Throughout the past several years in IndyCar racing, the fuel knob has been a contentious point for fans, teams, drivers, and league officials. The cars had been run without the luxury of a fuel mixture knob until 2008, when it was reinstated. That lasted two years until in 2010 the league removed the knob in favour of a system where the cars could run full-rich, or leaned down for yellow-flag conditions. This ultimately put the job of fuel conservation into the hands (and feet) of the drivers. Those of us…
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The latest news from the IndyCar Series, Indy Lights, Pro Mazda, and USF2000!
StarMazda – April Date Announced: Barber!
The Mazda Road to Indy program continues to gain strength! On Sunday of this week, the Star Mazda Championship Presented by Goodyear revealed that the April TBD slot on their previously released 2011 schedule will be an event on the 10th at the Barber Motorsports Park along with the IZOD IndyCar Series, and the Firestone Indy Lights. Any time that a feeder series can compete on the same weekends and at the same venues as the teams higher up on the ladder, its a good thing. Drivers, engineers, sponsors, and…
Read MoreRoad to Indy – Weekly Wrapup: 12/13 – 12/17
Once again, it’s been a good week for the newly titled Mazda Road to Indy program, although perhaps not AS packed as last week. We can’t always expect banner weeks like we’ve had recently, but still there are some big positives from this week’s news. We have the signing of a driver in Firestone Indy Lights, a couple of Firestone Indy Lights drivers graduating to the IZOD IndyCar Series, and some testing opportunities. Let’s start with the official driver announcements. Driver Announcements Charlie Kimball This Thursday, in a move we…
Read MoreINDYCAR – An American Revolution, Rahal and Kimball to Drive for Chip
This morning, Chip Ganassi Racing Teams announced that Graham Rahal and Charlie Kimball would be their drivers in 2011. As has been rumored, this will be a satellite team in addition to Target Chip Ganassi Racing which will continue to field Dario Franchitti and Scott Dixon as their drivers. Don Prudhomme’s former NHRA shop out of Brownsburg, Indiana will play host to this newly formed team. Rahal Graham Rahal found himself in utter turmoil last offseason, as his McDonald’s sponsorship at Newman Haas completely disappeared. But almost immediately, rumors started spreading…
Read MoreINDYCAR – “It’s a New Track Record”, PR Bluff or Potential Reality?
Nothing tends to stir up a gaggle of Indy 500 fans more than hearing a recording of Tom Carnegie’s iconic pipes announcing another amazing feat of man and machine. Well, except that no new speed records have been set at Indy since 1996 maybe. Arie Luyendyk set the single lap record at 237.498 mph and the four lap average record at 236.986 that year. And since then, there has been a constant dialog between fans, series officials and media about whether 237+ is safe at IMS for the drivers and…
Read MoreIndy Hump Day Report, On the bubble: Final Exams
A few quick happy words This week is finals week for myself, and with that I have little time to write a column. So the December 15th edition of the Indy Hump Day Report will be brief. But just be warned I will have plenty of time over the next four weeks to write so expect some more in depth columns. First I am so happy that JR Hildebrand will be in the IZOD INDYCAR Series where he belongs. Not just because he was a great asset to the Indy…
Read MoreIndyCar – JR Hildebrand Officially Announced for Panther
The 2009 Firestone Indy Lights champion, JR Hildebrand, was announced today as the driver for the #4 National Guard car for Panther Racing. This comes after a testing session at the Phoenix International Raceway where JR impressed the team, and Al Unser Jr. Some of you may remember my overly exuberant reaction to Little Al’s tweet from Phoenix. Well, although I might have been a bit premature, it looks like my faith in Al’s nature to tell it like it is wasn’t misplaced. “I couldn’t be more excited to be…
Read MoreRoad to Indy – Weekly Wrapup: 12/6-12/10
Once again, we had a jam packed week of mostly cool news for the now Mazda Road to Indy program. Yes, I said MAZDA. They’re now the official title sponsor of the program, and they bring some other benefits as well. However, I say mostly cool news because there was one downer for the week. Dan Andersen’s racing operations via Andersen Racing will cease in 2011. Andersen Racing had fielded entries in both the Star Mazda Championship and the Firestone Indy Lights series. Andersen will still run the US F2000…
Read MoreRoad to Indy – Mazda Sponsors the Road to Indy Program
Yes, you read the title right! The Road to Indy program now has a title sponsor, Mazda. Late last off-season, INDYCAR put the final pieces together for a four-tier development system which clearly marked out a path for young open-wheel drivers to the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race. The US F2000 National Championship presented by Cooper Tires and powered by Mazda was the last element to come into place. Dan Andersen of Andersen Racing revived the old F2000-based series with sanction from INDYCAR. Drivers would then graduate to the Star Mazda…
Read MoreRoad to Indy – Veach Returns to USF2000 for Andretti
While I can’t say that it comes as a surprise, it is good to hear the official confirmation. Zach Veach, the young Ohioan who joined the team at the last minute last year after the Atlantics Championship dissolved, has resigned with Andretti Autosport for 2011 to run in the US F2000 National Championship with sponsorship from Zakosi Data Backup. “I’m very excited to have the opportunity to work with this great team and be a part of the ‘Road To Indy’ program again next year. I can’t describe what an…
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