Testing SpeedwayMedia.com

Category: Featured Other Series

Featured Other Series

  • 2015 Verizon IndyCar Series Preview – Ryan Hunter-Reay

    2015 Verizon IndyCar Series Preview – Ryan Hunter-Reay

    Coming into the 2015 season, Ryan Hunter-Reay is hoping to find the magic once again that led to championship glory in 2012.

    Looking back at last year, he started off his season on the note that he would’ve wanted, posting four top-two finishes in the first five races. It looked as though he was on the road to another championship. That run was highlighted by a victory in the Indianapolis 500, where he led multiple laps and proved in the run to the checkered that he could performance top-notch.

    Beyond the Indy 500 win, Hunter-Reay picked up a victory on the Barber Motorsports Park road course, and the short Iowa Speedway oval. That there proved why he is one of the top notch drivers in the series as he can get it done on any course.

    While the results may not have shown it all year, Hunter-Reay was always near the front of the field all year, proving that he has what it takes, no matter the track, to score the victory. However, mechanical issues and a couple crashes resulted in many of those strong runs being derailed to back half of the field finishes and a total of five DNFs on the season. As a result, he would only finish sixth in points.

    Andretti Autosport had all the pieces in 2012 across the board, but has lost that magic over the past two seasons. It wasn’t just Hunter-Reay that experienced the struggles, as James Hinchcliffe and Marco Andretti were plagued by the same issues. Hinchcliffe made the decision to leave AA and move to Schmidt Peterson Motorsports in hopes of improved success. On the flip side, Hunter-Reay recently signed a multi-year contract, believing that they could turn it around.

    AA has been through a funk before, though, and has been able to turn it around. With keeping the same people on his No. 28 DHL team, that will certainly help. Though while he will have the same people, AA is going through a big change.

    At the end of the season in November, Kyle Moyer announced that he was leaving his post at AA as the Director of Racing Operations, and moving over to Team Penske for 2015. AA would hire his replacement at the beginning of January, in the form of Rob Edwards. Edwards served as the Team Manager for Schmidt Peterson Motorsports last year.

    Depending how quickly it takes the team to adapt will depend how quickly everything gets shifting according to normal. Edwards seems to have the smarts, based on leading Simon Pagenaud to a top-five finish in points, but can he work that magic with AA and Ryan Hunter-Reay?

    There’s also the variable of the new aero kits this year. Depending how AA adapts to those will depend on whether they have success. If they can find the edge quicker than their fellow competitors, it could be a very good year for Hunter-Reay.

  • For Dalton Sargeant, Everything is Brand Spanking New

    For Dalton Sargeant, Everything is Brand Spanking New

    For Dalton Sargeant, who is running in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series this season, everything is brand spanking new, from his new sponsor to his new crew chief. And with that, Sargeant simply cannot wait for the drop of the green flag in his new rookie season.

    One of the biggest new things in the life of this up and coming driver is his sponsor. GALT, Global Asphalt Logistics and Trading, has stepped up to sponsor the Sargeant’s No. 51 Chevrolet for the full K&N East Season. GALT is a leader in asphalt trading around the world and will start their new sponsorship at the season opener on February 15>th at New Smyrna Speedway.

    “GALT was one of our partners when I was living in Europe,” Sargeant said. “They wanted to help out with my future moving forward. I had a good relationship with them through my father.”

    In addition to the K&N sponsorship, GALT will have their name on all Sargeant’s race cars, from being an associate partner on the No. 5s Wauters Motorsports machine in several super late model events to sponsoring the No. 51 Lee Pulliam Performance machine in select NASCAR Hometracks late model events.

    “It’s so exciting and refreshing to have GALT come on board with us in every single motorsports discipline we’ll be participating in during the 2015 racing season,” Sargeant said. “GALT has a great group of people behind them and it’s been a pleasure working towards this goal with them.”

    “I can definitely draw so many parallels between a company like GALT and an organization like HScott Motorsports with Justin Marks. It was evident after the first time our friends at GALT stepped into the facility at HScott Motorsports with Justin Marks and saw the resources and equipment that they were just as excited about the 2015 NASCAR K&N Pro Series racing season as we were.”

    “It was really refreshing to see that kind excitement with GALT and their associates and their level of involvement just grew from there. They realized this wasn’t just another race team but an organization that could push their brand to a whole new level.”

    “I’ll try to help them mobilize their name, particularly in America, because they are more of a European company. So, I hope to help them gain in popularity.”

