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  • Newgarden frustrated with last lap incident

    Newgarden frustrated with last lap incident

    Josef Newgarden was in prime position on the last lap to have a good points day until Santino Ferrucci’s car got loose and came down on Newgarden. Newgarden went off the track and almost wrecked his car. Though he was able to stay off the wall, he lost a few points to Alexander Rossi, as Rossi barely beat Newgarden at the line to gain some points on Newgarden.

    “It’s important to know he (Santino Ferrucci) is a rookie, but what he did was just dangerous,” Newgarden told NBCSN. “He came over and talked to me and said he was loose while he was down there. I was in the exact same position tonight. I know what it’s like to get up in the marbles, got there a couple of times. He came back down in the racing line directly which there was no real reason to.”

    “I gave him the position twice because I was suffering with vibrations all night and my car was getting difficult to drive at the end of that stint. So, I let him go two times in the night but he’s gotta learn in big time auto racing, if you do a move like that on an oval, particularly high speed oval, you will cause a very serious wreck. He’s just got to know that. I really drilled it to him. You cannot come directly into the racing line; that was his instinct. He’s a racer and you’re going to have instincts like that but you can’t do that in oval racing. That’s not okay, so it’s a lesson. I hope he learns that and I hope he gets that in his head.”

    Newgarden started on the pole and finished seventh in the event. He leads his teammate Simon Pagenaud by 38 points and Alexander Rossi by 46 points.

    Ferrucci had a solid night barring the last lap incident. He led 97 laps and finished fourth.

    “I was trying to bring home some hardware,” Ferrucci said to NBCSN. “We were running out front all night, quite frankly, our racecar was good enough to win this thing. At the end there, I was really trying to get to TK (Tony Kanaan) and I lost the car, and I wanted to get out of the marbles. I didn’t close the line on him too much but obviously, we’re fighting for two different championships.”

    “At the end of the day, I did what I had to do to save the car. Unfortunately, he got the worst of it, but you know he did finish the race and still picked up some good championship points. Overall, I could have gave him a little more room, but I really wanted that hardware.”

  • Sato holds off Carpenter in thrilling finish at Gateway

    Sato holds off Carpenter in thrilling finish at Gateway

    After facing criticism throughout the week due to the Pocono crash, Takuma Sato was able to fend off a hard-charging Ed Carpenter at the line in a thrilling finish at World Wide Technology Raceway.

    “Just the support, thank you to all the IndyCar fans, everyone around the world, “Sato said to NBCSN. “The team, the people made this happen. The last couple of days was tough, we kept our heads down, did our job and obviously was a little lucky, but we were fast, so it was great.”

    Championship points leader Josef Newgarden started on the pole. The race already had a caution for the 7 of Marcus Ericsson spin. From there, there was a long green-flag run before the first round of pit stops began on Lap 46 with Sato making a stop that was followed by Simon Pagenaud and Will Power. Power was in the wall on Lap 53, which ended his night and he wound up with a disappointing last-place finish.

    “I just put it like an inch in the marbles, out last, cold tires,” Power said. “Straight to the wall, like ice, it would take off so bad. Such a good car man. I had a very bad vibration, very bad. It wasn’t ideal, but we were still hanging on with faith. We had a good car.”

    Also under the caution, Scott Dixon came down pit road for a problem with his radiator. The problem later turned out to be water coming out of the radiator, which sent him to the garage so the team could fix the issue. However, Dixon called it quits late in the race, as the margin of laps was too significant to make up. He would wind up 20th.

    After the caution, there was a change in the race up front, which saw Canadian James Hinchcliffe and rookie sensation Santino Ferrucci battle for the lead, until Ferrucci took control of the race on Lap 83. Just a few laps later, the next round of pit stops occurred on Lap 96.

    As green-flag pit stops were taking place, the third caution came out on Lap 120 again for Ericsson who was in the wall. Ferrucci cycled out as the leader with Marco Andretti making his scheduled pit stop under yellow. A restart would take place but another caution flew on Lap 132 for Spencer Pigot. Pigot hit the wall after a battle with Charlie Kimball, as Kimball pinched Pigot down. The incident was under review by IndyCar officials but no action was taken.

