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Chaves Confirmed To '500' Ride With New Team

The worst kept secret in INDYCAR was finally announced...

Napa Returns With Rossi

A.J. Foyt Racing announced...

Carpenter Signs Pigot

Ed Carpenter Racing announced...

Thursday, May 30, 2013

Hildebrand Out, Briscoe In

Panther Racing announced Thursday afternoon the termination of JR Hildebran's contract to pilot the #4 Panther Racing Chevrolet in the IZOD IndyCar Series.

“We’d like to thank JR Hildebrand for his contributions to Panther Racing, and especially the work he put into supporting the National Guard and all of our programs to support its soldiers,” Panther Managing Partner John Barnes said. “JR is a great young man, a class act, and somebody who has been a great representative of our race team and all of our partners since 2011. We certainly wish JR, his family and his representatives all the best in the future.”

In 36 starts with Panther since 2011, JR has logged five top 5's, and twelve top 10's. Hildebrand's release comes after crashing out on lap 4 of the Indianapolis 500, finishing 33rd. The 2011 '500' Rookie of the Year finished 5th at Long Beach but crashed out under caution while making changes to his steering wheel in St. Pete.

"I want to thank Panther Racing for the opportunity to drive the No. 4 National Guard Chevrolet,” Hildebrand added. “It was a privilege to represent our men and women in uniform, along with the National Guard Youth Challenge and the team's veteran employment initiatives. I'm very much looking forward to the next chapter in my IndyCar career, and wish all my friends at Panther the absolute best."

The driver change for the #4 car comes the same week Panther/DRR ceased operations, leaving veteran pilot Oriol Servia without a ride. Servia was rumored to be the leading candidate to replace Hildebrand, but the Spainiard is still under contract with Dreyer and Reinbold and a resolution could not be found in time to get him behind the wheel of the National Guard car this weekend in Detroit.

Just 39-minutes after announcing the release of Hildebrand, Panther Racing confirmed the signing of Ryan Briscoe to pilot the teams single entry in the Detroit double this Saturday and Sunday.

“I’m unbelievably excited to be back in the IndyCar Series with Panther Racing and to have the opportunity to drive the National Guard Chevrolet this weekend,” Briscoe said. “I’ve competed against this team for a long time and it will be great to have the opportunity to work with John Barnes and the Panther guys. I’m confident we’ll all work well together and be able to hit the ground running this weekend in Detroit.”

Briscoe ran full-time with Penske Racing the last five seasons racking up seven wins before becoming ride less and moving to Level 5 Motorsports in the American Le Mans Series in 2013. The Australian signed with Chip Ganassi to run the team's fourth entry at Indianapolis last weekend where he started 23rd finishing 12th. Additional races for Brisoce with Ganassi are possible, while if contract hurdles can be overcome, Servia will likely run the remainder of IndyCar schedule with Panther.

Monday, May 27, 2013

Kanaan Winners Photo Shoot


















Sunday, May 26, 2013

Kanaan Wins Indy


Tony Kanaan has won the Indianapolis 500.

Following a caution on lap 194 caused by a spinning Graham Rahal, the race went back to green with three laps to go and Kanaan running 2nd. Pulling out of the single-file restart as the green flag flew, Kanaan dove to the inside of Ryan Hunter-Reay as 3rd place runner Carlos Munoz took the outside line. Splitting Hunter-Reay entering Turn 1, the fith and final caution flew when Dario Franchitti made heavy wall contact in the first turn.

With just a few yellow flag laps to complete before being handed his chosen bottle of 2% milk, Kanaan was already basking in victory. "I wanna pass the freaking pace car," Kanaan said over his radio. "That's my car by the way."

Doubling last year's record of 34 lead changes with 68 this year, 14 drivers led laps in a race with an average speed of 187.433 mph, both also records.