    Along with his new sponsor, Sargeant also has a brand new crew chief in Kris Bowen, whose resume includes a New Hampshire win, two poles and 16 top-5 finishes under his belt in his three seasons atop the pit box.

    “I’m very excited to work with Kris,” Sargeant said. “He’s been a driver himself and has worked with some good drivers as well. He’s a great guy and he will play a vital role in my career prospects.”

    “We’re definitely very similar. We like to joke around a little bit and have fun off and on the track. I’m really excited to work with him.”

    Bowen is equally as excited to get started with his brand new driver.

    “This is such a great opportunity for not only myself but also for such a talented driver like Dalton Sargeant,” Kris Bowen said. “I’ve been watching Dalton since he made his debut on the late model stock car scene in 2014 and have been impressed with his results with such little stock car and oval experience for that matter. He came from a background in karting which is where I began my racing career as well, he’s a perfect example of a driver who’s taken all the attributes of being a successful driver in karts and has applied them in stock cars with great success.”

    “With a great driver and all the tools, cars and equipment that I could ever ask for from a great organization like HScott Motorsports with Justin Marks, I’m really looking forward to this opportunity and can’t wait to get started at New Smyrna Speedway.”

    In addition to the K&N Series, Sargeant also hopes to weave in other new opportunities for getting seat time and time behind the wheel, especially on tracks where he lacks familiarity.

    “I’m going to be running the full K&N East Series and I’ll also try to fit in a few K&N West races, although we haven’t determined which ones yet. Whenever I have off, we’re going to fill in with some other stock races,” Sargeant said. “It’s tough because they changed the testing policy. It will definitely make things more tricky for the rookies coming in this year. I’ve already gone to several of the tracks before in the past and I’m going to try to run Super Late Models and stock races at those tracks prior to my K&N races.”

    “I think the biggest challenge will be figuring out the new car with no time to test and no time in it.”

    While everything is brand spanking new for the young driver who caught everyone’s eye after finishing runner up in the Snow Ball Derby, Sargeant is definitely set for the 2015 race season.

    “I definitely have high expectations for myself going into this new season,” Sargeant said. “I definitely want to run really well. The pressure is not really high.”

    “I’m just another guy from South Florida,” Sargeant continued. “I have kind of a cool background coming from open wheel cars, which is kind of different. But at the end of the day, I want to get out there and do the best that I can.”

    “This winter break has definitely been too long. I’m ready to start the new season and go racing.”

     

     

  • 2015 Verizon IndyCar Series Preview – James Hinchcliffe

    2015 Verizon IndyCar Series Preview – James Hinchcliffe

    Last season, James Hinchcliffe didn’t have the season that he was looking for en route to finishing 12th in points. The Canadian would only have one podium finish all year following a season that saw him win three races the year before. The beginning of the 2014 season was a mess with four DNFs in the first five events. From then on, it seemed that the entire Andretti Autosport outfit struggled with performance, leading down a disappointing path.

    The off-season, though, always brings a time of promise. You can either further develop your own team to be stronger and search for the mishaps, or you can find a change in scenery. With Simon Pagenaud moving to Team Penske, it made for an open-seat at Schmidt Peterson Motorsports – which is where Hinchcliffe will be for 2015.

    The partnership brings forth a reunion as Hinchcliffe drove for the team in the Indy Lights ranks in 2009, before moving forth with his career as the road took it. He knows people within the team so it should bring a healthy balance. Perhaps also important is instead of fighting for the lead spot among teammates, he’ll be the lead dog for SPM with the focus mainly put on him and the potential success that could be had.

    Schmidt Peterson Motorsports has proven that they can get it done, as evident with Pagenaud last season. Pagenaud finished fifth in points with two wins, three podiums and a pole on the season. If you compare that to the mess that Hinchcliffe endured, you could say that odds are in favor for a stronger year.

    With the season set to begin next month, testing is in full force with teams taking to the track at Sebring. Hinchcliffe was one of those on-track and things seem positive so far with the new team,

    “It was a great day for us and just so nice to get back in the car,” Hinchcliffe said. “We’ve had a long off-season and I know we got a day back in December, but it’s just not enough. To know that it’s the new year and we’re getting back in the car really makes it feel like the season is coming.

