. 60 AutoNation/Sirius XM MSR w/SPM Honda): "We had a good start and gained a few positions on the actual start. We aren't exactly sure what happened just yet. I was in the middle of Turns 11 and 12, and I just lost the car big time and it got away from me. I think overall we had a pretty good weekend, obviously not the best weekend that we were hoping for. It was right where we expected to be and we found areas where we need to do some more work. We didn't achieve the objective this weekend because we didn't see the checkered flag, which was frustrating. But the guys have done a really great job and we will just keep moving forward. The fact that we are here and giving it our best shot is where we all want to be. I have a great team of people behind me and we will come back strong at Long Beach."

GABBY CHAVES (No. 88 Harding Group Chevrolet): "Long day at the race track. It was a long hard race, but I'm really happy and proud of the Harding Racing guys. We had very good progression throughout the weekend and ended up very competitive from where we started. I thought we had a car to run in the top six or eight all day. Unfortunately, we had an issue with our fuel hose in the first pit stop that set us back. After that we just settled in and tried to have our own race, I thought we had decent pace and I'm very happy with finishing 14th. I'm very much looking forward to the next race."

MARCO ANDRETTI (No. 98 Ruoff Home Mortgage / Curb Honda): "In the beginning, we seemed to have pace on (Firestone alternate) reds. Then, sort of got caught on blacks (Firestone primary tires) in the middle and it gave up a bit of time. On the last third of the early-on stint, we started to lose pace on reds so we wanted to come in and cover. We sort of split the baby on that one. We came out of the pits in traffic, which was unfortunate, but we drove the Ruoff Home Mortgage car to third from 18th. We had to have been the ones to pass the most cars today. Overall, we're still top 10 and we had pace, and that's better than lucking into a top-10 finish. Good things are ahead from the No. 98."

Firestone Grand Prix of St Petersburg race results

Click HERE to view and download the official race results of the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.

ST. PETERSBURG, Florida - Results Sunday of the Firestone Grand Prix of St Petersburg Verizon IndyCar Series event on the 1.8 mile Streets of St. Petersburg circuit, with order of finish, starting position in parentheses, driver, engine, laps completed and reason out (if any):

1. (14) Sebastien Bourdais, Honda, 110, Running
2. (24) Graham Rahal, Honda, 110, Running
3. (12) Alexander Rossi, Honda, 110, Running
4. (7) James Hinchcliffe, Honda, 110, Running
5. (6) Ryan Hunter-Reay, Honda, 110, Running 
6. (9) Scott Dixon, Honda, 110, Running
7. (13) Josef Newgarden, Chevrolet, 110, Running
8. (17) Ed Jones, Honda, 110, Running
9. (18) Marco Andretti, Honda, 110, Running
10. (2) Will Power, Chevrolet, 110, Running
11. (10) Tony Kanaan, Chevrolet, 110, Running
12. (5) Takuma Sato, Honda, 110, Running
13. (11) Simon Pagenaud, Chevrolet, 110, Running
14. (8) Gabby Chaves, Chevrolet, 110, Running
15. (16) Spencer Pigot, Chevrolet, 109, Running
16. (15) Zach Veach, Honda, 109, Running
17. (22) Zachary Claman De Melo, Honda, 109, Running
18. (1) Robert Wickens, Honda, 108, Contact
19. (20) Max Chilton, Chevrolet, 108, Running 
20. (21) Charlie Kimball, Chevrolet, 107, Running
21. (4) Jordan King, Chevrolet, 107, Running
22. (23) Rene Binder, Chevrolet, 100, Contact
23. (19) Jack Harvey, Honda, 38, Off Course 
24. (3) Matheus Leist, Chevrolet, 16, Contact 

Race Statistics
Winner's average speed: 86.207 mph
Time of Race: 02:17:48.4954
Margin of victory: Under caution
Cautions: 8 for 24 laps
Lead changes: 11 among 5 drivers

Lap Leaders:
Wickens, Robert 1 - 5
King, Jordan 6 - 10
Wickens, Robert 11 - 24
Bourdais, Sebastien 25 - 38
Wickens, Robert 39 - 59
Rossi, Alexander 60 - 62
Bourdais, Sebastien 63 - 76
Wickens, Robert 77 - 81 
Rossi, Alexander 82 - 83
Hunter-Reay, Ryan 84
Wickens, Robert 85 - 108
Bourdais, Sebastien 109 - 110

Verizon IndyCar Series point standings:
Bourdais 51, Rahal 40, Rossi 36, Hinchcliffe 32, Hunter-Reay 31, Dixon 28, Newgarden 26, Jones 24, Andretti 22, Power 20, Kanaan 19, Sato 18, Pagenaud 17, Chaves 16, Wickens 16, Pigot 15, Veach 14, Claman De Melo 13, Chilton 11, Kimball 10, King 10, Binder 8, Harvey 7, Leist 6

Wickens grabs St. Petersburg pole in wild Verizon P1 Award qualifying

Wickens grabs St. Petersburg pole in wild Verizon P1 Award qualifying

11/03/2018, USA, Motorsport - Road Racing, Indy Car, Article # 26042724
   
Verizon IndyCar Series
  For Immediate Release  

Wickens grabs St. Petersburg pole in wild Verizon P1 Award qualifying

ST. PETERSBURG, Florida (Saturday, March 10, 2018) - The unpredictability of the Verizon IndyCar Series reached a new and exciting level in Verizon P1 Award qualifying for the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, with rookie Robert Wickens taking pole position in his debut event.

On a track slick from light rain, Wickens slipped in a lap at the end of the Firestone Fast Six - the last of three knockout qualifying rounds - to claim the pole for Sunday's 110-lap race that kicks off the 2018 season. Wickens' circuit of 1 minute, 1.6643 seconds (105.085 mph) in the No. 6 Lucas Oil Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Honda bested seven-time St. Petersburg pole winner Will Power by less than a tenth of a second for top honors.

FIRESTONE GRAND PRIX OF ST. PETERSBURG: Qualifying results

Wickens became the first driver to win the pole position in his maiden Indy car race since Sebastien Bourdais in 2003 - also at St. Petersburg.

"It was just chaos - half wet, half dry," said Wickens, 28. "I like those conditions a lot. As a kid my whole career, I've seemed to excel in that type of session, and thankfully the team and everyone on the Lucas Oil car did a great job getting us on track at the right time with the right tire, with the whole procedure.

"Thankfully, I'm starting from pole position. Way better than I ever expected my first INDYCAR race to be, but I'm definitely not complaining with it."

With all Verizon IndyCar Series entries running the new-look car with its universal aero kit for the first time in competition this weekend, the leaderboard throughout practice has been in a constant state of flux. The trend continued in qualifying, as three drivers making their series debuts - Wickens, Jordan King and Matheus "Matt" Leist - advanced to the Firestone Fast Six.

King, in fact, set the new lap record for the 1.8-mile, 14-turn temporary street course in the first round of qualifying with a lap of 1:00.0476 (107.914 mph), eclipsing Power's old standard from 2016 by nearly two-hundredths of a second.

"Coming into qualifying, I knew we were quick enough to get through," said King, the 23-year-old Englishman who joined the Verizon IndyCar Series after three seasons in FIA Formula 2 and two as a Formula 1 reserve driver. "But still, I had to perform, and it being my first time, I was obviously putting more pressure on myself than anybody else. But then I just had to keep reminding myself that if I just do what I know I can, the rest of it will be fine."

Power's best lap today in the Firestone Fast Six, 1:01.7346 (104.965 mph) in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet, locked the two-time St. Pete race winner into the outside of Row 1 on the starting grid.

"I had a big mis-shift during my (best) lap where I just got stuck in gear for quite a while," Power said. "Then when I saw how tight it was, it was like, 'Yeah, probably lost a tenth or so there.' But fantastic job by Wickens, first time out, to get pole.

"Just shows kind of the parity within the series, now that everyone has got the same body kit," Power added. "They're all good guys. They're all guys capable of winning races. Yeah, pretty impressive, though, all those guys up in front there, first time out. ... Three (rookies) in the Fast Six is very impressive."

Leist qualified third in the No. 4 AJ Foyt Racing ABC Supply Chevrolet (1:01.7631, 104.917 mph), beating King, in the No. 20 Ed Carpenter Racing Fuzzy's Vodka Chevrolet (1:01.7633, 104.917 mph), by an eyelash.

"I think I was expecting to be like top 10," said Leist, the 19-year-old Brazilian teaming with veteran Tony Kanaan for AJ Foyt Racing, "but definitely not top five, top six. The team just did an amazing job, and very happy for the performance throughout the whole weekend already, and looking forward to the race."

Takuma Sato, the 2014 St. Pete pole sitter, was fifth in the No. 30 Mi-Jack/Panasonic Honda for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (1:01.8821), with Andretti Autosport's Ryan Hunter-Reay sixth in the No. 28 DHL Honda (1:02.0385).

Two of Hunter-Reay's teammates failed to advance from earlier qualifying rounds when they were penalized for qualifying interference. Marco Andretti (No. 98 Ruoff Home Mortgage/Curb Honda) would have advanced from the first round and Alexander Rossi (No. 27 NAPA AUTO PARTS Honda) would have moved on from Round 2, but both had their fastest two laps negated by penalty and could not advance by rule.

Four-time Verizon IndyCar Series champion Scott Dixon saw his string of qualifying for the Firestone Fast Six in nine straight events come to an end. Dixon will start ninth in the No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda.

Bourdais, the 2017 St. Petersburg race winner, will roll off 14th in the No. 18 SealMaster Honda for Dale Coyne Racing. Graham Rahal, in the No. 15 United Rentals Honda for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, will start last in the 24-car field after being penalized his two best laps for causing a Round 1 red flag when his car spun in Turn 10.

A final 30-minute warmup practice is scheduled for 8:45 a.m. ET Sunday and streams live on RaceControl.IndyCar.com. Live race coverage begins at noon on the Advance Auto Parts INDYCAR Radio Network and 12:30 p.m. on ABC.

The Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg is the first of 17 races on the 2018 Verizon IndyCar Series schedule.  

'What They're Saying' from qualifying at Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg

JOSEF NEWGARDEN (No. 1 Hitachi Team Penske Chevrolet): "Not the best qualifying for us. Everyone picked up more than I thought they would but, for us, it just wasn't enough. I didn't do a good enough lap and it's a shame we weren't able to capitalize more in our first session for the year, but I feel like we've got a great car. I'm really happy with the Chevrolet engine that we've got this weekend. I think we've got what it takes to win this race and it's been fun driving the Hitachi car for the first time so, not the perfect way to start the weekend off, but I think we'll have a good car."

