Testing SpeedwayMedia.com

Category: Featured Other Series

Featured Other Series

Simona de Silvestro to Run Indianapolis 500 for Andretti Autosport

Andretti Autosport announced on Thursday, April 2 that Simona de Silvestro will drive the No. 29 TE Connectivity Dallara-Honda in the 99th Running of the Indianapolis 500 in May.

“I’m so excited to be representing TE Connectivity at this year’s Indy 500,” de Silvestro said. “It’s really great that they’re partnering with me in my efforts during the Indy 500, and with their advance technologies in my Honda Indy car, I will for sure have one of the best opportunities to win during the Month of May. I’m really looking forward to racing the No. 29 TE Connectivity car for the 99th Running of the Indy 500.”

de Silvestro will be the fifth entry for AA in the biggest race of the season, joining 2014 Indianapolis 500 Champion Ryan Hunter-Reay, 2013 Indy 500 Rookie of the Year Carlos Muñoz and veteran racers Marco Andretti and Justin Wilson. She ran the season-opener at St. Petersburg for AA, finishing 18th after contact during the race. She has one podium finish (second at Houston in 2013) in 66 starts. The Swiss driver spent last year as a test pilot for a Formula One team.

“Simona did a great job for us in St. Pete and we are excited to add her as a fifth Andretti entry for the Indy 500,” team owner Michael Andretti said. “We could not have found a better partner than TE Connectivity to be the primary sponsor of the No. 29. While their experience in racing is longstanding with their connector and sensor solutions, they are new to the sponsorship team and show great passion for the sport. I look forward to a successful future with TE Connectivity as part of the Andretti family.”

TE Connectivity joined AA in March as the team’s Official Connectivity and Sensor Solutions Sponsor. TE is known for their high-performance technology.

“TE Connectivity’s connectivity and sensor technologies are in every Andretti Autosport Indy car and meet the high performance standards and extreme conditions that Andretti Autosport requires,” Amy Shah, chief marketing officer, TE Connectivity, said. “We’re proud to be associated with Andretti Autosport and Simona de Silvestro, two groundbreaking leaders in motorsports. We believe the No. 29 TE Connectivity car incorporates a potent blend of advanced engineering, one of the world’s most exciting female drivers and deep autosport history that will be exciting to watch at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway this May.”

April 3, 2015
ABC Supply to Sponsor Pocono IndyCar Race in August

Pocono Raceway announced that ABC Supply will sponsor the Verizon IndyCar race happening at the speedway on August 23. The race will be known as the ABC Supply 300.

“ABC Supply is a true industry leader and their love of racing couples our own,” Pocono Raceway president and CEO Brandon Igdalsky, said. “They have been involved in motorsports for over 10 years now and we are thrilled to welcome them to our extended Raceway family. We cannot wait to work with them to promote the ABC Supply 500 this year.”

This season’s event marks the third consecutive year that IndyCar has visited the Pennsylvania oval. Juan Pablo Montoya won the event last season.

“For a decade now, our racing program has brought thousands of our associates and customers together to celebrate and cheer for our team,” ABC vice president of operations Mike Jost said. “This year we are excited to have the chance to increase awareness of both ABC Racing and INDYCAR in general with our sponsorship of the ABC Supply 500 at Pocono Raceway.”

ABC Supply is the primary sponsor for the AJ Foyt Racing entries, driven by Takuma Sato and Jack Hawksworth. They will also sponsor the July 12 race at the Milwaukee Mile.

“It means a lot to me that ABC Supply is sponsoring the IndyCar race at Pocono Raceway this year,” Foyt said. “ABC Supply has been a great sponsor for me and for INDYCAR for the past 10 years, so I’m glad to see them align themselves with Pocono. Pocono Raceway has always been one of my favorite tracks because I really enjoyed racing there.

“The owners, the late Doc Mattioli and his wife Dr. Rose, were and continue to be really good friends of mine. Their grandsons, Brandon and Nick, have done a great job following in their footsteps with all they have done at the track in recent years. I think the fans will see another fun and competitive Indy race there this year.”