    “I worked closely with Allen [McDonald] to try to tune the car more closely to my liking and I think we made some good progress. Until we get the new body kits on, it’s all sort of an exercise in teamwork, practicing and getting used to procedures. But I still think we made some good gains and learned things we can apply when we get our new kits in a couple weeks. So all in all, a very successful day and I’m just looking forward to doing some more testing.”

    The key thing, though, as Hinchcliffe mentions – the new body kits. There are new body aero kits for this year in IndyCar. Depending which team is able to adapt to them the quickest will be the team that has success first. SPM currently being a single-car organization versus the multi-car teams is at the disadvantage in amount of people seeking for ansnwer, but their answer will be solely focused on one primary driver. They also have a good head engineering staff and if they find the edge, it could make the year very interestng.

  • Ducati Among The Best At Sepang

    Ducati Among The Best At Sepang

    Andrea Iannone and Andrea Dovizioso chose not to wait for Ducati Team’s 2015 bike debut to clock fast times this week, securing a position in the top four time slots each day in Malaysia.

    At this week’s Sepang test, Ducati focused primarily on gathering data for the forthcoming Desmosedici GP15, but in the meantime managed to record multiple lap times that placed it consistently among MotoGP’s top teams. Iannone’s day three time of 1:59.006 was enough to give him the third spot overall, proving that his transition from Pramac Ducati to the factory team is going smoothly if not excellently.

    “There has been a lot of work over the last three days, and I’m also happy with my new team: the guys have done a great job,” Iannone said. “Now I’m really anxious to try the new GP15 at Sepang 2, but in any case I’m happy with the way we have improved in the last few months.”

    Iannone took full advantage of the cool and dry day three, shaving over two seconds off his day one time. His final time was .526 seconds off Repsol Honda’s Marc Marquez at the top of the charts.

    With a time of 1:59.874, Dovizioso placed seventh on the final time sheets, overshadowing his impressive fourth and second fastest times on days one and two, respectively.

    “I like Sepang a lot: I always manage to go well here and our speed is really good compared to that of our rivals,” Dovizioso said on day two after recording the second fastest time.

    Aboard the Desmosedici GP14.3, an evolution of the GP14.2 that debuted last season, Dovizioso and Iannone concentrated on chassis and electronics setups. The GP15 was originally set to arrive in time for the first test, but it was recently announced that it will debut at Sepang 2 later this month.

    “I am still using last year’s bike, with several important updates, but I’m really curious to try the new bike at the end of the month,” Dovizioso said. “The GP15 will be quite different from this one, but all the work we are doing is useful feedback for the new bike, and so the work in these three days is very important.”

    If the Desmosedici GP15 shows any marginal improvement upon the current lab bike, the Repsol Honda and Movistar Yamaha teams will have to seriously consider another duo of factory competitors in Ducati Team this season.

    Of the riders recording the five best final times, Iannone was the only rider not to finish in the top four in the championship in both of the last two MotoGP seasons. Aboard the Pramac Ducati in 2013 and 2014, Iannone finished 12th and 10th, respectively, in the points.

    MotoGP testing will continue at Sepang later this month, then at Losail in March before the start of the 2015 season at Losail.

  • 2015 Verizon IndyCar Series Preview – Charlie Kimball

    2015 Verizon IndyCar Series Preview – Charlie Kimball

    Last season in the Verizon IndyCar Series, Charlie Kimball didn’t have the season that he was particularly looking for in only posting one podium (third at Belle Isle) to finish 14th in points. It marks a considerable drop for the California native following a victory and a ninth place finish in points for the 2013 season.

    Kimball has strong driver on the street courses, and that shined through last year with only four finishes outside of the top 18 in the 12 road/street course events. In contrast, the ovals only brought Kimball a pair of top-10 finishes.

    There was the factor that Chip Ganassi Racing as an organization struggled through the first half of the season with Scott Dixon, Ryan Briscoe and Tony Kanaan each failing to reach victory lane. Though while the team improved and Dixon was able to finish in the top-five at the end of the year, the same couldn’t be said for Kimball.

    Now heading into 2015, Kimball will be looking to turn things around, and the signs are point in a positive direction.

    With CGR able to get the whole team performance back up to par during the second half of the year, the focus can now be put on finding the weaknesses in the No. 83 Novo Nordisk team and fixing those to better the performance as a whole. There’s also a new aero package set to debut this year, and with CGR being one of the teams on top of finding advantages, it is very well possible that they can find the magic piece of the puzzle to bring success this year.