MATHEUS "MATT" LEIST (No. 4 ABC Supply AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet): "I'm very happy with the whole team and with our performance throughout the whole weekend. I'm looking forward to my first INDYCAR race, my first time doing pit stops, saving fuel and saving tires, so I have a lot of things to learn yet. Tony (Kanaan, teammate) is a very special guy, he's been helping me a lot, not just inside the track, but outside the track as well. And not just him, but A.J. (Foyt, owner), Larry (Foyt, team manager), and everyone on the team is helping me a lot because I'm a rookie. Tony is a very special guy and I'm super grateful to have him as a teammate. I grew up watching him and Helio (Castroneves), so having him as a teammate is a dream come true for me."

JAMES HINCHCLIFFE (No. 5 Arrow Electronics SPM Honda): "Obviously not the day we wanted on the No. 5 Arrow Electronics car. We got caught out by the rain there and only had one lap to get it done and transfer into the top six, which we only missed by a couple hundredths of a second. I'm pretty disappointed as the car is quick and Robbie (Wickens) proved that. Huge congratulations to everybody on the No. 6 car. It's great to see the team rewarded for all their hard work. That was an amazing lap in really difficult conditions. He's totally proven to everybody that he is a force to be reckoned with, and like I said, proves the car is fast, so hopefully we move up from seventh tomorrow."

ROBERT WICKENS (No. 6 Lucas Oil SPM Honda): "I'm a little speechless. First off, Group 1 was dry and normal. The best of the best, you know, rises to the top, and I was happy to make it through. My goal going in to today was just a top 10. If I made Fast Six at all, it would have been amazing and the fact that we topped Q2 was already a surprise. From there I'm like, well, I'm in the top 6, let's go and have some fun and somehow we had great strategy to get out right at the end, to get a lap on the track, in my opinion, when it was probably at its best. It was tough but the No. 6 Lucas Oil Honda was fantastic. My whole team behind me, we all kept our cool and we made the right changes for the wet there for the last qualifying and, yeah, we got it."

SCOTT DIXON (No. 9 PNC Bank Honda): "We thought it would get drier as the qualifying session went on, so we elected to go with the black (Firestone primary) tires. The track felt good the first few laps, but then when the rain came it was all too late. Turn 1 was especially bad with the painted runway there. There were several cars that went off there, including myself in the PNC Bank car. So I think we just misread it there. The car is still really fast, though, and we'll have some work to do to get to the front tomorrow. But we're here to win and that's the goal."

ED JONES (No. 10 NTT DATA Honda): "This morning we struggled a bit with the car and we went back to what we had yesterday on the NTT DATA Honda. I felt more comfortable for qualifying, but we just missed advancing by a fraction. We had a car come out in front of us, which deterred our progress and that's unfortunate. It's frustrating in that sense, but we'll see what the weather will bring tomorrow and how things will shake out."

WILL POWER (No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet): "Starting up at the front is definitely better as far as getting through the first corner and that sort of thing. Obviously pole is the best position you can be in. It will be interesting. We don't know how these cars race. I know they follow well, but I don't think they draft that well. But yeah, very close (to pole position). I had a big mis-shift during my lap where I just got stuck in gear for quite a while, and then when I saw how tight it was, it was like, yeah, probably lost a tenth of a second or so there. Fantastic job by (Robert) Wickens, first time out, to get pole."

TONY KANAAN (No. 14 ABC Supply AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet): "I am extremely happy with the team effort so far this weekend. We came here with the intention to put two ABC Supply Racing cars in the top 10 and we actually did one better, putting one in the top 10 and another in the top three. I am looking forward to the race tomorrow."

GRAHAM RAHAL (No. 15 United Rentals Honda): "I'm obviously disappointed. I got good signs out of the car in the back section, and I knew that the first lap on the reds (Firestone alternate tires) was supposed to be the really good one. Yesterday we didn't get a good feel for that, but obviously I wanted to go out there and push hard, and I just came out of Turn 10 and stood on it. It seemed OK and the next thing I knew, it just went around. I'm disappointed clearly for everybody. I don't know what the pace would have been, but it was giving me positive vibes. I thought that on the used blacks (Firestone primary tires), when others were on new blacks, we were pretty competitive, so I felt like going forward we should be half decent. I'm disappointed for the first race to start off this way but we can't get too down on ourselves. We've just got to stay focused. Tomorrow is a new day and we are going to work hard to get the United Rentals car to the front. (Sebastien) Bourdais started last here last year and won. With the pit windows and the fuel strategy and everything else now, there are big opportunities, so we've just got to think through it."

SEBASTIEN BOURDAIS (No. 18 Team Sealmaster Honda): "It's frustrating. We were obviously pretty good on blacks (Firestone primary tire). We were P2. It was just the wrong timing for the red flag for us. When you are at the back of the pit lane, you can't get a quick out lap. I passed one car and I picked up the next car in Turn 10, so I had to back off. You can't get heat in your tires. I had one lap, but I was four or five tenths off my fastest lap by the time I got to Turn 1. I came back some, but one lap...one lap for everybody is fine, but the guys at the other end of the pit got a quick out lap, so they could put some heat in the tires and we didn't."

ZACHARY CLAMAN DE MELO (No. 19 The Paysafe Car Honda): "It was a tough session. We worked on the car all day. We struggled a bit in the morning session and there are some places that I need to work on as well. That said, I'm confident we'll be fine for tomorrow. I'm always better in the race. And judging by how the team did last year with the team starting in the back and Seb (Sebastien Bourdais) managing to win it, and his teammate was third for a lot of the race, so I'm confident we'll be OK."

JORDAN KING (No. 20 Ed Carpenter Racing Fuzzy's Vodka Chevrolet): "It's good, but I still think we should have been a bit quicker. I'm really happy. It's all gone well. We made some really good progress from the first time. I can't grumble too much, but when there was potential to be a little higher up you can't help, as a racing driver, to want a bit more. It was quite slippery at Turn 1, and actually at the back of the circuit, it was really quite dry. But unfortunately, I almost went off at Turn 10 on my first push lap. I came in on the last lap a little bit tentative and looking at the time (of the last lap), that's why I'm a little bit like, well, it could be more. I can't complain for my first time. I don't want to put too much expectation on it. We've got a good car. If I do my job, I'm sure the rest will unfold nicely."

SPENCER PIGOT (No. 21 Autogeek Chevrolet): "It was a messy session there with the red flag, then trying to find a gap to get a good lap in. I made a few little mistakes; one area, I accidentally upshifted twice when I should have only done once that that cost us. Overall, I am just frustrated. Hopefully we can get the Autogeek car back up front tomorrow where we need to be."

SIMON PAGENAUD (No. 22 Menards Team Penske Chevrolet): "Mother Nature kind of got us today. The Menards Chevy was really good for qualifying but in the second round we just didn't execute with our tires the right way for the rain we saw toward the end. We should have put on the red Firestone tires early on and that would have helped in the end. Instead we struggled to stay on track when it was wet and we couldn't advance. The good news is we feel really good about the car for Sunday's race and the Menards guys will work to get us up to the front."

CHARLIE KIMBALL (No. 23 Tresiba Chevrolet): "Our qualifying result might not have been exactly what we wanted, but at the same time we made progress every session on-track especially during qualifying. The No. 23 Tresiba Chevrolet has run without any mechanical issues this whole race weekend so far and that's a credit to the work of Trevor (Carlin), Colin (Hale), and all the mechanics at Carlin. We're making progress, we're learning. With new bodywork, there's a lot to learn aerodynamically and mechanically for everyone. We're making good progress and we're learning quickly. I know we'll be ready to put a good, clean race together tomorrow."

RYAN HUNTER-REAY (No. 28 DHL Honda): We just got a little bit too aggressive with the car today. There at the end, I think it was just down to the drivers figuring out, and I was quick around the rest of the track, but I just didn't get it together in Turn 1 and 2, and that's down to me. Every time I passed start finish, they kept telling me P1, P1, P1, and then it fell from there the last two laps. But good job for these guys, and obviously to (Robert) Wickens. He certainly sorted out Turn 1 and 2 out there. It was like running on ice. Somehow those runway strips - we're sitting so low in the car. You can't really place your car and try to get around them because they're so wide you have to get over them, and you can't see them until you're on them. It was definitely tricky out there. I'm surprised we didn't end up with any cars in the wall. Fun session, though. That'll definitely keep you on your toes."

TAKUMA SATO (No. 30 Panasonic Honda): "I enjoyed qualifying. Obviously it was tricky conditions and I wish I could have been little higher but I'm not complaining. The Firestone Fast Six is just the best place to be for the race. The guys did a tremendous job in very tricky conditions. They sent me out in the perfect time. It's a little bit of a shame because being on the front row would have been nice but the important thing is to have a strong car in the race which I believe we have."

RENE BINDER (No. 32 Binderholz tiptop timber Chevrolet): "My first qualifying attempt in the Verizon IndyCar Series was most interesting, but challenging as it was more or less my first use of the Firestone red (alternate tires) set. We used two sets of tires with only two push laps. My focus was on maintaining a decent pace and not to push it to the limit, and to also understand the course and get comfortable. We will continue to go over the data we gathered and focus on identifying a good race set up for tomorrow."

MAX CHILTON (No. 59 Gallagher Chevrolet): "That's the end of our first INDYCAR qualifying effort for Carlin. Both cars made big improvements throughout the weekend. Every time we went out, we felt better about the car balance and overall performance. Both Charlie and I felt pretty happy with our laps, but we were just lacking the speed we needed to advance into the second round. We aren't where we'd like to be quite yet, but the No. 59 Gallagher Chevrolet is now definitely in a place where I'm happy with the balance which gives us a good race car. I think we should do better in the race tomorrowand I'm really looking forward to green flag."

JACK HARVEY (No. 60 AutoNation/Sirius XM MSR w/SPM Honda): "Our first set on Firestone reds (alternate tires) went pretty well. We just couldn't improve the right amount on the second set to progress. For now, we will just try to understand why that happened and how we can work on that for next time. Where we are starting will give us the opportunity to move up which is great. Now we will just look at strategy and try to see what we can do to have a good race."

GABBY CHAVES (No. 88 Harding Group Chevrolet): "I am so proud of this team. Everyone has worked tirelessly this offseason to get here, and I'm beyond happy that we were able to go out on track and qualify in the top 10, especially after some of the issues we had after Practice 1 yesterday. This team works hard and I'm so excited to finally get to race tomorrow for the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg."

Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg qualifying results

Cllick HERE to view and download the official qualifying results from the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg,

ST. PETERSBURG, Florida - Qualifying Saturday for the Firestone Grand Prix of St Petersburg Verizon IndyCar Series event on the 1.8 mile Streets of St. Petersburg circuit, with qualifying position, car number in parentheses, driver, engine, time and speed in parentheses:

1. (6) Robert Wickens, Honda, 01:01.6643 (105.085)
2. (12) Will Power, Chevrolet, 01:01.7346 (104.965)
3. (4) Matheus Leist, Chevrolet, 01:01.7631 (104.917)
4. (20) Jordan King, Chevrolet, 01:01.7633 (104.917) 
5. (30) Takuma Sato, Honda, 01:01.8821 (104.715)
6. (28) Ryan Hunter-Reay, Honda, 01:02.0385 (104.451)
7. (5) James Hinchcliffe, Honda, 01:00.9986 (106.232)
8. (88) Gabby Chaves, Chevrolet, 01:01.1191 (106.023)
9. (9) Scott Dixon, Honda, 01:01.6527 (105.105)
10. (14) Tony Kanaan, Chevrolet, 01:01.7213 (104.988)
11. (22) Simon Pagenaud, Chevrolet, 01:04.6739 (100.195)
12. (27) Alexander Rossi, Honda, 01:07.0377 (96.662)
13. (1) Josef Newgarden, Chevrolet, 01:00.4320 (107.228)
14. (18) Sebastien Bourdais, Honda, 01:00.9587 (106.301)
15. (26) Zach Veach, Honda, 01:00.4585 (107.181)
16. (21) Spencer Pigot, Chevrolet, 01:00.9668 (106.287) 
17. (10) Ed Jones, Honda, 01:00.5009 (107.106)
18. (98) Marco Andretti, Honda, 01:01.3013 (105.707)
19. (60) Jack Harvey, Honda, 01:01.0270 (106.183)
20. (59) Max Chilton, Chevrolet, 01:01.3360 (105.648)
21. (23) Charlie Kimball, Chevrolet, 01:01.1868 (105.905)
22. (19) Zachary Claman De Melo, Honda, 01:01.8567 (104.758)
23. (32) Rene Binder, Chevrolet, 01:01.7003 (105.024)
24. (15) Graham Rahal, Honda, 01:04.0990 (101.094)

Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg Fast Facts

Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg Fast Facts

06/03/2018, USA, Motorsport - Road Racing, Indy Car, Article # 25985908
               
     
Verizon IndyCar Series
  For Immediate Release  

Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg Fast Facts

Race weekend: Friday, March 9 - Sunday, March 11

Track: Streets of St. Petersburg, 1.8-mile, 14-turn temporary street circuit (clockwise) through downtown St. Petersburg, Florida, including a runway of Albert Whitted Airport.

Entry list: Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg (PDF) 

Race distance: 110 laps / 198 miles

Push-to-pass parameters: 150 seconds of total time with a maximum single duration of 15 seconds.

Firestone tire allotment: Seven sets primary, four sets alternate

Twitter: @GPSTPETE, @IndyCar, #FirestoneGP, #IndyCar

Event website: www.gpstpete.com 

INDYCAR website: www.IndyCar.com

2017 race winner: Sebastien Bourdais (No. 18 Dale Coyne Racing Honda) 

2017 Verizon P1 Award winner: Will Power (No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet), 1 minute, 1.0640 seconds, 106.118 mph

Qualifying lap record: Will Power, 1:00.0658; 107.882 mph, March 12, 2016 (Set in Round 2 of qualifying).

ABC race broadcast: Sunday, March 11 (12:30 p.m. ET)
Allen Bestwick is the lead announcer for ABC broadcasts for the fourth consecutive year alongside analysts Scott Goodyear and Eddie Cheever Jr. Pit reporters are Rick DeBruhl and Jon Beekhuis.

Video Streaming: All practice sessions and Verizon P1 Award qualifying for the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg will be available on the INDYCAR YouTube channel (www.youtube.com/indycar) and RaceControl.IndyCar.com.

Radio broadcasts: Mark Jaynes is the chief announcer alongside analyst Anders Krohn. Jake Query and Nick Yeoman are the turn announcers with Dave Furst, Rob Howden and Ryan Myrehn reporting from the pits. All Verizon IndyCar Series races are broadcast live on the Advance Auto Parts INDYCAR Radio Network, Sirius 214, XM 209, IndyCar.com, indycarradio.com and on the INDYCAR Mobile app. Verizon IndyCar Series qualifying is broadcast on Sirius 214, XM 209, IndyCar.com, indycarradio.com and the INDYCAR Mobile app. Verizon IndyCar Series practice sessions plus Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires practice, qualifying and races are on IndyCar.com, indycarradio.com and the INDYCAR Mobile app.

At-track schedule (all times local): 

Friday, March 9
11:20 a.m.-12:05 p.m. - Verizon IndyCar Series practice #1, RaceControl.IndyCar.com
3:10-3:55 p.m. - Verizon IndyCar Series practice #2, RaceControl.IndyCar.com

Saturday, March 10
11:10-11:55 a.m. - Verizon IndyCar Series practice #3, RaceControl.IndyCar.com
2:20 p.m. - Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg qualifying (Three rounds of knockout qualifications), RaceControl.IndyCar.com

Sunday, March 11
8:45-9:15 a.m. - Verizon IndyCar Series warm-up, RaceControl.IndyCar.com
12:30 p.m. -  ABC on air
12:33 p.m. - "Drivers, start your engines" by Helio Castroneves 
12:40 p.m. - Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg green flag

Race Notes:

• Josef Newgarden of Team Penske begins defense of his 2017 Verizon IndyCar Series championship at St. Petersburg. Newgarden captured his first series title in his first season with Team Penske, winning four times. Now he aims to be Team Penske's first repeat champion since Gil de Ferran captured back-to-back CART championships in 2000 and 2001.

* Scott Dixon hopes to add to his record-setting resume in 2018. Dixon's four season championships tie him with Indy car greats Mario Andretti, Sebastien Bourdais and Dario Franchitti, trailing only the seven titles collected by A.J. Foyt. Dixon is fourth on the all-time Indy car victory list with 41 but has never won at St. Petersburg. He has three runner-up finishes at the circuit.

* The Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg is the 15th Indy car race on the streets of St. Petersburg, Fla. Sebastien Bourdais, who makes his home in St. Petersburg, won the race last year. Paul Tracy won the inaugural race on Feb. 23, 2003, under CART sanction, while Bourdais started from the pole that year.

* The St. Petersburg Indy car race has been run every year since 2003 with the exception of 2004. No driver has competed in every St. Petersburg race, but Scott Dixon and Tony Kanaan have started 13 straight races. Sebastien Bourdais and Ryan Hunter-Reay competed in the first race in 2003. 

* Will Power (2010 and 2014) is the only entered drivers to win at St. Petersburg more than once. Helio Castroneves, who will serve as the race's grand marshal, won three times (2006, 2007, 2012), while Juan Pablo Montoya won in 2015 and 2016. Past winners Graham Rahal (2008), James Hinchcliffe (2013) and Sebastien Bourdais (2017) are also entered.

* Team Penske has won the pole position for eight of the last 11 St. Petersburg races, including seven of the last eight poles with Power, who set the track record in 2016 but sat out the race due to illness. Past pole winners Sebastien Bourdais (2003), Tony Kanaan (2008), Graham Rahal (2009) and Takuma Sato (2014) are also entered this weekend.

* Two drivers have won the race from the pole - Helio Castroneves (2007) and Will Power (2010). The St. Petersburg winner has qualified fourth in four of the last five seasons.

* Team Penske has won at St. Petersburg eight times, including four of the last six races with Helio Castroneves (2012), Will Power (2014) and Juan Pablo Montoya (2015-16). Andretti Autosport has two wins at St. Petersburg with Dan Wheldon (2005) and James Hinchcliffe (2013). Chip Ganassi Racing (Dario Franchitti in 2011) and Dale Coyne Racing (Sebastien Bourdais in 2017) have won once at St. Petersburg.

* Tony Kanaan seeks to start his 283rd consecutive race this weekend, which would extend his Indy car record streak that began in June 2001 at Portland. Kanaan will attempt to make his 344th Indy car start, which would tie Helio Castroneves for third on the all-time list. 

* Scott Dixon has made 224 consecutive starts heading into the weekend, which is the second-longest streak in Indy car racing. Andretti Autosport's Marco Andretti has made 200 consecutive starts, which is the fourth-longest streak in Indy car racing.

* Seven rookies are entered and four -- Rene Binder, Jordan King, Matheus "Matt" Leist and Robert Wickens -- will make their first Verizon IndyCar Series start this weekend at St. Petersburg. The other Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidates are Zachary Claman De Melo, Zach Veach and Jack Harvey.

* Since 2012, the Verizon IndyCar Series has averaged 9.5 different race winners per season, including a record-tying 11 winners in 2014. There were 10 different winners in the 17 races of 2017 with an equally tight competition projected for the season with the introduction of the 2018 car.

* Drivers may engage their "push to pass" for a total of 150 seconds during the race, with a maximum duration of 15 seconds for any one activation. The push-to-pass is not available on the initial start or any restart unless it occurs in the final two laps or three minutes of a timed race. The feature increases the power of the engine by approximately 60 horsepower for 2018. 

FIRESTONE GRAND PRIX OF ST. PETERSBURG PRE-EVENT QUOTES:

JOSEF NEWGARDEN (No. 1 Hitachi Team Penske Chevrolet): "I still have to pinch myself when I think about going to St. Pete as the Verizon IndyCar Series champion. Any driver that gets an opportunity, like the one I got with Team Penske, will tell you they expect to win right away. I certainly did as well, but I think we were all surprised at how quickly we gelled together and made it happen. But that is last year. The drive for the 2018 championship starts at St. Pete, and it's a track where I've never won before. That is our only thought this weekend: going to Victory Lane."
 
MATHEUS "MATT" LEIST (No. 4 ABC Supply AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet): "Pretty excited for my first race in INDYCAR. St Pete is a track I really like. It gives me a lot of adrenaline. I'm really looking forward to the challenge. We did some good preseason testing, so I'm pretty confident for the season. I think the whole team is in good shape for the challenge. Hopefully, we'll do well!"