April 1, 2015
Montoya Attributes Lessons From Last Year to Victory at St. Petersburg

In his return to IndyCar racing last year, Juan Pablo Montoya didn’t have as much success on the street courses as he would’ve hoped for. However, he’s starting this year off on the right note, scoring the victory in the season opener.

“It’s exciting,” he commented. “Last year was very disappointing. It was tough not only here but generally on the street courses. I’m a guy that always excelled at street courses everywhere I raced. To come here and have a year with really bad street course racing, it was pretty tough. I was never happy with the car.

“You know, with my engineers, we decided to go in a completely different way the than the other guys. It paid off. My pace on black tires was pretty, pretty good.”

Montoya’s success attributes to how much he is adapted to the cars going into this year, versus last year, as he knows the small things that are going to make a difference. Looking at what he learned, it paid off when it came to restarts.

“Last year going to the restarts, I was thinking, Don’t hit anything. Try to pass somebody, but I was behind the car and I didn’t have enough time to look for opportunities,” he said. “In these restarts, I knew how far I could go, brake, make the corner. You know what I mean? Everything just clicked. I was looking for the hole, always looking for the hole. I think that was a big plus. “

He also attributes to the success to how well they got the car driving for him over the off-season, allowing him to post solid, fast, consistent laps on the black compound.

The pieces came together the final run, though, when Montoya was able to get out of the pits ahead of Will Power, who had dominated the race.

“I think what I did really well was my out-lap on red tires,” he commented. “I was on it. I knew he was going to be struggling, so I had to take advantage of that. I think my out-lap was really fast. I think that helped.”

Montoya was able to open up a three-second gap, before backing off to save fuel so he could make it to the end of the race. Though as a result, that allowed Power to start cutting into the advantage, cutting it down eventually to three car lengths.

“I’m like, I know, I know he’s coming,” Montoya said. “I know if I push, I’m going to open the gap, but I am going to kill the tires, and the last 10 laps I’m going to get passed.”

With five laps to go, Power was able to make his move, diving to the inside of Montoya.

“He was still two car lengths behind,” Montoya said. “Every lap there, I was lifting, then braking. I just went there hard, braked pretty deep. He had nothing. His front tire was against my back tire. Pretty optimistic.

“But it was good. I made it pretty tight for him, you know. But we run pretty smart, so that was pretty cool.”

Montoya was able to hold off the charge, and as a result, grab the victory. The success for Montoya this early in the season means a lot, versus starting off struggling and having to earn points throughout to make up ground. It’s success that he attributes to the relationship that he has with his teammates, and how strong Team Penske is as a team.

“The relationship I have you notice with Will, with Simon, with Helio. It’s really good,” he shared. “We help each other. We push each other really hard. Honestly, every time we’re on the track, we’re trying to beat each other, even testing. We’re looking at each other’s data, video. The cool thing here at Team Penske is if somebody is quick somewhere, you can go ask them, What are you doing here? I aim at this, I look for this. So it makes it really easy. It makes it easier for you to go fast.”

Now going into the rest of the season, there are high hopes for success to happen across the board, and a possible championship for the Columbian.

“I felt on the ovals I was really good last year everywhere,” he commented. “Going to street courses was painful. Going to road courses, we were getting better, finding a few things. We made a lot of changes. If you went and looked at my setup against the other three cars, you would think I’m completely insane.

“But I won the race, so I’m not that crazy, I guess.”

March 31, 2015
Tony Kanaan Breaks Up Penske Party With A Third Place Finish

While Team Penske dominated the weekend at St. Petersburg, it was Tony Kanaan that came in to split up the party, finishing third in the middle of a 1-2-4-5 Penske finish.

“All in all I think was a good weekend for us,” he commented. “Obviously Penske dominated qualifying. We were able to break up the 1-2-3-4 today. I was glad we were able to do that. But they definitely did a very good job in the race. They had a pretty good pace. We couldn’t catch them.”

A lot of people have pinned the season already to be a Penske dominated year, which is something that Kanaan recognizes, saying they are “ridiculously good everywhere”.