    Kimball has proven that he can get it done on the road and street courses if the equipment is there. On the ovals, though, he will need to seek continuing to improve as a driver as he enters his fifth year of Verizon IndyCar Series Competition if he wants to be further up in the standings.

    During the off-season, Kimball signed a new multi-year contract with Chip Ganassi Racing and Nova Nordisk. With the promotions of diabetes awareness going well off the track, it’d be a fitting match if they could find the success on the track this year.

    “I am really excited to continue to be a part of this great partnership with Novo Nordisk and Chip Ganassi Racing,” Kimball commented in December. “The relationships we’ve built over the past four years, both on and off the track, are only getting stronger as I enter my fifth Verizon IndyCar Series season. From the guys at the shop prepping the car each and every week, to those within Novo Nordisk working on the Race With Insulin program, it’s truly a team effort. We’ll be working as hard as ever to take the No. 83 car back to victory lane in 2015 and beyond!”

  • Gabby Chaves to drive for Bryan Herta Autosport in 2015

    Gabby Chaves to drive for Bryan Herta Autosport in 2015

    Bryan Herta Autosport announced earlier this week that 2014 Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires champion Gabby Chaves will drive their No. 98 Honda for the 2015 Verizon IndyCar Series season.

    “As soon as the deal was announced, I was very happy.  It’s been a long journey to get to where I am.  We’ve had a lot of sacrifice, a lot of hard times.  This is only just the first victory we can get out of it,” Chaves commented. “Now it’s time to get back to work and really looking forward to enjoying a great season.”

    Bryan Herta said that the deal came together via conversations that began a few months ago, with the pair agreeing to have Chaves participate in the test at Sebring. The test went “really well on and off the track”, resulting in Chaves being hired. Herta added that he came highly recommended as “his credentials in Indy Lights speak for themselves”. In two seasons of Indy Lights competition, Chaves finished second in points in 2013, followed by the championship last season and four wins.

    “For us, we’ve seen from recent past that the guys who have been coming out of Indy Lights into IndyCar have been doing a great job,” Herta added. “We had a good experience with Jack Hawksworth coming out of Indy Lights.  Gabby was obviously right from day one a very competitive driver.  It was just a case of how can we put a deal together. ”

    “We worked very hard to get everything together and we’re pleased to go racing together this season.”

    Last season, Indy Lights graduate Jack Hawksworth drove for the organization, following a fourth place finish in the 2013 standings. He had a solid rookie season in Indy Car last year, highlighted by a podium finish. Hawksworth will be moving to A.J. Foyt Racing for the 2015 season.

    Bringing young drivers up from Indy Lights is something that Herta feels is very important for both IndyCar and Indy Lights in progressing drivers throug hthe ranks.

    “As a team owner, I have to take a narrower view.  Frankly, it just comes down to getting the very best guy in our car that we can get,” Herta added. “I’m very pleased with where we ended up this year.  I believe Gabby is going to do some great things this year in the car and I believe he’s a guy that we want to try and hang on to and keep on the team for several years to come.

    “I think we can build together and we can grow together.”

    The thought echos from owner to driver as Chaves feels that the experience from both the Mazda Road to Indy and the Indy Lights Series will pay big dividends this season.

    “Especially when it comes down to the first race on the ovals, the whole oval schedule that we have, I think that’s where it’s going to make a bigger difference,” he commented. “I’m really happy.  I think the ladder series is how it should be and it’s preparing the drivers, as Bryan said, not only Jack Hawksworth showing some amazing speed, but Carlos Muñoz having demonstrated the quality of drivers that we’re feeding into IndyCar is very high.”

    Muñoz, currently driving for Andretti Autosport, is certainly one of the young drivers that Chaves and others graduating can look up to. In his first full season of Verizon IndyCar Series competition, Muñoz posted three podium finishes last season and finished second in the 2013 Indianapolis 500.

    Beyond hiring Chaves, Bryan Herta also added John Dick to the team’s engineering staff, stating that he has known Dick for years and emphasized the reason for the hiring was due to Chaves’ previous experience with Dick.

    “I never worked physically with John when I was driving.  He’s a guy I have a lot of respect for,” Herta commented. “When we were looking for that right combination for Gabby, we had kind of an opportunity signing the driver first and making sure that we’re building a group of people around him that fits.