    Despite the long green flag runs, whenever there was a caution, there would be thrilling restarts that took place diving into Turn 1 with the cars so spread out. This happened between Zach Veach and Sebastian Bourdais. The leaders began to pit again on Lap 174 with Rossi, Hinchcliffe, Colton Herta, Simon Pagenaud and Newgarden.

    After the stops, Hinchcliffe and Pagenaud made slight contact with each other. Pagenaud called for blocking, however, IndyCar officials reviewed the incident with no action taken.

    Race leader Ferrucci finally made his stop on Lap 188 from the lead but he had a slow stop which cost him some time on the track. However, he would catch a lucky break when there was another caution on Lap 190 for Bourdais who hit the wall on the straightaway. Sato pitted from the lead under caution which was a lucky break for him, as well.

    That would be the final caution of the race as the leaders would battle it out under a green flag stint. Some interesting developments took place with 20 to go for Rossi, as he could not make it all the way on fuel and had to make a pit stop. Graham Rahal also had a problem with his car that forced him to retire from the event.

    Ferrucci was trying to make a comeback happen with less than 20 to go until he got way high up the track and had to check up with eight to go in Turn 1. This ultimately cost him a shot for the win.

    The action didn’t stop there as a battle for the win ensued up front. Carpenter was trying to run down Sato late in the race. On the last lap, Carpenter made one last try on Sato before falling short at the line with Sato barely finishing in front of him for the win at Gateway.

    “We went three-wide or four-wide, and we gently touched with (James) Hinchcliffe, I don’t remember,” Sato said to NBCSN about his race early. “It was tough, I lost the moment twice. We made it happen today, a really big thank you to the team, an incredible team.”

    Carpenter finished in the second position by inches to Sato in the thriller.

    “Yesterday was one of the hardest days I’ve had in a car,” Carpenter described to NBCSN. “Just confusing. Both teams, the 20 and 21, we were never good yesterday. We just kept our heads down and we didn’t have to change much to get into the window. We were really good on the long runs tonight, that’s what was good for us. Just needed a little more time to get to Takuma.”

    This was Sato’s second win of the season and his first since Barber Motorsports Park earlier this season. The victory marked his fifth career win in IndyCar. The margin of victory was 0.0399 between Sato and Carpenter at the line.

    Up Next: The NTT IndyCar Series heads to Portland next Sunday for the Grand Prix of Portland, live on NBC at 3 p.m. ET.

    Official Results

    1. Takuma Sato
    2. Ed Carpenter
    3. Tony Kanaan
    4. Santino Ferrucci
    5. Simon Pagenaud
    6. Conor Daly
    7. Josef Newgarden
    8. Ryan Hunter-Reay
    9. Colton Herta
    10. Marco Andretti
    11. Felix Rosenqvist
    12. James Hinchcliffe, One lap down
    13. Alexander Rossi, One lap down
    14. Zach Veach, One lap down
    15. Charlie Kimball, One lap down
    16. Marcus Ericsson, One lap down
    17. Matheus Leist, Two laps down
    18. Graham Rahal, Retired
    19. Sebastian Bourdais, Retired
    20. Scott Dixon, Retired
    21. Spencer Pigot, Retired
    22. Will Power, Retired
  • NTT IndyCar Series Preview-Gateway

    NTT IndyCar Series Preview-Gateway

    The NTT IndyCar Series heads back to the Midwest this weekend for race No. 15 of the 2019 season. With Will Power winning the rain-shortened race at Pocono last weekend, he was able to close the points gap a little but he is still far behind fifth in points, 128 behind his teammate Josef Newgarden. Due to the win at Pocono, Power is mathematically eligible to win the championship but will need a lot of help to do so with just three races remaining.

    Here’s a look at who might win the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 at World Wide Technology Raceway.

    1. Josef Newgarden – Newgarden has two starts at Gateway with a win in 2017 after dominating the race by leading 170 laps. His previous finish was seventh in last year’s race after qualifying third. The Team Penske driver has an average start of 2.5 and an average finish of 4.0. Newgarden has been a beast on ovals this year, finishing fourth in the Indy 500 and winning at Texas and Iowa. Should Newgarden win again this weekend, I expect some drivers to be mathematically eliminated to compete for the championship.