“They don’t mess around,” Kanaan spoke of the organization. “They’re here to win races, just like Chip. That’s all they want. I think year after year they keep increasing the quality of their people. They add another driver this year, which obviously makes those other guys to push each other.”

Kanaan added that there’s no special secret, as it’s just putting a good organization together with the best people that you can get paired with really good drivers to increase your chances of winning.

“I think they’re dialed in,” he continued. “It’s up to us to try to break that, like we did today. They’re definitely the guys to beat.”

Along those lines, Kanaan feels that the gap that Penske currently holds should close in the coming weeks, when the teams go to the tracks that they’ve tested at pre-season, like NOLA Motorsports Park and Barber Motorsports Park.

“We know they’re going to be strong all year. We can’t let the results like that go away. We’re going to have to step it up,” he stated. “They have a very good team. I know how it feels. I’ve been on a team like that many years ago. For us it was great. We made everybody else mad.”

While driving for Andretti, Kanaan was part of a 1-2-3-4 at St. Petersburg. One of the drivers on that team was Dan Wheldon.

“I said, You know what, that was so great with Dan. We shouldn’t allow that to happen yet,” Kanaan said. “I was glad that we didn’t.”

For his first race with the new manufacture based aerokits, the Brazilin was pleased, saying that they made the racing a lot of closer throughout the field.

“I couldn’t believe that that was going to happen,” he commented. “Of course, when you add more flaps and more wings, the chances to see more pieces flying are greater. In a way I think it’s a good thing. In the past I think we had too much of a strong cars, that we would use that against each other, nothing would happen. Nowadays you’re going to have to think about what to do.”

Though the close racing also had some drawbacks, with pieces of debris scattered around the racing surface, resulting in three separate debris cautions.

“You know, you’re not supposed to hit anybody, man,” Kanaan said. “It’s open-wheel. It’s not stockcar or touring car racing.”

March 31, 2015
Juan Pablo Montoya Holds Off Will Power To Win Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg

Will Power dominated the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, but Juan Pablo Montoya would get the advantage following the final set of pit stops. He then held off his Team Penske teammate throughout the final laps, scoring the victory.

“The tires were not falling off and right there at the end I was just running slow to look after them,” Montoya said. “When I needed to push I could push. Everybody with Verizon and Team Penske did an amazing job; Chevy as well. This aero kit is amazing to drive.”

The battle for the lead did not come without contact, though, as Power dived to the inside of Montoya through the city section of the street course with approximately five laps to go. However, there wasn’t quite enough room, and contact would be made between the pair of Dallara-Chevrolets, with a piece of the nose breaking off of Power’s car.

“I saw him make the move but he was way too far and I wasn’t going to give him the position,” Montoya said. “If he was beside me I would have said, ‘OK, go ahead.’ When I got to the turning point he wasn’t even close. It is a shame we touched, but it’s all good, it’s racing.”

“If I hadn’t damaged my (front) wing, maybe I would have had another shot,” Power commented. “He was very strong on the front straight and my exits weren’t very good. That was really my only chance. I thought maybe I would catch him off-guard there. You don’t expect someone to pass there, so, yeah, I gave it a shot. I was surprised at how aggressively he turned, but he wanted to win the race and so did I.”

Chip Ganassi Racing driver Tony Kanaan would finish third after running in front solidly throughout the day.

“(Team owner) Chip (Ganassi) told me to bring the NTT Data car back in one piece. He didn’t want to see a scratch apart from the marbles,” Kanaan said. “We tried to stay out of trouble. The Penske guys were definitely tough today. On that last stint, we had to save a little bit more fuel, and not having the pace, I had to drop back. But we will take third. It’s good points, and we have to work from here.”

Helio Castroneves and Simon Pagenaud finished fourth and fifth, to put all four Team Penske cars in the top-five. For Roger Penske, this marks his 175th career Verizon IndyCar Series victory.

“It was a fight between our two guys in front. It was just an amazing weekend,” Penske said. “To come back this year with the fast times in qualifying and win this race 1-2, and four drivers in the top six, wow, what a day.”