JAMES HINCHCLIFFE (No. 5 Arrow Electronics SPM Honda): "Everybody always looks forward to St. Pete, it's such a great place to start the season. I know every year we say it feels like a long offseason, but this offseason, for us, even though it's been busy with all the testing for Honda, it really makes you miss racing that much more. At the end of the day, we're not test drivers, we're race drivers, and getting to that first race weekend is always special. There's been a lot of change, not only with the 2018 aero kit but internally at SPM personnel-wise. So we're really anxious to get ourselves into a race weekend situation to see how we all perform and start picking out how we can improve and build this team up to be regular contenders. I'm excited for (teammate) Robbie's (Wickens) first race, (race engineer) Leena's (Gade) first race, first race of the 2018 kit - there's a lot of stuff to look forward to."

ROBERT WICKENS (No. 6 Lucas Oil SPM Honda): "I've been waiting for this moment for about six months now since the announcement came out that I was joining INDYCAR. We've worked a lot this winter getting me comfortable in the Lucas Oil car. We've gone testing, now what's next is to go racing. I think we've done a pretty good job so far through testing, but we won't really know for sure until we get into the first race. I'm just really eager to get started and get to St. Pete. I've heard the track's great, the fans are great, and now I just want to live it for Sam (Schmidt). All around, I'm just very excited."

WILL POWER (No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet): "The Grand Prix of St. Petersburg has been a great race for Team Penske over the years, and it's such an awesome place to start the season as well. For us, we were able to get last year going with a Verizon P1 Pole Award at St. Pete and we are confident that we will have speed this year. It has really been a place with a lot of ups and downs for us. We've won here twice but we've had two rough races in a row. It's time to get back in victory lane."

TONY KANAAN (No. 14 ABC Supply AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet): "Back in October when we announced that I'd be racing for A.J. (Foyt) this year, I said that we had a lot of work ahead of us, and I'm glad to say that everyone from the team took the challenge and worked hard during the offseason to get us to the INDYCAR season opener in competitive form. I'm excited about starting the season with the new 2018 Indy car in St. Petersburg and to help AJ Foyt Racing get the results they deserve."

GRAHAM RAHAL (No. 15 United Rentals Honda): "St. Pete is one of the greats, and I am happy to get our season going there once again. With some new paving, a new car and a whole lot of new drivers around the series, it's going to be an exciting weekend for everyone, and I can't wait to get it started and hopefully have a great result for United Rentals. I think our team has worked incredibly hard this offseason, and I do think our guys deserve to be rewarded for that. We are all refreshed. We are all anxious and excited for what's to come. I think this year can be something special for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, and I am focused heavily on making that possible!  I am really excited about this new aero kit as I do think it will equalize things. The way I think about it, if you do your job and you nail the setup, you will be right there contending for wins. Before, there were certainly cases and tracks where that wasn't the way it was for us, and it's nice now to feel like we can be rewarded for lots of hard work. New car, more new sponsors, re-energized focus. It's time for us to win championships, and I think if we do so it can help our sport grow even more."

SEBASTIEN BOURDAIS (No. 18 Team Sealmaster Honda): "I live in St. Petersburg and am very proud to be a resident. Downtown is booming and our neighborhood is a great environment to raise a family. St. Pete is my home race and it is an honor to represent the city during race weekend. My first Indy car race was here in 2003 and I took the pole, but until last year I really didn't have a lot of success. It took 15 years, and now I am the defending champion and that feels good. I don't feel any additional pressure to do well, but it's nice to be able to sleep in my own bed and have friends and family at the track." (About the start of the season): "I am looking forward to the start of the 2018 Verizon IndyCar Series season. I want to thank Dale Coyne, Jimmy Vasser and (James) Sulli (Sullivan) for the opportunity to move forward with the program that Dale started a year ago with the support of Honda. I also want to thank Sealmaster and all of our sponsors for their support. This is a small team, but we have proven we can take poles and win races. However, I think we are now putting together what hopefully is a consistent program that can compete at the highest level and contend for a championship."    

ZACHARY CLAMAN DE MELO (No. 19 The Paysafe Car Honda): "I'm extremely excited to kick off the 2018 season in the No. 19 Paysafe Honda. I'm eager to show the world stage what I can do beginning with the season-opening race in St Petersburg. I've made great progress in the gym and in offseason testing, and I look forward to showing that progress on the track."

JORDAN KING (No. 20 Ed Carpenter Racing Fuzzy's Vodka Chevrolet): "I am really excited for my first race weekend in the Verizon IndyCar Series. There has been so much build-up and anticipation, I'm interested in seeing the whole picture come together. The team have done some really good work over the winter. I'm feeling positive going into the weekend but with an open mind on my expectations. Hopefully, we can have a good weekend and take a decent result in my first race in the Fuzzy's Vodka Chevy."

SPENCER PIGOT (No. 21 Autogeek Chevrolet): "I'm really looking forward to getting back to racing again this weekend. St. Pete is always one of the best events of the year, and for me, it's the closest race to where I grew up in Orlando. It's nice to kick off the season where I have lots of family and friends that come to support me. It's my first race weekend as a full-time Verizon IndyCar Series driver, which is pretty exciting. I am in a position where I've always wanted to be. Hopefully, we can have a good weekend in front of our new partners at Autogeek.com and get our season kicked off with a strong result."

SIMON PAGENAUD (No. 22 Menards Team Penske Chevrolet): "I'm really looking forward to St. Petersburg. During the offseason, we did a lot of testing with the new car. We found some great speed and we feel pretty good about the package we're bringing to St. Petersburg. Street courses are a lot of fun, and I really look forward to this one every year. We had a really strong finish there last year which helped us start our season on the right foot. Chevrolet has made a lot of progress on the engine, so I'm excited to go back and see what the No. 22 Menards Chevrolet team and I can do this year."

CHARLIE KIMBALL (No. 23 Tresiba Chevrolet): "I'm so ready to be heading to St. Pete for the 2018 season opener! I feel like a lifetime has passed since the checkered flag in Sonoma last year. In the span of six days back in December, we went from a real low - the Thomas Fire affecting my family's home and ranch in California - to the high of announcing a new deal with Carlin and a 10th season partnered with Novo Nordisk. Then it was back to the reality of rebuilding from the ground up, both at and away from the track. Out in California, I was getting my hands dirty, installing irrigation equipment for the avocado orchard, and with Carlin, I was learning to work with a new group of people and of course the ins and outs of a new car. We had a few test days last week and while time is always limited, I think the No. 23 Tresiba Chevrolet will be in the mix once we hit the track this weekend. I've set high expectations for myself, and I know (team principal) Trevor (Carlin) and the team didn't join the Verizon IndyCar Series just to make up the numbers-they want to win, too."

ZACH VEACH (No. 26 Group One Thousand One Honda): "The last preseason test is behind us now and I couldn't be more excited for St.Pete. We've made big strides in the Group One Thousand One car over the last couple months, and I feel ready to show what we can do on the streets and start our 2018 campaign. I can't thank everyone at Group One Thousand One, Andretti and my crew enough for the effort they put in over the winter, all in preparation for this weekend."

ALEXANDER ROSSI (No. 27 NAPA AUTO PARTS Honda): "Our fight for the championship starts in St. Pete, and I'm really happy to finally get the season started. We have continuity that we haven't necessarily had going into the season opener, with my engineer, crew and strategist all being the same. We have grown to work well together and I think our chemistry will set us apart and help us rise to the top. Hopefully, we'll have the NAPA AUTO PARTS car on the top step of the podium Sunday afternoon."

RYAN HUNTER-REAY (No. 28 DHL Honda): "We've been counting down the days until we could get the DHL Honda back on track, and now we're finally ready to get the 2018 season started. The Grand Prix of St. Pete is one of my favorite races of the year. It's my home race and you really can't beat the track layout or the setting. I've been on the podium four times at St. Pete, all second- and third- place finishes, so we really want to win this year."

TAKUMA SATO (No. 30 Panasonic Honda): "St. Petersburg is the perfect venue to open the season because there is such a good energy there. Everyone looks forward to the warm weather in Florida and the race itself is always unpredictable because it's a street course. We all have a brand new car with the new aero kit and I can't wait to get out there. The car works extremely well and looks really cool. It's more difficult to drive, which is good. For the drivers, there is definitely more action involved in the cockpit due to less downforce which makes the car slide around more and that is always good for the racing. It's a little bit of an unknown right now because I haven't really raced with other cars yet in the street course package, but it seems to be working really well. It's good for the series, good for our races and we will try to have as consistent of a season as possible to try to challenge for the championship. The transition to a new team went extremely well in the offseason. Of course, I was basically returning to the team I drove for in 2012 but there are a lot of new faces to remember but it has gone very well. Testing in the offseason was very short due to the new aero kit, but I think the team did extremely well with the amount of testing we had. We already have shown good speed but there are a lot of things to learn, so hopefully we will be well prepared for St. Petersburg."

RENE BINDER (No. 32 Binderholz tiptop timber Chevrolet): "I have always loved to race on street circuits, like the ones in Monte Carlo or Singapore, so it won't surprise you that I look forward to the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. I have to admit that one single day of preseason testing in Sebring was definitely not enough, but on the other hand, there is extreme commitment and much positive energy in our team. Juncos Racing has given me full support right from the beginning, so we can only hope that there are some fans out there to support our rookie team." 

MAX CHILTON (No. 59 Gallagher Chevrolet): "I'm really excited to be starting a new season in the Verizon IndyCar Series with a new team and a returning partner in Gallagher. I have 100 percent confidence in what Carlin can do as a team, and I'm just glad to be back onboard with them for the 2018 season. St. Pete is such a great street circuit that really offers top-notch racing for both the drivers and the fans, and it doesn't hurt that the city itself is so welcoming. I'm looking forward to getting the No. 59 Gallagher Chevrolet back out on track in St. Pete and hopefully bringing a good result back to Carlin for their first Indy car race."

JACK HARVEY (No. 60 AutoNation/Sirius XM MSR w/SPM Honda): "I am really excited to be racing at the season opener of the 2018 Verizon IndyCar Series. St. Pete has been kind to me in the past, so hopefully we can carry that on this year. We are a new team. It's the first race. We know our expectations and will do our best to deliver. I have all the confidence in the world in both Michael Shank Racing and Schmidt Peterson Motorsports, and I am ready more than ever to kick off the season with a strong debut outing."