    2. Scott Dixon – Trying to run Newgarden down in the championship is CGR driver Scott Dixon, who currently sits fourth in the standings, 52 points behind Newgarden. At Gateway, Dixon has three starts with a best finish of second in 2017 and he also earned a pole here last year. Dixon has an average finish of 6.7 and has led 223 laps. He led 145 laps in last year’s race before ultimately finishing third. On ovals this year, he has finishes of 17th in the Indy 500 and Fort Worth and second at Iowa and Pocono. Expect Dixon to be in contention to win on Saturday night and try to close the points gap a little bit on Newgarden.

    3. Will Power – Counting out last week’s winner would be a head-scratcher for sure when it comes to Gateway. While the 2017 race wasn’t the best outing for the Aussie, Power came back to win the race last year after leading 93 laps and starting fourth. In the two outings, Power has an average finish of 10.5, but his starts have been great. Keep an eye on Power who might be up front.

    4. Spencer Pigot – Looking to put the disappointing Pocono outing behind him, Pigot and the No. 21 Ed Carpenter Racing team are looking forward to returning to Gateway this weekend, a track where they were good at last year. In one start, Pigot finished sixth after starting 14th. The 2019 oval season has been so-so for the Ed Carpenter driver, finishing 14th at Indy and Fort Worth, fifth at Iowa and 17th last week at Pocono after crashing out of the race. Pigot and company are hoping to bounce back after last week’s events.

    5. Alexander Rossi – Speaking of someone hoping to bounce back we can’t forget Alexander Rossi who has two starts at Gateway. Rossi was involved in the Lap 1 crash at Pocono last Sunday. He was able to finish the race but was many laps down when the race was over. Rossi came to Pocono with a 16 point deficit but is now 35 points behind. Gateway might be the place where Rossi can overcome the points gap a little bit, as he finished second there last year and led four laps. The Andretti Autosport driver has finishes of second at Indy and Fort Worth and sixth at Iowa. Don’t ever count out Rossi and his No. 27 Napa team.

    World-Wide Technology Raceway has hosted four races under the CART/CCWS name and five races under the NTT IndyCar name. The first race for CART was back in 1997 when Paul Tracy won after starting second. Over the next three races, legendary names like Alex Zanardi, Michael Andretti and Juan Pablo Montoya have all won here.

    However, when IndyCar came in 2001, drivers like Al Unser Jr., Gil de Ferran and Helio Castroneves have won here as well. The series took a 16-year hiatus before returning two years ago in 2017. Since then, it’s been all Team Penske who have taken the checkers with Newgarden and Power winning.

    The NTT IndyCar Series drivers will get on track Friday afternoon with two one hour practice sessions. The first practice is scheduled for 2 p.m. ET and the final practice set for 9:15 p.m. ET live on NBC Gold. Qualifying will also be held on Friday evening at 6:15 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

    Saturday night is race day for the Bommarito Automotive Group 500. The race will have 250 laps and will be live on NBCSN. The pre-race show is slated for 8 p.m. ET and the green flag will fly at 8:45 p.m. ET.

  • Dixon, Bourdais quickest in final practices

    Dixon, Bourdais quickest in final practices

    The Verizon Indycar series kicked off The Official 1st and 2nd sessions of Grand Prix practice Thursday morning. Practice sessions ran for 45 minutes each and drivers took any where from 11 to 22 laps around the 2.434 mile, 14 turn course.

    There was much doubt about the track being ready in time for the race this Saturday. Although some spots around the track are ugly, we’re ready to go racing.

    Sebastian Bourdais lead practice #1 with a best time of 1:10.5150. “We made a lot of progress and learned some things” said the Frenchman Thursday after his run.

    Meanwhile, Scott Dixon lead practice #2 with a time of 1:10.4654. “The cars are on knifes edge. The straights are so long that I think we’ve only seen at Brazil” Said Dixon, who has two top-5 finishes in the three races so far this year, both coming on road courses.

    If you’d like to see the rest of the times from each respective driver, I have attached session times for both practices. (Courtesy Indycar.com)

    GrandPrixPrac1 GrandPrixPrac2

     

    -Ryan Kent Jr

    @Ryankent47

  • Travis Pastrana, Danica Patrick and Kimi Raikkonen Face Common NASCAR Choice

    Travis Pastrana, Danica Patrick and Kimi Raikkonen have one thing in common, that of dabbling in a variety of NASCAR Series racing while still maintaining careers in other racing and sports endeavors.