Sebastien Bourdais finished sixth, giving Chevrolet a sweep of the top-six spots in the first race of the season with the new aerodynamic kits. Ryan Hunter-Reay would cross the line seventh behind the wheel of his No. 27 Dallara-Honda.

“I think that was the hardest seventh-place finish I’ve seen,” he said. “That’s how it is sometimes, when you have bad days you have to bring home solid top 10s. We’ll take the top 10 and move ahead with the DHL car for New Orleans.”

Jack Hawksworth finished eighth, followed by Luca Filippi and Marco Andretti. Graham Rahal was running within the top 10, though would finish 11th following a pass-thru penalty after he made contact with Charlie Kimball, causing Kimball to hit the turn 10 wall on lap 55. Kimball would finsh 21st.

James Hinchcliffe was hoping to start off his relationship with Schmidt Peterson Motorsports on a positive note, however a flat tire after contact with Gabby Chaves resulted in a 16th place finish.

March 29, 2015
Will Power Scores Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg Pole; Team Penske Sweeps Top Four

Team Penske has dominated so far this weekend in St. Petersburg, and that continued during qualifying as the organization would sweep the top four spots.

Will Power would top the session behind the wheel of his No. 1 Verizon Dallara-Chevrolet with a lap of one minute and 0.6931 seconds for a new track record. It marks his 37th career pole, putting him sixth place on the all-time pole winners list. It also marks his fifth career pole at St. Petersburg.

“I was really satisfied to get pole here today,” Power said. “All the practice sessions are working towards that, literally one lap that gets you pole. It’s a session where everyone gives it everything they’ve absolutely got. When you get pole, it’s very satisfying. It’s really difficult these days to do that. You don’t see anyone getting more than three or four poles during a season now. It’s the same for wins. Anytime you’re at that end of an INDYCAR field, it’s awesome.”

Simon Pagenaud would qualify second for his first race with Team Penske, three hundreths off of Power. It marks Pagenaud’s best start since winning the pole back at Houston in 2014.

“It’s very fast. I’m super happy, to be honest,” Pagenaud commented. “It’s incredible to start this way with Team Penske. We have a lot of pace. The car is fantastic. Thanks to everyone for searching and developing so much. The 22 crew is brand new and is doing a great job. It’s fantastic to be a part of the Penske family. I’m really proud. Today was a lot of fun and I really enjoyed qualifying.”

Helio Castroneves qualified third for his best qualifying effort at St. Petersburg since winning the pole in 2007.

“The Hitachi car has been pretty consistent, I have to say,” he shared. “We basically worked a little bit harder than what we thought. I have three other very good guys in the team, which is good because each one tries something different. In the end of the day, you’re just pushing to the limit. So it’s a perfect testament of great teamwork. Having 1, 2, 3, 4 (in qualifying) shows we’re pushing to the limit, all four of us. I think each one wants to be in front, but at least for the team it’s a good problem to have, having all four guys fighting for the pole position.”

Juan Pablo Montoya would complete the Penske foursome, followed by A.J. Foyt Racing’s Takuma Sato. Sebastien Bourdais qualified sixth after barely missing a squirrel, followed by Tony Kanaan, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Scott Dixon and Josef Newgarden. It should be noted that being the first race with the aerodynamic kits, Chevrolet took eight of the 10 spots in the top-10.

The session would run incident free, except for Graham Rahal barely brushing the wall. He would qualify 15th.

Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg Starting Line-Up

1. (1) Will Power, Dallara-Chevy, 01:00.6931 (106.767)

2. (22) Simon Pagenaud, Dallara-Chevy, 01:00.7252 (106.710)

3. (3) Helio Castroneves, Dallara-Chevy, 01:00.8356 (106.517)

4. (2) Juan Pablo Montoya, Dallara-Chevy, 01:00.8532 (106.486)

5. (14) Takuma Sato, Dallara-Honda, 01:01.1496 (105.970)

6. (11) Sebastien Bourdais, Dallara-Chevy, 01:01.1545 (105.961)

7. (10) Tony Kanaan, Dallara-Chevy, 01:01.1182 (106.024)