GABBY CHAVES (No. 88 Harding Group Chevrolet): "I was really happy to get our testing back to the track this week. Sebring is one of those places that can trick you a little bit, so you have to make sure everything you do makes sense and works. We had a very productive day and were able to check off a lot of items, we are now one step closer to being ready for St. Pete. I am so excited to get back to racing at the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Pete, this will be my second time racing there since my Indy car debut in 2015."

MARCO ANDRETTI (No. 98 Ruoff Home Mortgage / Curb Honda): "I'm really excited to get the season started. It's the first time we'll be racing the new car and this car is much more compatible to my racing style than the car we've had the past few years. St. Pete always means a fresh start, and I have complete confidence in my crew and the No. 98 Ruoff Home Mortgage / Curb Honda to give it all we've got and kick the year off right."

Sato, Andretti receive 'Baby Borg' trophies to honor victory in 101st Indy 500

Sato, Andretti receive 'Baby Borg' trophies to honor victory in 101st Indy 500

18/01/2018, USA, Motorsport - Road Racing, Indy Car, Article # 25511349

 

               
     
Verizon IndyCar Series
  For Immediate Release  
 
Sato, Andretti receive 'Baby Borg' trophies to honor victory in 101st Indy 500

Sato, Andretti receive 'Baby Borg' trophies to honor victory in 101st Indy 500

DETROIT (Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2018) - Verizon IndyCar Series driver Takuma Sato and team owner Michael Andretti each received BorgWarner Championship trophies, also known as the "Baby Borg," this evening to honor their thrilling victory in the 101st Indianapolis 500 presented by PennGrade Motor Oil last May.

BorgWarner Inc. President and CEO James Verrier presented the BorgWarner Championship Driver's Trophy to Sato and the BorgWarner Championship Team Owner's trophy to Andretti Autosport owner Andretti during the annual Automotive News World Congress Dinner in Detroit, held in conjunction with the North American International Auto Show.

"I haven't decided if it's going to Indy or Japan," a smiling Sato said of the ultimate destination for his trophy. "Anywhere will do.

"(Being honored for winning the Indianapolis 500) just never stops, and we're only four months away from the next Indy 500. It's crazy."

The BorgWarner Championship trophies are unique replicas of the iconic Borg-Warner Trophy awarded to the winner of the Indianapolis 500 on Memorial Day weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The Baby Borg trophies are 14 inches high and weigh 5 pounds. The driver's trophy features a hand-crafted, three-dimensional sterling silver image of the winner, a duplicate of the image affixed to the full Borg-Warner Trophy that bears the likeness of every driver to win the race. The owner's trophy features a band of art deco race cars accented in gold to symbolize the importance of teamwork.

Sato, 40, from Tokyo, became the first Japanese driver to win the Indianapolis 500. He started fourth in the No. 26 Andretti Autosport Honda and held off three-time Indy 500 winner Helio Castroneves by just 0.2011 of a second at the finish of a captivating race May 28.

Legendary former Indy car driver Andretti earned his fifth Indianapolis 500 victory as a team owner, each with a different driver. Andretti also was the winning owner in 2005 with Dan Wheldon, 2007 with Dario Franchitti, 2014 with Ryan Hunter-Reay and 2016 with Alexander Rossi.

Andretti is tied with Chip Ganassi for second on the all-time Indianapolis 500 victory list among team owners. Four of Ganassi's wins came as owner of Chip Ganassi Racing, with the fifth as co-owner of Pat Patrick Racing in 1989. Roger Penske leads all owners with 16 victories in "The Greatest Spectacle in Racing."

The 102nd Indianapolis 500 presented by PennGrade Motor Oil is scheduled for May 27. The 2018 Verizon IndyCar Series season starts March 11 with the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida. Both races will be broadcast live on ABC and the Advance Auto Parts INDYCAR Radio Network.  

 
     
               
Verizon IndyCar Series Partners
               
     
Verizon IndyCar Series
  For Immediate Release  
 
Sato, Andretti receive 'Baby Borg' trophies to honor victory in 101st Indy 500

Sato, Andretti receive 'Baby Borg' trophies to honor victory in 101st Indy 500

DETROIT (Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2018) - Verizon IndyCar Series driver Takuma Sato and team owner Michael Andretti each received BorgWarner Championship trophies, also known as the "Baby Borg," this evening to honor their thrilling victory in the 101st Indianapolis 500 presented by PennGrade Motor Oil last May.

BorgWarner Inc. President and CEO James Verrier presented the BorgWarner Championship Driver's Trophy to Sato and the BorgWarner Championship Team Owner's trophy to Andretti Autosport owner Andretti during the annual Automotive News World Congress Dinner in Detroit, held in conjunction with the North American International Auto Show.

"I haven't decided if it's going to Indy or Japan," a smiling Sato said of the ultimate destination for his trophy. "Anywhere will do.

"(Being honored for winning the Indianapolis 500) just never stops, and we're only four months away from the next Indy 500. It's crazy."

The BorgWarner Championship trophies are unique replicas of the iconic Borg-Warner Trophy awarded to the winner of the Indianapolis 500 on Memorial Day weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The Baby Borg trophies are 14 inches high and weigh 5 pounds. The driver's trophy features a hand-crafted, three-dimensional sterling silver image of the winner, a duplicate of the image affixed to the full Borg-Warner Trophy that bears the likeness of every driver to win the race. The owner's trophy features a band of art deco race cars accented in gold to symbolize the importance of teamwork.

Sato, 40, from Tokyo, became the first Japanese driver to win the Indianapolis 500. He started fourth in the No. 26 Andretti Autosport Honda and held off three-time Indy 500 winner Helio Castroneves by just 0.2011 of a second at the finish of a captivating race May 28.

Legendary former Indy car driver Andretti earned his fifth Indianapolis 500 victory as a team owner, each with a different driver. Andretti also was the winning owner in 2005 with Dan Wheldon, 2007 with Dario Franchitti, 2014 with Ryan Hunter-Reay and 2016 with Alexander Rossi.

Andretti is tied with Chip Ganassi for second on the all-time Indianapolis 500 victory list among team owners. Four of Ganassi's wins came as owner of Chip Ganassi Racing, with the fifth as co-owner of Pat Patrick Racing in 1989. Roger Penske leads all owners with 16 victories in "The Greatest Spectacle in Racing."

The 102nd Indianapolis 500 presented by PennGrade Motor Oil is scheduled for May 27. The 2018 Verizon IndyCar Series season starts March 11 with the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida. Both races will be broadcast live on ABC and the Advance Auto Parts INDYCAR Radio Network.  

 

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317-492-4547pcaporali@indycar.com
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Senior Manager, National Media Outreach
317-492-8577kguerra@indycar.com
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Senior Manager, Editorial
317-492-8538mrobinson@indycar.com
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Manager, Lifestyle Communications
317-492-8534ckightlinger@indycar.com
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Coordinator, Media Relations
317-492-8531asribhen@indycar.com
     
               
Verizon IndyCar Series Partners
Universal kit unveiling kicks off 'Future' of Verizon IndyCar Series

Universal kit unveiling kicks off 'Future' of Verizon IndyCar Series

17/01/2018, USA, Motorsport - Road Racing, Indy Car, Article # 25498973
   
Verizon IndyCar Series
  For Immediate Release  

Universal kit unveiling kicks off 'Future' of Verizon IndyCar Series

DETROIT (Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2018) - For INDYCAR, "The Future Starts Now" - and it began today with the official unveiling of the highly anticipated car that will rule the roads, streets and ovals in the Verizon IndyCar Series for 2018 and beyond.

A panel of dignitaries from within the sport and the automotive industry gathered at the North American International Auto Show to talk about the newly developed universal aerodynamic bodywork kit that will be affixed to the Dallara IR-12 chassis and used by all competitors in the 17-race season that begins in seven weeks.

The universal kit is the result of more than two years of discussion, design, simulation and testing. Mark Miles, CEO of Hulman & Company, the parent of INDYCAR and Indianapolis Motor Speedway, told media attending today's presentation that reception to this point has been emphatically positive.

"This may be the public premiere," Miles said, "but there's been a lot of talk and we're having trouble finding a critic. It looks great and ... we believe that the changes that have been made will provide for great racing, more passing, more exciting racing. So we expect that to be great news for the ongoing growth of the series and we're looking forward to seeing this beautiful car in action."

Josef Newgarden won the 2017 Verizon IndyCar Series championship driving a Team Penske Chevrolet in the last of three years of aero kit competition between Chevy and Honda. Those kits constantly sought ways to add downforce for higher cornering speeds - much of it generated by winglets and other aero attachments to the top of the race car. Going forward, the universal kit produces less downforce overall and most of it from the underwing on the bottom of the car.

Newgarden is all for that.

"We've tried to check the boxes on everything you need to with this car to make sure it's going to function well and give us what we were looking for from a design standpoint," said Newgarden, the 27-year-old from suburban Nashville, Tennessee. "INDYCAR is really looking to deliver on big promises. As you can see, it's bolder, it's more daring and really, we believe it has improved aerodynamics that are going to help the racing product tremendously, so I'm looking forward to that probably the most.

"We believe it's going to be faster, we believe it's going to be safer, it's going to provide better racing like we've talked about."

The universal kit was reverse-designed to start with an aesthetically pleasing look - sleek, bold and reminiscent of fan favorites from the 1980s and '90s. From there, the aerodynamic and safety objectives were achieved without sacrificing the appealing appearance.

Walking around the car on stage, Newgarden outlined the changes. He pointed out the smaller front and rear wings with fewer pieces that could create more debris in on-track incidents. He mentioned the redesigned undertray that will improve air flow underneath the car while helping diminish the wake of turbulent air behind the car, thus making it easier for cars to approach and attempt to pass a car in front.

Newgarden also highlighted the sleek lower engine cover, leaner rear tire ramps and improved safety with reinforced sidepods and moving the radiators farther forward to absorb side impacts. He added that removal of the rear wheel guards and other parts from the previous kit shifted the weight balance slightly forward, which will improve handling.

"The design has really been clear on what we're looking for," Newgarden said. "We want it to be an incredible-looking Indy car. We want people to come back to the IndyCar Series and love what we're producing from an aesthetic standpoint, but the message that we really want to push is that our racing product is going to be the best on the planet.

"Speaking as a driver, I don't think you're going to get a better race car out there to drive as far as an open-wheel car goes. You're really going to have a great racing product."

Newgarden's boss, Team Penske owner Roger Penske, also participated in the presentation and agreed with his star driver. Indy cars owned by Penske have won 15 season championships, 16 Indianapolis 500s and 197 total races since 1968.