    [media-credit id=62 align=”alignright” width=”221″][/media-credit]Yet at some point, all three of these talents, one from Rally and X Games fame, one from IndyCar Racing, and the other a Formula One champ, must make an important choice. They must decide if they will give their all to focus on making it in the realm of stock car racing.

    Unfortunately, Travis Pastrana had his choice made for him this weekend. Instead of participating in “Pastranathon”, competing in the X Games as well as making his NASCAR Nationwide debut at Lucas Oil Raceway in Indianapolis, Pastrana broke his right foot and ankle while attempting a double ‘TP Roll’ on his motorcycle in X Game competition.

    “I’m disappointed in myself for letting everyone down,” Pastrana said. “I can’t tell you how sorry and how disappointed I am that I messed that trip to Indy up.”

    Because of Pastrana’s injuries, including not only his leg and foot injury as well as an injury to his hand that he sustained in practice, the 27 year old driver’s choice as far as NASCAR competition has been made at least until next year.

    “I have surgery scheduled for Tuesday,” Pastrana said. “I have to get my hand pinned and plated, my right leg pinned and plated, and my right foot pinned and plated. So unfortunately I won’t be up for about two months.”

    “I’m definitely hoping to get back as fast as possible and get as much time in that car as possible and go have some fun,” Pastrana continued. “I look forward to being in NASCAR next year.”

    Pastrana’s team owner, Michael Waltrip, was also disappointed that his driver’s choice was made for him as far as his Nationwide racing debut.

    “Like fans everywhere we were so excited about Travis’ debut,” Waltrip said. “We have a long-term vision with Travis which includes lots of NASCAR.”

    “We can’t wait to get him healed and in our race cars,” Waltrip continued. “We’ve waited a long time for someone like Travis Pastrana. I guess we’ll just have to wait a little bit longer.”

    While Pastrana had his choice made for him regarding NASCAR, IndyCar Racing driver Danica Patrick still has a major choice before her. She must decide soon what her future will be in both or either of these racing series.

    This year, Patrick, while maintaining her IndyCar Racing obligations, has also been racing select Nationwide races under the JR Motorsports banner.

    Rumors have, of course, been rampant about her racing future in 2012. Many have speculated that she will run a full-time Nationwide schedule, as well as a handful of Cup starts.

    Yet even her team owner Dale Earnhardt, Jr. is uncertain as to the choice she will make about competing in stock car racing full-time.

    “I haven’t heard anything,” Dale Junior said. “I think things are looking positive for us to put something together.”

    “I would like for her to run full-time,” Junior continued. “I’m sure she is considering that and I think she would enjoy it.”

    “She seems to really enjoy driving stock cars and racing in the Nationwide Series,” Earnhardt, Jr. said of Patrick. “We just have to see but I haven’t heard anything about it.”

    While Dale Earnhardt, Jr. may be excited about Danica Patrick’s future in NASCAR, one other driver, a Formula 1 champion, has virtually disappeared from the NASCAR scene. After trying his hand at both the Truck and Nationwide Series, Kimi Raikkonen has seemingly not chosen the stock car scene.

    Raikkonen started out both NASCAR runs, including the Truck Series and the Nationwide Series, with high hopes and good feelings.

    “Everybody’s been very nice and very welcome,” the ‘Iceman’ said of his NASCAR foray. “It’s a nice atmosphere, very relaxed.”

    Unfortunately, Raikkonen struggled and finished the Top Gear 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in 27th place, several laps down.

    “It was nice in the beginning but it turned out to be really bad,” Raikkonen said. “Once it got difficult, you cannot race and you really try to survive. Up until that point, it was fun.”

    But when asked if the race was fun enough to return to the NASCAR scene, the Finland native said simply, “I don’t know yet.”

    And that seems to sum it up for all three of these drivers. Their NASCAR futures are simply uncertain.

    One final commonality, however, remains for all three of these racing stars in their own rights. Each one, Pastrana, Patrick and Raikkonen, must eventually not only choose to race in the world of stock cars, but in order to be successful, they will also have to choose to make it their first, and potentially, their only priority.