8. (28) Ryan Hunter-Reay, Dallara-Honda, 01:01.1670 (105.939)

9. (9) Scott Dixon, Dallara-Chevy, 01:01.2285 (105.833)

10. (67) Josef Newgarden, Dallara-Chevy, 01:01.2478 (105.800)

11. (25) Simona de Silvestro, Dallara-Honda, 01:01.3657 (105.596)

12. (27) Marco Andretti, Dallara-Honda, 01:01.4765 (105.406)

13. (83) Charlie Kimball, Dallara-Chevy, 01:01.5727 (105.241)

14. (26) Carlos Munoz, Dallara-Honda, 01:01.4890 (105.385)

15. (15) Graham Rahal, Dallara-Honda, 01:01.5742 (105.239)

16. (5) James Hinchcliffe, Dallara-Honda, 01:01.5780 (105.232)

17. (4) Stefano Coletti, Dallara-Chevy, 01:01.6727 (105.071)

18. (8) Sage Karam, Dallara-Chevy, 01:01.8011 (104.853)

19. (20) Luca Filippi, Dallara-Chevy, 01:01.6736 (105.069)

20. (7) James Jakes, Dallara-Honda, 01:01.8323 (104.800)

21. (41) Jack Hawksworth, Dallara-Honda, 01:02.0095 (104.500)

22. (98) Gabby Chaves, Dallara-Honda, 01:01.9705 (104.566)

23. (19) Francesco Dracone, Dallara-Honda, 01:04.2654 (100.832)

24. (18) Carlos Huertas, Dallara-Honda, 01:01.9716 (104.564)

March 28, 2015
Will Power Leads Team Penske Top Three Sweep of Saturday Morning St. Petersburg Practice

On Friday, Team Penske swept the top three spots with Will Power, Juan Pablo Montoya and Helio Castroneves. On Saturday, they swept the top three spots once again, just with a new face mixed in the middle.

Power would top the chart with a lap of one minute and 1.3621 seconds behind the wheel of his No. 1 Verizon Dallara-Chevrolet. Simon Pagenaud, who made the switch to Penske over the off-season, was second quickest, 0.1214 seconds behind. Helio Castroneves timed in third quickest. Takuma Sato was fourth quickest in his No. 14 Dallara-Honda, with Montoya rounding out the top-five.

Ryan Hunter-Reay was sixth quickest, followed by Scott Dixon, Graham Rahal, Sebastien Bourdais and Charlie Kimball.

March 28, 2015
Steve Arpin: ‘To Drive for a Gentleman Like Mr. Ganassi, It’s an Honor’

Earlier this month, Chip Ganassi Racing made a groundbreaking announcement, stating that they would be fielding two entries in the Global Rallycross Series in 2015.

“As a fan of motorsports I’m particularly interested in the GRC cars, their horsepower levels and the absence of traction control but make no mistake about it, we are in this series to win – both on and off the race track,” Chip Ganassi stated per the press release. “Also, GRC has proven to be a very innovative and fresh take on today’s motorsport product. The series is targeting a new demographic and aligns with ours and more importantly with our partners’ focus on connecting with Millennials.”

One of the drivers that will be driving for the organization this upcoming season is Fort Frances, Ontario native Steve Arpin, as he enters his third season in GRC.

“I couldn’t be more thrilled to have this all put together and to talk about it now,” he told SpeedwayMedia.com. “This was a big secret to try and hold on to. Just to be involved like Chip Ganassi Racing, and to bring partners in everyone at Loenbro and all of their employees over there, it’s huge. I think a dream come true is an understatement. I don’t think is something that I could’ve dreamt up. For any racer to be able to drive for a gentleman like Mr. Ganassi, it’s an honor. It’s an accomplishment that I will remember for the rest of my life.”

Arpin says discussions started about the possibility of CGR forming a GRC team when some of CGR’s higher management attended the X-Games event.

“When I saw their higher management poking around at the X-Games last year, it really just opened up the opportunity to have some conversations,” he stated.

The Canadian has competed in the series over the past two year, saying that he was originally attracted to the series, from a sponsor/marketing standpoint.