"I think Josef gave you a good update on the vehicle," Penske said, "but the opportunity to showcase the drivers (with the universal kit) because the downforce was so high on the existing cars in '17 and before, this will give us a great opportunity. I know all the drivers that have tested it, both on the Honda side and the Chevy side, are giving us great reviews, so from a cost perspective, a competitive perspective and I think the look of the car, it's going to be a home run."

Mario Andretti, whose 52 wins rank second on the all-time Indy car chart, has been around the sport for more than five decades. The four-time champion applauded INDYCAR for developing the universal kit and what it means for the series.

"Our audiences today are more sophisticated than ever and they want more and more from us as far as the product, as far as action on the track, overtaking and so forth," the legendary driver said. "We have to give it to them because that's what we like to do, ultimately. I think this is the best way to achieve it.

"Like I said, this thing is beautiful as it is. It's just going back to what the pure open-wheel, single-seater should be."

The 2018 Verizon IndyCar Series schedule consists of 17 races, starting with the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on March 11 (12:30 p.m. ET, ABC), anchored by the 102nd Indianapolis 500 presented by PennGrade Motor Oil on May 27 (11 a.m. ET, ABC) and concluding with the Grand Prix of Sonoma on Sept. 16 (6:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN).  

Watch the NAIAS presentation at: http://www.indycar.com/Videos/2018/01/01-15-Future-Starts-Now-live-stream-promo.

     
               
Verizon IndyCar Series Partners
Tony Kanaan joins AJ Foyt Racing for 2018

Tony Kanaan joins AJ Foyt Racing for 2018

06/10/2017, USA, Motorsport - Road Racing, Indy Car, Article # 24384074

 

               
     
Verizon IndyCar Series
  For Immediate Release  

Tony Kanaan joins AJ Foyt Racing for 2018

INDYCAR is providing a digital Video News Feed featuring material from the Verizon IndyCar Series. The Video News Feed recaps today's announcement that Tony Kanaan will race the No. 14 ABC Supply Chevrolet for AJ Foyt Racing for the 2018 Verizon IndyCar Series season. The announcement took place at the Foyt Wine Vault in Speedway, Indiana.

The video is available for download in the Multimedia - Video News Feed section ofmedia.indycar.com. Those without access to the media site can download footage and interviews via direct link here:  https://file.ac/VBAnBJFJvHU/

Shot list:
• Larry Foyt makes announcement
• Tony Kanaan rides into press conference on golf cart driven by team owner A.J. Foyt
• Photo opportunity with Kanaan, A.J. Foyt, Larry Foyt and engineer Eric Cowdin
• Interview with Larry Foyt
• Interview with Cowdin
• Interview with A.J. Foyt
• Interview with Kanaan

               
     
Verizon IndyCar Series
  For Immediate Release  

Tony Kanaan joins AJ Foyt Racing for 2018

INDYCAR is providing a digital Video News Feed featuring material from the Verizon IndyCar Series. The Video News Feed recaps today's announcement that Tony Kanaan will race the No. 14 ABC Supply Chevrolet for AJ Foyt Racing for the 2018 Verizon IndyCar Series season. The announcement took place at the Foyt Wine Vault in Speedway, Indiana.

The video is available for download in the Multimedia - Video News Feed section ofmedia.indycar.com. Those without access to the media site can download footage and interviews via direct link here:  https://file.ac/VBAnBJFJvHU/

Shot list:
• Larry Foyt makes announcement
• Tony Kanaan rides into press conference on golf cart driven by team owner A.J. Foyt
• Photo opportunity with Kanaan, A.J. Foyt, Larry Foyt and engineer Eric Cowdin
• Interview with Larry Foyt
• Interview with Cowdin
• Interview with A.J. Foyt
• Interview with Kanaan

NBCSN special to honor 2017 Verizon IndyCar Series champion Newgarden

NBCSN special to honor 2017 Verizon IndyCar Series champion Newgarden

28/09/2017, USA, Motorsport - Road Racing, Indy Car, Article # 24296855
   
Verizon IndyCar Series
  For Immediate Release  
 
News from INDYCAR: 2017 Verizon IndyCar Series Championship "Reflection"

NBCSN special to honor 2017 Verizon IndyCar Series champion Newgarden

(Click on the image above to watch a preview of "Verizon IndyCar 2017 Championship Reflection.")

INDIANAPOLIS (Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2017) - When Josef Newgarden became the youngest Indy car champion in more than a decade earlier this month, he accomplished the feat in one of the most competitive Verizon IndyCar Series seasons in memory.

Ten different drivers won in the 17-race season, with seven drivers still mathematically alive for the championship heading into the season finale, the GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma. Newgarden finished second in the race on Sept. 17 to clinch his first championship, be presented the Astor Challenge Cup and earn the $1 million champion's prize.

Relive the excitement of Newgarden's drive to the title - and the 2017 season as a whole - when NBCSN airs "Verizon IndyCar 2017 Championship Reflection" at 7 p.m. ETThursday. The one-hour special will recap the thrills and excitement of the entire campaign and go in-depth with Newgarden on what it meant to become the champion at age 26 - in his sixth Verizon IndyCar Series season and first with vaunted Team Penske.

The special will also stream live on INDYCAR's website (IndyCar.com), YouTube page (youtube.com/indycar) and Facebook page (facebook.com/indycar).

Other season award winners will be recognized on the program produced by IMS Productions. The INDYCAR community will honor Newgarden, Team Penske and other award recipients at a special event to kick off the 2018 season on the weekend of the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg in March.

The complete list of Verizon IndyCar Series season award winners is as follows:

Championship driver (Astor Challenge Cup, $1 million): Josef Newgarden, Team Penske
Jostens Championship Driver (ring worth approximately $10,000): Newgarden
Championship team (Astor Challenge Cup): Team Penske
Championship team manager: Jon Bouslog, Team Penske
Chief mechanic of the year: Vance Welker, Team Penske
Sunoco Diamond Performance ($50,000): Newgarden
Sunoco Rookie of the Year ($50,000): Ed Jones, Dale Coyne Racing
TAG Heuer "Don't Crack Under Pressure" ($25,000): Carlos Munoz, AJ Foyt Racing
PFC "Fast Brake" ($25,000): Newgarden
Verizon P1: Will Power, Team Penske
Second-place championship driver: Simon Pagenaud, Team Penske
Second-place championship team: Team Penske
Third-place championship driver: Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing
Third-place championship team: Chip Ganassi Racing
Manufacturer champion: Chevrolet

Perfect Penske day ends with Pagenaud race win, Newgarden championship

Perfect Penske day ends with Pagenaud race win, Newgarden championship

18/09/2017, USA, Motorsport - Road Racing, Indy Car, Article # 24190736
   
Verizon IndyCar Series
  For Immediate Release  

Perfect Penske day ends with Pagenaud race win, Newgarden championship

SONOMA, California (Sunday, Sept. 17, 2017) - For Team Penske, it was the perfect day at the GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma. Simon Pagenaud won the race to conclude the 2017 Verizon IndyCar Series season. Teammate Josef Newgarden finished second to wrap up the championship.

Pagenaud, the 2016 champion driving the No. 1 DXC Technology Team Penske Chevrolet, beat Newgarden to the finish line by 1.0986 seconds to win the 85-lap race at Sonoma Raceway. It was the Frenchman's 11th career victory and second straight on the 2.385-mile, 12-turn permanent road course. A year ago, Pagenaud won from the pole position at Sonoma to sew up his first championship.

GOPRO GRAND PRIX OF SONOMA: Box score

This year, it was Newgarden who clinched his first title and the $1 million champion's prize by finishing second in the race. The 26-year-old Tennessean held off Pagenaud by 13 points in the final standings to become the first American driver to win the championship since Ryan Hunter-Reay five years ago.

"I don't even know what to say," said Newgarden, the driver of the No. 2 hum by Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet who made his 100th career start today. "It was all year and it took a lot to make it happen. Thank you to my teammates. They were giving me a lot of help to make sure we got this done. It's a huge team effort at Team Penske.

"To finally get it done is a dream come true."

The championship is the 15th for Team Penske, the most decorated team in Indy car history. Newgarden joins the likes of Tom Sneva, Rick Mears, Al Unser, Danny Sullivan, Al Unser Jr., Gil de Ferran, Sam Hornish Jr., Will Power and Pagenaud as Team Penske drivers to win an Indy car title.

"I've had so many great drivers, and as I said, I don't have a favorite," team owner Roger Penske said. "I can't compare (Newgarden) to anyone exactly. He's an American, which is special in this sport because many of the other drivers have come from overseas and different parts of the world. To see Josef kind of take this route and be at the top right now is pretty exciting."

The race ran caution-free for the first time in Sonoma Raceway history, which now spans 14 Indy car events. Newgarden and Pagenaud each led 41 laps. Pagenaud opted for a four-stop strategy to Newgarden's three pit stops, but the Frenchman made up the extra time in pit lane by turning faster laps on an open track.

The decisive race moment came when Pagenaud made his final stop from the lead for fuel and tires on Lap 64. He returned to the track just ahead of the charging Newgarden and held on to first place as the teammates battled around the track. From there, Pagenaud kept Newgarden in his mirrors to the finish.

Pagenaud completed all 2,331 laps this season, becoming just the second driver to finish every lap in a season. Tony Kanaan was the first, when he completed all 3,305 laps when he won the 2004 championship.

"We did what we had to do," Pagenaud said. "We tried. We won the race; it wasn't enough. It's a whole championship. You've got to be strong in every race and I guess Josef was a little stronger this year, so we'll come back. Thirteen points. Next year we'll come back and give him a hell of a competition again."

Power, the 2014 Verizon IndyCar Series champion, gave Team Penske a race podium sweep by placing third in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske. Scott Dixon finished fourth in the No. 9 NTT Data Honda for Chip Ganassi Racing to clinch third in the standings, 23 points behind Newgarden. It is the 11th time in his 17-year career that Dixon, a four-time champion, has finished in the top three in points.

Helio Castroneves wrapped up fourth in the standings by finishing fifth in the race driving the No. 3 Hitachi Team Penske Chevrolet. Completing his 20th year racing Indy cars, the 42-year-old Brazilian is still in search of his first series championship.

By finishing third in the race, Power - the 2014 Verizon IndyCar Series champion - earned fifth place in the standings.

An hour-long special documenting the 2017 Verizon IndyCar Series season and Newgarden's championship will air at 7 p.m. ET Sept. 28 on NBCSN.  