    “Gabby had a good experience working with John.  Frankly for me, we wanted to pair a lot of experience around Gabby, and John certainly fits the bill for that.  He’s been around a long time.  He’s been in IndyCar for a long time.  His experience will definitely be a great benefit to Gabby as he’s learning this year.”

    Herta also talked about possibly expanding to a full-time two-car program in the future, mentioning that they will have two cars for the Indianapolis 500 in May.

    “I think as long as that goes well, we want to make sure we keep the focus on Gabby and his program this year, that we’re doing everything we need to do for him,” Herta explained. “But we do want to grow the program.  We would like to be a two-car team sooner than later.  I think we’re open to the idea of doing more races later in the year as we work towards hopefully a full two-car program next year. “

  • Helio Castroneves Looking for One More Spot This Season

    Helio Castroneves Looking for One More Spot This Season

    Last season, Helio Castroneves had a great Verizon IndyCar Series season that saw him finish second in points with a win and six podiums.

    ““Last season was a very successful one for me,” he told SpeedwayMedia.com. “We won a race, challenged for the championship and just came up a bit short in the Indianapolis 500. I wish we were a little more consistent over the last few races. We had some difficult races at Mid-Ohio and Milwaukee. Those races really hampered our championship hopes. But we had a shot at a championship and that’s really all you can ask for. Having the season that we did just keeps me hungry to win a championship.”

    Now heading into 2015, Castroneves is searching for one more spot in the championship standings in hopes of capturing his first championship crown.

    “The 2014 Verizon IndyCar Series season was a very successful one for Team Penske, but I feel that 2015 will be even better,” Castroneves said. “There aren’t many teams in INDYCAR history that can match our driver lineup. As a team, we should have a legitimate shot to win every race. I feel like our No. 3 Chevy team has the ability to challenge for the championship again this year. We should certainly have the speed, we just need to find a bit more consistency.”

    To make that move to the top step of the podium, Castroneves feels that he needs to be more consistent this year as to be a champion, “you just have to minimize the bad days and not let them turn into disasters”. The Brazilian is also hopes to score at least one more win than he got last year, too.

    “If we can do all that we will have a great shot at a championship,” he noted.

    The statistics from last year back up that they should be strong this year as while Castroneves finished second in points, Will Power won the championship with Juan Pablo Montoya finishing fourth.

    “Simon is going to bring a lot to the team this year,” Castroneves commented. “He’s been one of the quickest drivers in the sport over the last few seasons. I know we are all anxious to start testing with him and see what new ideas we can all do to make the team better. Simon and I have enjoyed a good relationship over the years. He drove for Gil de Ferran – who is my former teammate – in sports car racing, so we’ve had that connection for a few years. He’s a smart and talented racer.”

    Castroneves added that the addition of Pagenaud will make this a historic year for Penske as they’ve never had four cars before, but feels this is the right time to expand as it will help in trying to figure out the new aero kits and gain an advantage.

    “The aero kits will level the playing field and bit for everyone,” he continued. “We are all curious to see what the racing is going to be like with the new kits. The Indianapolis 500 should be very exciting with the speeds we will be running. It’s going to be a fun year.”

    Getting into the season, the one race on the schedule that is highlighted by many drivers is Indianapolis as every driver wants to win the Indianapolis 500. Castroneves has had the opportunity to win it three times already, and says it’d mean a lot if he could become a four-time winner.

    “Rick Mears has done a lot for me in my career and to join him in the four-time Indianapolis 500 winner’s club would be a very big deal to me,” he commented. “Again, there are a few unknowns this year with the new aero kits but when you race for Team Penske you know that you will have a great shot when we get to Indianapolis.”

  • Simon Pagenaud Excited for Upcoming IndyCar Season with Team Penske

    Simon Pagenaud Excited for Upcoming IndyCar Season with Team Penske

    Following a successful season that led him to a fifth place finish in the season ending Verizon IndyCar Series points standings, Simon Pagenaud made the decision to leave Schmidt Peterson Hamilton.

    “It was a very tough decision to leave Schmidt Peterson Hamilton,” Pagenaud told SpeedwayMedia.com earlier this month. “I couldn’t have asked for more success than we had over the last couple of years. That is a good race team and they will have success this year with James Hinchcliffe.

    “When Roger Penske calls you and asks you to race for him it seems impossible to say no.”

    The Poitiers, France driver will now move to Team Penske for 2015, driving the No. 22 Chevrolet.