“One of the things that I’ve always been active in is my relationships with my sponsors and trying to pinpoint exactly what they’re looking for, and wanting to achieve with the programs they get involved with,” he explained. “One of the hardest things to do anymore is to communicate with the younger demographic. Today’s youth is really tough to communicate with a marketing platform, and that’s one thing that the GRC has that makes it unique compared to other forms of motorsports.”

Combining the good marketing platform with racing that “looked like a blast,” it began the perfect puzzle for Arpin in moving his career forward. Last year, he had a solid season, finishing seventh in points with a podium and four heat wins.

“I think the year started off great last year,” he commented. “The last couple of years have been a great learning platform. It was a frustrating year for sure. To run the first half of the season in the top three in points and within striking distance of the lead, to fall back to eighth without even an opportunity at the top-five if nobody showed up was frustrating, and that was all mechanical problems. We didn’t crash a single time. With that being said, it was frustrating – but at the same time, it was really good to learn and prepare myself for an opportunity like I have today.”

Arpin hopes to carry what he has learned the past two seasons into having success this year, and scoring his first career oval victory. Going into the year, the goals are simple – be competitive each and every week, and win races. Though he also recognizes that with the new team, there will be some growing pains.

“It’s a start-up program and no matter what you do and how prepared you are, you’re going to encounter some growing pains,” he stated. “I want to be like a leader for our group that really helps the guys pull through those growing pains, learning from them, and making the best of them, and being strong enough in the areas that we have complete control over so when we encounter those kinds of stuff, we can absorb it and keep pushing on.”

The potential to have success in the GRC is high this year, though the opportunity with Ganassi opens other doors for Arpin, it may seem. Ganassi fields cars in NASCAR, Verizon IndyCar Series, and TUDOR Sports Car Series. Arpin has NASCAR experience under his belt, having ran some Camping World Truck Series races for Turner-Scott Motorsports and some XFINITY Series races for JR Motorsports. Could he run some NASCAR races in the future?

“I’ll tell you from my perspective, my 100% focus is solely and strictly on the GRC. That’s the only thing that I’m interested in at this point,” he said. “I want to do this with 100% of my focus and do it right. As we get rolling and taking care of themselves, I can promise that I will be the first to start poking around and seeing what those opportunities might be. It’d be an honor to get into something with that level of equipment and level of teammates, and people involved. It’d honestly be a really neat opportunity.”

March 27, 2015
Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg Preview

The wait is finally over. The 2015 Verizon IndyCar Series season is officially set to begin this weekend with the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. While the anticipation is huge simply to start off another season, there’s a reason that the hype is possibly slightly higher this weekend.

This weekend’s Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg marks the first race featuring the aerodynamic bodywork kits designed, manufactured and supplied by Chevrolet and Honda. For the first time since the Dallara IR-12 chassis debuted, the cars will look different for each of the two manufacturers. For this event, it marks the first time the road/street course kit has been used in competition. The teams had a chance to test the kits at Barber Motorsports Park earlier this month, with defending series champion Will Power topping the charts with a lap of one minute and 7.3118 seconds around the 2.3 mile road course.

While the championship isn’t close to being a big part of the discussion yet, it certainly helps to get off to a good start in the season. Power did just that last year as he won the event after starting fourth. He then went on to win his first career championship. Is there a possibility of a third victory for the Team Penske driver?

“I’m really excited to get the 2015 Verizon IndyCar Series started and represent the sport as the champion throughout the year,” he commented. “Even though I was able to break through last year and win my first title, I am preparing to go into this season just as hungry as I was before I became a champion. The drive to win multiple championships is just as strong as the drive to win one. To do that, it’s important to get off to a good start at St. Pete. Winning there last year in the No. 12 Verizon Chevrolet was critical to the championship push. Now that I’m in the No. 1 Verizon Chevy for 2015, we need to put the new number in Victory Lane as well.”

Power added that he feels Chevrolet has done a good job in designing the aero kits and developing them with producing “massive downforce and low drag” so “the cars are absolutely glued to the track.”