"What They're Saying" from GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma

SIMON PAGENAUD (No. 1 DXC Technology Team Penske Chevrolet):  "I want to thank everybody on the DXC Technology Chevrolet team today. It was a phenomenal performance, I think, all weekend. I want to congratulate Josef (Newgarden), of course, and Team Penske. I think our team this weekend and the whole season showed how strong everybody is at Team Penske. Back-to-back champions. It's phenomenal. Great testament to a great team spirit and I'm very happy for him. He deserves it. We did what we had to do. We tried. We won the race; it wasn't enough. It's a whole championship. You've got to be strong on every race and I guess Josef was a little stronger this year so we'll come back. Thirteen points (behind). Next year we'll come back and give him a hell of a competition again."

JOSEF NEWGARDEN (No. 2 hum by Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet):  "I'm so proud of these guys. I don't even know what to say. It was all year. It took a lot to make this happen. Thank you to my teammates. They were giving me a lot of help today in making sure that we got this done. It's a huge team effort at Team Penske. So, it's cool to do this with Verizon. Verizon does so much for the IndyCar Series. They've given fans such great access over the years. I'm happy to have this car for the championship. It's super fitting; and all the other partners we've had at Team Penske. It's just been phenomenal working with Team Chevy. We've had so many great partners on this car. And to finally get it done is a dream come true. It's too awesome. It was hard. I was using my natural instincts. I was trying to get (Simon) Pagenaud there because that's what I normally do. I try to win the race whenever possible. They were telling me to be patient and not do something stupid. I tried to get him, but I also tried not to do anything dumb for the team. Like I said, this has been a team effort. So, I'm happy for Pagenaud. He had the pace to win today, for sure; he's very deserving. This entire group makes this happen. I'm so thankful and happy with everything that Team Penske has done. Congrats to everyone at the factory. This is an amazing amount of work that goes into this."

HELIO CASTRONEVES (No. 3 Hitachi Team Penske Chevrolet):  "I'm always going to focus on the positive thing. I'm not going to focus on Texas when we had a problem, or other races that I missed strategy or made mistakes. You've got to think about, again, it was another season that we pushed as hard as we could and another top four. And again, sometimes it's funny because you see the statistics, finished second - I finished second four times. But it was more times - the P4 is not what it represents because we were in a battle a lot more years than that. And that's what I look at. I look because each year that's what kept me motivated to come back and push hard, and that for me was hard. Sometimes it's - well, I try, but to get one - it's easy to follow from that position, but to keep up like I've been doing all these years, I think it's the hardest thing to do. But it doesn't just happen. It comes with a great team. It comes with great dedication from your guys, great trust, and obviously, myself to keep motivated, finding ways to keep pushing and having teammates like I have today, no question, helped me to become a better driver. The Hitachi Chevrolet team was great all season and I can't thank them enough for their hard work dedication."

CONOR DALY (No. 4 ABC Supply AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet): "I have to thank the boys for keeping faith in the strategy. It was a bold move to make the three-stop call. We were able to make the numbers but we got stuck behind (Jack) Harvey in the third part of that stint which was really frustrating. I think it impeded us from doing a little bit better. In the end, another top-10 which is really positive from where we started this weekend. It was a good consistent race. It was tough - there were a lot of moments of flying through the air and banging wheels with people. It was wild, so I'm just happy to come back in one piece and have another consistent finish to end the year. I'm happy to finally finish a double points race, I've never done that, so that was nice."

JAMES HINCHCLIFFE (No. 5 Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Honda):"Obviously not the ending to the race or to the year that we wanted. This weekend has been tough from rolling off the trailer on Thursday, but this team never gives up and we kept fighting. Really had high hopes for the race with some big changes overnight and we were going to go off-strategy to try and make some moves. After a good start, we made up a couple spots and then I was trying to set up someone going through Turn 3, and I guess Spencer (Pigot) just went for a gap that was closing and hit us, spun us out and put us to the back of the field and did some damage to the car. From there on it was tough just hanging on to the No. 5 Arrow Electronics machine. Like I said, we don't give up, and we kept digging, trying to make up whatever spots we could, but ultimately some damage was done to the electronics on the car and the gearbox electronics stopped working so I was stuck in gear. Very unfortunate, but still a lot to be proud of this season. A lot of bad luck came our way when we were running well, didn't get the results we wanted, but we already have our eyes on 2018. Looking forward to the new car and going into next season stronger. Thank you to everyone on this SPM team, Arrow and all of our supporters. Big congrats to Josef (Newgarden) on clinching the championship."

JACK HARVEY (No. 7 AutoNation Honda): "The highlight of our weekend was coming home to the checkered flag (laughs). It was nice to get to the end of the two races that we were able to do with SPM and bring home the AutoNation Sirius XM car in one piece. Although we weren't very quick today, I'm glad we were able to do that for the guys. I don't know exactly what, but we seemed to be missing something all weekend, and I think we missed it from the first session which put us on the back foot immediately. The thing is, when you're racing against some of the best teams in the world, without a doubt some of the best drivers, too, you just can't afford to have that happen. The race itself, I initially had a good start, picked up three spots, but kind of got caught up in someone else's debacle in turn 9 which kind of shuffled me back. I think we just lacked pace. In the end, I'm just really grateful for all of the support I've had from my partners and the whole SPM team, and I hope I'm fortunate enough to have the opportunity to do this all over again, hopefully in St. Pete next year."

MAX CHILTON (No. 8 Gallagher Honda): "My target for the year was to win the (Indianapolis) 500, finish in the top 10 in the championship, and later it was to catch Tony (Kanaan) in the championship. We nearly won the 500, finished a few points out of the top 10, and Tony finished just in front of me, so we just missed out on our targets barely. But I think the Gallagher team should feel pretty good about what we did accomplish."

SCOTT DIXON (No. 9 NTT Data Honda): "It just seems like the No. 3 car covered us. Every time we short-pitted they followed us and he was just a massive roadblock. Once we got into clean air, we were able to make up ground, but every time we got into traffic we got real loose. Huge credit to everyone on the NTT Data crew obviously not the way we wanted to finish. A big congrats to Penske and Josef (Newgarden) on a job well done."

TONY KANAAN (No. 10 NTT Data Honda): "Starting the race being hit from behind on the first lap really took away any chances that we had to have a good race. We had to come in right away for a flat tire and once we got shuffled back with the unplanned stop it was almost impossible to get back toward the front. I'd say overall, it's been a difficult season for myself and the No. 10 NTT Data Honda. We've had a lot of things go wrong that we couldn't control and some that we could, but I'm going into the offseason very optimistic about next season. NTT Data has been a great partner for me over the last three years and it's been great to see that partnership grow. I want to thank Chip (Ganassi) and the whole Chip Ganassi Racing team for giving me the opportunity to be a part of this team and I wish them nothing but the best."

WILL POWER (No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet): "It was pretty obvious a couple races ago that we were in trouble after Gateway, so yeah, I mean, it's great for the team. Obviously, you want to be the one that wins it, but it's very tough these days, and you've got to have a very solid year to get it done, and when I look at this year, no one made mistakes. You see the top six there, top six or seven are the top six or seven almost every race. We had some ups and downs with the No. 12 Verizon Chevy team, but it was a good year. We won some races and some poles. We'll give it another go next year."

ZACHARY CLAMAN DEMELO (No. 13 Paysafe Honda): "Jack Harvey and Tony Kanaan came together and they got stuck and slowed down a bit more than I anticipated. I just clipped Harvey, who was really close, and unfortunately, I broke the front wing which forced us to make an early pit stop. After that, the pace was really good. I just tried to do my own thing, but unfortunately dropped a lap down. I ran with some quick guys like Will Power and Helio (Castroneves), and drove away from Helio. I made some positions back on lapped traffic and ended up finishing 17th. It was a good day. I learned a lot and want to thank Paysafe for the opportunity. It's nice to complete my first race and get this many laps in. Overall I'm happy with the day."

CARLOS MUNOZ (No. 14 ABC Supply AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet): "IThe first pit stop we had a problem and we lost some time there. It maybe cost us three positions. We had quite a good pace compared to the others. It's been a tough season but I think in the end we finished pretty good. We had some ups and downs. Thank you to all the team and ABC Supply for the season and we'll see what happens."

GRAHAM RAHAL (No. 15 United Rentals / SoldierStrong Honda): "We had a great race and raised more money for United Rentals and the Turns for Troops program. We went out there and pushed as hard as we could. The Honda engine got us great fuel mileage so that made life a little bit easier. We could attack for quite a lot of the race. Obviously tires were key today. They went off a lot. We tried as hard as we could to make some good passes, but I think sixth is the best that we could expect this weekend. I tried to get by Helio (Castroneves) there near the end, but came up a little bit short. I was in front of him but he broke really late, which I would have done too, and just slid across my front. We have finished fourth, fifth, and now sixth in the standings this year. Our team is doing a good job. We have a lot to be proud of this year. We have to just keep pushing as hard as we can. I hope we can come out on top next year."

SEBASTIEN BOURDAIS (No. 18 UNIFIN Honda): "We started off pretty strong this week and felt really good the first couple of days but then we lost it on Friday afternoon. I don't know what we did wrong, or what I did wrong, but we couldn't find the pace we had earlier in the week. Today's race was a pretty miserable day with nothing really to fight for. It's never the kind of race you want to have. It's disappointing, but it was a bit a reflection of our year with highs and lows. We'll forget about 2017 and look forward and hope to have a better stretch next year."

ED JONES (No. 19 Boy Scouts of America Honda): "I had a good start and gained quite a few positions. I attacked really hard because I knew that would be the best opportunity to make up any ground. After that, we had pretty decent pace. We ran 12th for a long time and we were on course to finish 11th. Maybe we could have even slipped into the top 10. That's our first technical failure of the whole season. Obviously, it's frustrating that it happened at the end. But then again, everything has gone so well so far that it's going to happen eventually. It's just too bad that it happened at the last one. I want to thank Dale (Coyne) and (his wife) Gail and the whole team for the opportunity they gave me this season. I hope we can do it again next year."

SPENCER PIGOT (No. 20 Fuzzy's Vodka Chevrolet): "I damaged my front wing on the first lap by getting into James (Hinchcliffe) at the top of Turn 3. It was definitely not my intent to ruin their race, so apologies to James and all of his crew. That incident also made a long race for us. We were forced to save fuel and just pound around out there just to see what positions we could make up. Overall, I learned a lot this year and I'm excited to be back in the Fuzzy's Vodka car in 2018."