    “Well, first of all I’m very excited to get my Team Penske career started,” he commented. “Every driver wants to race for Roger Penske at some point in their career. I look forward to many successful seasons with Team Penske. The Verizon IndyCar Series is going through a lot of change this year with the new aero kits, but I expect our No. 22 Chevrolet team to start fast. The competition will be fierce but with our driver lineup we will be in a strong position every week end for Team Penske. That is very exciting.”

    The pieces of the puzzles for Pagenaud and Penske began to come together while Pagenaud was racing in the American Le Mans Series for Gil de Ferran in 2008 and 2009.

    “It was at that time that I met (Team Penske president) Tim Cindric,” Pagenaud recalled. “I didn’t know it at the time, but Gil told Tim that they should look at hiring me when they had the chance. It took a few years for that to eventually happen, but I’m here now and couldn’t be happier.”

    Pagenaud now becomes the fourth driver at Team Penske, joining 2014 Verizon IndyCar Series Champion Will Power, Runner-up Helio Castroneves and Juan Pablo Montoya.

    ”Honestly, I don’t think there have been many lineups like this in INDYCAR history,” Pagenaud said. “Just being the highest-finishing Team Penske driver is going to be quite an accomplishment each weekend, but I’m very excited to work with all three of these guys. Not only are they different personalities, they have different driving styles that will be beneficial to all four of us.”

    The 30-year-old went on to say that he is looking forward to working his teammates at the oval tracks this year as they’re all great oval racers. With that said, he expects their team to have a lot of success in the biggest race of the year, the Indianapolis 500.

    “Driving for Team Penske you know you are going to have a great car for that race because of the importance Roger puts on running well there,” he said. “The new aero package will provide a bit of an unknown for Indy, but I’m am definitely looking forward to that race.”

    Going into the year, the expectations are simple – win races and compete for the championship.

    “Every driver at Team Penske has those same expectations,” Pagenaud added. “We have everything we need to be successful.”

    The success doesn’t seem out of the question for Pagenaud, though, as he comes off a year that saw him score two victories and three podiums.

    “I’m happy with the season we had at SPH,” he commented. “Any time you can win multiple races in a season and be a title contender right down to the final race, you’ve had a good season. I feel well prepared for me to have another good run in my first year with Team Penske.”

  • Jack Hawksworth ready to get to business with A.J. Foyt Racing

    Jack Hawksworth ready to get to business with A.J. Foyt Racing

    Following a solid rookie campaign with BHA/BBM with Curb-Agajanian, Jack Hawksworth made the decision to move to A.J. Foyt Racing as AFR expands to a two-car operation in 2015.

    “Very excited. Ready to get down to business,” Hawksworth told SpeedwayMedia.com. “Just very excited to start working with the whole crew. We have put a ton of work in over the off-season so I know the car is well prepared. Really looking forward to getting to the track and beginning to test, and start the process of trying to be very competitive this year. Hopefully we can get to the first race, we’ll be in a good shape.”

    Hawksworth is coming off a season that he calls “an interesting year” that saw him finish 17th in points with a season-high third place finish at Houston.

    “We had some good moments,” he commented. “We were particularly competitive at the beginning of the year at St. Pete. We weren’t very competitive at the end of the year, but we were able to pull a few results together. I enjoyed it. I really enjoyed Bryan and his crew and everything. He gave me a good grounding for this year. He gave me the opportunity to start, and the opportunity to move to A.J.’s team.

    “Now it is the time to take it to another level and be really competitive, not just competitive once and a blue moon. It was a good year in terms of what it’s given me going into this year.”

    Hawksworth said discussions surrounding this upcoming season began in the late stages of the 2014 season when it was apparent that Bryan Herta wouldn’t be able to offer anything “due to lack of sponsorship” as it didn’t seem as though BHA/BBM with Curb-Agajanian had “all their bases covered”. The search for a ride landed the English driver into conversation with AFR Team Director Larry Foyt.

    “That’s when he told about his plans for the team, and where the team was heading,” Hawksworth explained. “It was really something that excited me a lot. It was really no brainer to join this team when I was given the opportunity, and I was just very impressed with where Larry was going with the team. It had a good sponsor with ABC Supply, and a really good set of guys that are good at what they do. It was good timing, and a real exciting opportunity. I think the best part is we really want to grow together and have a good season.”

    The move for Hawksworth allows him to move from a single-car operation to a now two-car operation as he becomes a teammate to Takuma Sato. Sato has proven that AFR can win, having visited victory lane in 2013, and showed speed during the beginning of 2014.