“Obviously, as we go along in the year we are going to learn more and more about what we need to push for wins,” he continued. “That is where having a new, fourth car with Simon Pagenaud will be key. His ability to communicate what a car is doing and what it needs is really impressive. He’s going to add a lot to Team Penske and I look forward to racing as his teammate for quite a while.”

While Power enters the weekend with success in his backpocket, that’s something that his teammate Juan Pablo Montoya hasn’t been as blessed to experience at St. Petersburg as he finished 18th last year. However, with a whole season of IndyCar competition under his belt and having gotten used to the cars, he could possibly run up front this weekend.

“The race at St. Pete was a bit of a struggle for me last year, especially since I had never been on the ‘red’ Firestone tires until the race started, and it took some adjusting,” Montoya admitted. “Toward the end of the year, though, we were really competitive, leading laps and running at the front of the field. With that year under my belt I really think we can get the season started strong at St. Pete.”

Team Penske has won the most events at St. Petersburg – six wins in 11 starts – and if Montoya and Power aren’t able to get it done, all eyes will be on Helio Castroneves, who is a three-time winner of the event and finished third last year. He is looking for the extra edge this year in hopes of his first championship after finishing in the runner-up spot the past two seasons.

“This is a track that has been very good to Team Penske, and to me personally,” Castroneves commented. “Even though we are introducing new aero kits to the series this year, I think you will see Team Penske and Chevrolet at the front of the field when the laps are winding down in the race. I have been encouraged with the speed in the No. 3 Hitachi Chevy during our testing over the last couple of weeks. Team Penske is always strong in qualifying at St. Pete as well. If we can get a good starting spot I believe we can keep the car up front all day and challenge for the win.”

While Team Penske has led the way, Chip Ganassi Racing has been there with them at every step of the road. Last year, though, the team got off to an off-start, which set them back and caused them to not contend for the championship. Getting a better start this year is certainly going to be key for the whole team. Scott Dixon leads the CGR organization into St. Petersburg, as he’s the longest-tenured driver on the team. He has never won at St. Petersburg, but has scored three runner-up finishes.

“St. Petersburg is one of the best places to kick off the season,” Dixon shared. “It’s around spring break time, they do a fantastic job of getting the community in and obviously the party atmosphere there too with different things going on during the day. All the different classes of cars that race there and all the variety of things to do in St. Pete make it pretty fantastic for a lot of people. I live in Indianapolis and we finally get to have some sun and get to hang out in some warm weather.”

He will be joined by his experienced teammate Tony Kanaan, who enters his second season with CGR. Kanaan hopes last year’s momentum carries forward after scoring the victory in the season-ending event.

“It’s been a lot of fun getting to know the new Chevy aero kits over the last month, but I think it’s safe to say that I’m ready to get back on track for the season opener in St. Petersburg this weekend,” Kanaan said. “I’m loving my new colors representing NTT DATA this season and it’s been a seamless transition working with my new lead engineer Todd Malloy. I think everyone at NTT DATA Chip Ganassi Racing is just excited to get out there to start the new season and really see what these new cars can do.”

KV Racing is also looking to get off to a solid start, however that may prove to be difficult. Sebastien Bourdais hasn’t had the best luck at St. Petersburg in the past with his best career-finish being 11th in 2013. However, he does know how to get it done on the street courses, having won the Honda Indy Toronto last year.

“St. Petersburg is my home race, but unfortunately, other than a pole in my first race (2003), I haven’t really had the success I would have liked,” Bourdais admitted. “We had a good race going last year and I think we were in a position to finish in the top four or five, but things just didn’t go our way. I don’t feel any additional pressure to do well in St. Petersburg…but it’s nice to be able to sleep in my own bed and have friends and family at the track.”

Graham Rahal is another driver looking to hinder in the success after not having the season that he would’ve preferred last year. However, since winning in his rookie season in 2008, the last four years have seen Rahal finish outside of the top 10.

“I’m ready to just get this season going,” Rahal shared. “It’s such a long offseason that I feel like we’re kind of behind. The team has been doing such a great job and I’m just thrilled to get this thing going. I think it’s going to be a great year. I’m excited and ready to go. St. Pete is going to be interesting because it will be our first hard run with the new aero kits. The car seems to be handling everything pretty well. Durability seems to be pretty good. At the end of the day, I think everybody is ready to get to St. Pete.”