JR HILDEBRAND (No. 21 Fuzzy's Vodka Chevrolet): "It just felt good to put in a good race. I really enjoy this track and I had a lot of friends and family in the crowd, so that's always fun. We diced it up pretty good early in the race in the first couple of stints. We had one particularly bad stint. We had a set of (Firestone alternate) reds that just went off big time and lost a lot of track position. After that, we kept getting caught behind cars we were quicker than, but we were catching them too late in the stints to do anything about it. Unfortunately, we weren't able to make totally good on what was a pretty good day in terms of overall pace. All in all, I'm glad to be back on track here and had fun out there. We'll see what goes on from here."

TAKUMA SATO (No. 26 Andretti Autosport Honda): "It was an unforgettable season. I had a great time in the team and we are so bonded for the No. 26 boys. I can't thank every single person in the entire Andretti Autosport family enough. It was a great time and we achieved something, an unbelievable (Indianapolis 500) win. (Today's result is) a shame, we wanted to finish strong but this is motor racing. I really appreciate everybody's support. Thank you for everything. It's been a tough, roller coaster season but we showed tremendous speed, especially for the last six races. It's unbelievable, always (being) one of the top Hondas. That's something I'm really proud of with the No. 26 boys and it was a fabulous year so thank you for everything."

MARCO ANDRETTI (No. 27 United Fiber & Data Honda): "I think we pretty much maximized our pace today. We probably could have gotten (Graham) Rahal, but I couldn't hold him on black (Firestone tires). I was on cold blacks and I locked up, so I did the best I could to keep him behind me. It was pretty obvious the Penske cars were in a league of their own so we were just trying to maximize what we had going on. We don't come here to finish seventh but it's a decent result, it's something to build on. I really think the (2018) package will be way more to my strengths. I struggle in the high-speed corners, I struggled in (Turn) 6 today so I need to get a grip on that. I don't just want to turn the page after not being great this year, I want to figure out why we weren't great. I have no doubt next year we can be on it. I tidied up my street course game, which was my old weakness, so I think if we get my strength back on the short ovals, where I used to be good, who knows?"

RYAN HUNTER-REAY (No. 28 DHL Honda): "I don't know what happened on the start, but (our lane) didn't go and I got jumped by three or four cars there. It was kind of a mess. We were just in recovery mode from there, trying to get back up where we started. We made some setup changes before the race that didn't work out. Often in this sport it's trial and error, and we found what didn't work today. Disappointing finish to the race but all in all, looking at where we were in the championship points leaving Indy, to finish ninth in the championship, we clawed our way back many, many spots. But, we're here to win races, win championships and we've certainly had our fair share of misfortune this year but there's also a lot we could have done better. We'll have to put all that together and hopefully have a little bit better luck next year and be a stronger overall effort."

CHARLIE KIMBALL (No. 83 Tresiba Honda): "I think as predicted by a lot of people, today's race was a lot about tire fall-off. We fought rear grip and traction for most of the day, especially after about four or five laps in a stint. Overall I'm proud of the guys on the Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing team. They didn't give up today and they haven't given up all year. They kept their chins up and kept pushing as hard as they could. I think the 83 crew doesn't know the definition of giving up. I'm appreciative of everyone at Chip Ganassi Racing for the last seven years and I'm not sure what the future holds. I'll relax tonight and get back to work on next season tomorrow."

ALEXANDER ROSSI (No. 98 NAPA Auto Parts/Curb Honda): "It was a pretty disappointing day, to have a mechanical issue after the first stop. I think we were in a pretty decent position to possibly get in the top five after our opening stint but it wasn't meant to be today. A huge shout out to the NAPA Auto Parts team and the Andretti-Herta boys for the hard work back in the garage to get us back out there, we picked up another spot. To close the season off this way is disappointing but at the same time, there's a huge amount of positives we can take from the year and I can't wait to get started again in 2018."

GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma

INDYCAR is providing a digital Video News Feed featuring material from the Verizon IndyCar Series. The Video News Feed features footage from the final race of the 2017 season, the GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma, which took place Sunday at Sonoma Raceway in Sonoma, California.

The video is available for download in the Multimedia - Video News Feed section of media.indycar.com . Those without access to the media site can download footage and interviews via direct link here: https://file.ac/zZUMeYL4V54/ 

Race shot list: 

 

  • Aerial shot of track
  • Beauty of Sonoma Raceway building
  • Astor Cup on pit lane
  • No. 9 Scott Dixon getting ready
  • No. 3 Helio Castroneves getting ready
  • No. 2 Josef Newgarden getting ready
  • Green flag, first lap
  • No. 26 Takuma Sato flat tire
  • No. 4 Conor Daly and No. 21 JR Hildebrand battle, both cars go over curbs
  • No. 1 Simon Pagenaud off track
  • No. 5 James Hinchcliffe car slows, pulls into pit lane
  • Newgarden leads
  • Pagenaud pits and beats No. 2 Josef Newgarden on track
  • Team Penske owner Roger Penske
  • Newgarden chases down Pagenaud
  • Pagenaud takes the checkered flag
  • Newgarden wins championship
  • Newgarden and Pagenaud do donuts
  • Newgarden out of car, congratulates team
  • Newgarden on championship stage with American flag
  • Newgarden SOT
  • Pagenaud out of car, congratulates team
  • Pagenaud with race win trophy
  • Pagenaud sprays champagne on crew
  • Pagenaud SOT

 

Championship winner footage and SOT:

 

  • Newgarden presented with Astor Cup
  • Newgarden and crew poses with Astor Cup
  • Newgarden interview
Also available is footage of the celebrities that attended the GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma.
 
Golden State Warriors shooting guard Klay Thompson served as grand marshal, giving the "drivers, start your engines" command, kicking off Verizon IndyCar Series's championship race. He also took a thrill ride around the track in a two-seat Indy car.
 
U.S. Olympic gymnast Aly Raisman helped Thompson start the race by leading the field of competitors to the green flag in the Honda "Fastest Seat in Sports" two-seater with racing legend Mario Andretti at the wheel.
 
Earlier in the weekend, two-time Super Bowl winner and San Francisco 49ers Hall of Famer Tom Rathman took a ride in the two-seat Indy car, as did San Francisco Giants pitchers Matt Cain, Steve Okert and Josh Osich.
 
Those without access to the media site can download celebrity footage and interviews via direct link here: https://file.ac/MhWosfcVhc4/  
 
 
Klay Thompson two-seater INDYCAR GoPro footage:
  • Klay Thompson gets in INDYCAR Experience two-seater
  • Full lap on board footage
  • Klay Thompson meets Mario Andretti
 
Olympian Aly Raisman and Mario Andretti on-board GoPro shot list:
  • Mario Andretti suiting up and getting in the car
  • Andretti's on board GoPro view 
  • Aly Raisman's on board GoPro view
 
 
Raisman - Andretti b-roll shot list:
  • Aly Raisman and Mario Andretti introductions
  • Walking to pit lane
  • Taking pictures with fans
  • Pre-ride interview with Raisman and Andretti
  • Raisman suiting up
  • Andretti getting in the car 
  • Two-seater pulling out
  • Raisman hugging and thanking Andretti
  • Post-ride interview with Raisman and Andretti
Celebrity two-seater INDYCAR rides for Bay area athletes:
  • Two-seater shot Mario Andretti on side of two-seater
  • Two-seater being pushed out
  • Andretti
  • Giants pitchers Steve Okert and Matt Cain
  • Okert and pitcher Josh Osich
  • Okert, Osich, and Cain
  • Andretti
  • Two-seater drives through the hairpin
  • Two-seater pulls out on track
  • Cain and 49er Hall of Fame inductee Tom Rathman
  • Cain takes off helmet, Rathman gets in two-seater
  • Mario Andretti GoPro ride view
  • Okert suit-up, gets in car, poses with car after ride
  • Okert interview
  • Okert GoPro ride view
  • Osich face, suit up, climbs in car, poses with car after ride
  • Osich interview
  • Osich GoPro ride view
  • Cain in car with Mario
  • Cain interview
  • Cain GoPro ride view
  • Rathman standing, in car, and poses with car after ride
  • Rathman interview
  • Rathman GoPro ride view

GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma

Click HERE to view and download the official box score from the GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma.

SONOMA, California - Results Sunday of the GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma Verizon IndyCar Series event on the 2.385-mile Sonoma Raceway, with order of finish, starting position in parentheses, driver, aero kit-engine, laps completed and reason out (if any):

1. (3) Simon Pagenaud, Chevrolet, 85, Running 
2. (1) Josef Newgarden, Chevrolet, 85, Running
3. (2) Will Power, Chevrolet, 85, Running
4. (6) Scott Dixon, Honda, 85, Running
5. (4) Helio Castroneves, Chevrolet, 85, Running
6. (9) Graham Rahal, Honda, 85, Running
7. (11) Marco Andretti, Honda, 85, Running
8. (7) Ryan Hunter-Reay, Honda, 85, Running
9. (10) Sebastien Bourdais, Honda, 85, Running
10. (13) Conor Daly, Chevrolet, 85, Running
11. (15) Charlie Kimball, Honda, 85, Running
12. (14) Max Chilton, Honda, 85, Running
13. (17) Spencer Pigot, Chevrolet, 84, Running
14. (20) JR Hildebrand, Chevrolet, 84, Running
15. (22) Carlos Munoz, Chevrolet, 84, Running 
16. (12) Tony Kanaan, Honda, 84, Running
17. (21) Zachary Claman DeMelo, Honda, 84, Running
18. (19) Jack Harvey, Honda, 84, Running
19. (18) Ed Jones, Honda, 69, Off Course
20. (5) Takuma Sato, Honda, 62, Off Course 
21. (8) Alexander Rossi, Honda, 60, Running
22. (16) James Hinchcliffe, Honda, 52, Electrical 

Race Statistics
Winner's average speed: 104.968 mph
Time of Race: 1:55:52.6840
Margin of victory: 1.0986 seconds
Cautions: 0
Lead changes: 6 among 3 drivers

Lap Leaders:
Newgarden 1-17 
Daly 18-20 
Pagenaud 21-29 
Newgarden 30-39 
Pagenaud 40-47 
Newgarden 48-61 
Pagenaud 62-85 

Verizon IndyCar Series point standings: Newgarden 642, Pagenaud 629, Dixon 621, Castroneves 598, Power 562, Rahal 522, Rossi 494, Sato 441, Hunter-Reay 421, Kanaan 403.

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