    “I talked to Takuma at the ABC presentation when we presented the team, and we spent a couple of days with the engineers discussing stuff for next year,” Hawksworth commented. “He seemed like a really switched on, very technical, really wants to do well and I think together we will well together. That was quite evident for me, so hopefully we can push the team forward.”

    With coming into a new program, Hawksworth admits that it’s difficult to have expectations, but he believes that they can be competitive.

    “I think we can be very quick and I want to be fighting for pole positions and fighting for race wins,” he said. “That’s the aim certainly from my side and the team’s side so we’re going to go out and get after it.”

    Beyond the new team, though, the 23-year-old is faced with the new aero kits that IndyCar is introducing this year. That adds another unknown, as Hawksworth notes that neither manufacture knows what the other has.

    “The cars are going to look very different; they’re going to be quicker – that’s for sure,” he added. “It’s going throw some of the set-ups out of the window from last year and make teams have to start kind of fresh because not only have you changed the aerodynamics of the car, but also the mechanical balance as well. It’s going to be a lot of development and learning, but as far as what will happen and who will benefit, it’s way too early to say. I guess we will find out when we get to the test in March.”

    Once the year gets started, Hawksworth is excited for all of the races as “there’s not one on the schedule” that he’s not looking forward to. Some of the highlighted tracks on his mind, though, would be Brazil, St. Petersburg, Toronto, Indianapolis and New Orleans. The big key, for Hawksworth, entering this year is he has experience under him and knows some of thee tracks now. He added that last year allowed to understand the length of the races, and the strategies that occur during them.

    “That was something that I didn’t have no experience with till I was in IndyCar,” he explained. “I think understanding the strategy a little more – that’s important. I know what I want in this car than I did at the beginning of last year. With every car, the driver is a little different and the particular way you want the car to handle. The more you drive that car, the more you understand what you want it to do, so now I need to aim to get the car in this window. Just having that one year of experience with this car and understanding what I want from it should be beneficial.”

     

  • Barnhart named INDYCAR Race Director

    Barnhart named INDYCAR Race Director

    INDIANAPOLIS (January 28, 2015) – INDYCAR announced today that Vice President of Competition Brian Barnhart has been named Race Director and will lead the Verizon IndyCar Series’ three-steward Race Control system in 2015. Barnhart was a key member of the INDYCAR Race Control system implemented in 2014 that stipulates all in-race penalties are decided by a two-thirds vote among the respective stewards officiating each event.

    “We believe that based on his extensive experience in Race Control, combined with the three-steward system, Brian Barnhart is a good fit as INDYCAR Race Director,” said Derrick Walker, INDYCAR President of Competition and Operations. “The process allows the Race Director to focus on running the race, without the double-duty of reviewing multiple replays and simultaneously trying to make a call. In terms of determining penalties our process defines that a majority vote amongst the three stewards is required, which ensures a jury-like process. Last year we found that this was a fair system when making difficult judgment calls.”

    Barnhart was a Race Control steward throughout the 2014 Verizon IndyCar Series season and was previously INDYCAR Race Director from 1997-2011.

    “This is a position and a role that I’ve done for a number of years and I take a great deal of pride in being Race Director of the Verizon IndyCar Series,” Barnhart said. “One of the things that excites me the most is the steward system we implemented last year. That was a great advancement in how we review and make discretionary decisions, and having that assistance in making calls is a big improvement to the way we officiate INDYCAR events.”

    As Vice President of Competition, Barnhart oversees the Race Control staff, the sporting regulations of the rulebook, the Holmatro Safety Team and medical personnel, security and INDYCAR Timing and Scoring. He has been a part of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and INDYCAR since 1994.

    “The technological improvements we’ve made in Race Control have expanded the amount of information available to us,” Barnhart said. “The additional cameras, the replay system and assistance from other stewards provide us with additional tools to do our job better. I’m excited about this opportunity and look forward to doing it again.”

    INDYCAR’s Race Control system allows any of the three stewards to call for a review of a potential on-track incident. Upon review the stewards will deliberate on the violation using all available resources – which includes video replays, timing and scoring data and rulebook references – in rendering their decision. Following the review each race steward votes for, or against, the issuance of a penalty and the majority vote then decides if a penalty is issued. Once that determination is made the senior steward, as determined by Walker before each race, dictates the severity of each penalty.

    ###