Being familiar with their teams is the key for the above drivers, but there are some who come in with experience – but lack of familiarity. James Hinchcliffe made the move to Schmidt Peterson Motorsports over the off-season after spending the past couple of seasons with Andretti Autosport. The Canadian has won on the streets of St. Petersburg before, scoring the victory in 2013.

“St. Pete is like the first day of school, providing that you like school, that is. I love going there,” he commented. “The race is awesome, the track is fun and it’s a place that I’ve always run well at. It’s been nice getting back in the cars to go testing but I think the whole Schmidt Peterson Motorsports team just wants to get back to racing and see what we can do in the Arrow car. It can’t come soon enough.”

He will be joined by his new teammate James Jakes, who is also excited to start the season after being announced as the driver of the No. 7 Honda last month.

“We’ve had a busy few weeks leading up to the race and hopefully everything we’ve learned will benefit us for the Verizon IndyCar Series season opener,” Jakes said. “We’re looking to start the season strong so that we have a good baseline for 2015.”

While tons of experience makes up the field, the first event of the year brings forth a bunch of rookies. Five drivers will make their first start at St. Petersburg – Stefano Coletti, Sage Karam, Gabby Chaves, Luca Filippi and Francesco Dracone, with the first three competing for Sonoco Rookie of the Year.

“I am really excited to start the championship and the challenge of learning all the new tracks,” Coletti said. “I have done a few tests now with KV Racing Technology and gathered some valuable data, which I’m looking forward to being able to use this weekend at St. Petersburg. I have been able to watch some past races, so I have an idea of what the track will be like and especially what to expect in Turn 1, which looks extremely tight. Having such an experienced teammate as (Sebastien) Bourdais has been really helpful and we work well together, so I am looking forward to having a great first season to my Indy car career.”

Karam, meanwhile, will become the youngest drivers to start an IndyCar race for Chip Ganassi Racing. He won the 2013 Indy Lights Presented by Coopers Tire Championship.

“I can’t tell you how excited I am to get the season started,” Karam shared. “When I signed as a development driver with the team last year, I was able to get in and help out the IMSA team, but now it’s time to get the INDYCAR season started. St. Pete is a track I’ve had success on before in the ladder series and I’m ready to go. We’ve been testing a lot the past few months and I’ve really been trying hard to absorb everything I’ve learned from my teammates and our driver coach Dario Franchitti.”

March 27, 2015
Valpax Teams Extends Partnership with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing announced that they have extended their partnership with Valpak into a second season together.

“We’re excited that Graham and the team will share the Valpak message throughout the circuit,” Michael Vivio, president of Cox Target Media and Valpak, said. “Watching them go full throttle during last year’s race season was exhilarating and it’s exciting to see them bring the Valpak message to millions of viewers.”

The partnership will see Graham Rahal make an appearance on the Valpak envelope later this year, promote the Valpak smart phone app and spread the Valpak savings message. Rahal was featured on the August envelope last year that was mailed to more than 40 million households throughout the United States and Canada.

Per the press release, “Valpak has led the industry in mobile couponing, with mobile savings through apps and continuing to incorporate the latest technology. Its commitment to being in front of the latest technology helped its first-to-market integration into four mobile wallets, including Passbook, Microsoft, Samsung and Google”.

“We’re thrilled to continue our great partnership with Valpak,” Bobby Rahal, co-owner of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing with CBS Late Show host David Letterman and Mi-Jack co-owner Mike Lanigan, said. “Like a number of our partners, Valpak is one of the great iconic brands in today’s marketplace and we couldn’t be more proud to represent them at their home race in St. Petersburg. We look forward to supporting their many franchises and customers at IndyCar races across the nation.”

The Verizon IndyCar Series season kicks off this weekend with the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, with Graham and Bobby Rahal will visit Valpak headquarters and the Valpak Manufacturing Center in Florida for a tour on March 26.

March 25, 2015