Time of Race: 2:40:03.4181
Fastest Lap: 226.940mph (L185 J.Wilson)
Fastest Leader Lap: 223.651mph (L184 C. Munoz)

Lap Leaders:

Carpenter 1 - 8
Kanaan 9
Carpenter 10 - 12
Kanaan 13 - 14
Andretti 15 - 16
Kanaan 17 - 20
Andretti 21 - 22
Kanaan 23
Andretti 24 - 26
Kanaan 27 - 28
Andretti 29
Hunter-Reay 30
Power 31 - 32
Jakes 33 - 37
Carpenter 38 - 42
Andretti 43
Carpenter 44 - 50
Andretti 51 - 53
Carpenter 54 - 58
Hunter-Reay 59 - 60
Andretti 61
Hunter-Reay 62 - 63
Carpenter 64 - 72
Kanaan 73 - 74
Power 75 - 88
Kanaan 89
Viso 90
Munoz 91 - 92
Kanaan 93 - 97
Allmendinger 98 - 111
Kanaan 112
Andretti 113 - 114
Kanaan 115 - 120
Hunter-Reay 121
Munoz 122
Tagliani 123
Bell 124
Hinchcliffe 125
Andretti 126 - 130
Hunter-Reay 131
Viso 132 - 135
Hunter-Reay 136
Allmendinger 137 - 142
Hunter-Reay 143 - 144
Castroneves 145
Andretti 146 - 150
Hunter-Reay 151
Munoz 152 - 154
Dixon 155
Hinchcliffe 156 - 157
Hunter-Reay 158 - 164
Allmendinger 165 - 167
Andretti 168
Hunter-Reay 169
Andretti 170
Hunter-Reay 171
Andretti 172 - 173
Kanaan 174
Andretti 175
Kanaan 176 - 177
Munoz 178
Andretti 179
Munoz 180 - 184
Hinchcliffe 185 - 188
Kanaan 189
Hunter-Reay 190
Kanaan 191 - 192
Hunter-Reay 193 - 197
Kanaan 198 - 200

Ed Carpenter - 6 times - 37 laps
Tony Kanaan - 15 times - 34 laps
Marco Andretti - 15 times - 31 laps
Ryan Hunter-Reay - 13 times - 26 laps
AJ Allmendinger - 3 times - 23 laps
Will Power - 2 times - 15 laps
Carlos Munoz - 5 times - 12 laps
James Hinchcliffe - 3 times - 7 laps
James Jakes - 1 time - 5 laps
EJ Viso - 2 times - 5 laps
Helio Castroneves - 1 time - 1 lap
Townsend Bell - 1 time - 1 lap
Alex Tagliani - 1 time - 1 lap
Scott Dixon - 1 time - 1 lap

-Kanaan's 34 laps led today ups his Indy 500 total to 255, 23rd all-time, jumping Helio Castroneves and Dan Wheldon. Just 1 lap behind Mauri Rose.

-Carpenter's 37 laps led jumps him from 160th all-time with 6 to tied for 97th with Jimmy Gleason

-Andretti's 31 laps led moves him up from 65th to 51st all-time with 121 laps led.

Other Lap Leader Movers:

-Hunter-Reay tied for 118th with 26 laps led

-Allmendinger tied for 121st with 23 laps led

-Tagliani tied for 121st with 23 laps led

-Power tied for 125th with 21 laps led

-Munoz tied for 141st with 12 laps led

-Hinchcliffe tied for 144th with 11 laps led

-Viso tied for 166th with 5 laps led

-Jakes tied for 166th with 5 laps led

-Bell tied for 199th with 1 lap led

Caution Flags:

Laps 4-6 - Contact: Hildebrand in Turn 2
Laps 35-42 - Contact: Saavedra in Turn 4
Laps 57-60 - Spin: Sato in Turn 2
Laps 194-196 - Contact: Rahal in Turn 2
Laps 198-200 - Contact: Franchitti in Turn 1

Penalties:

Lap 45 Simona De Silvestro - Drive Through - Running over air hose
Lap 96 James Jakes - Drive Through - Pit safety violation
James Jakes & Graham Rahal both fined $10k for blend line violation

IZOD IndyCar Series Points:

1 - Andretti 168
2 - Sato 157 (-11)
3 - Castroneves 152 (-16)
4 - Hunter-Reay 138 (-30)
5 - Hinchcliffe 128 (-40)
6 - Wilson 125 (-43)
7 - Kanaan 124 (-44)
8 - Dixon 122 (-46)
9 - Servia 112 (-56)
10 - Pagenaud 108 (-60)

1 - Tony Kanaan
2 - Carlos Munoz
3 - Ryan Hunter-Reay
4 - Marco Andretti
5 - Justin Wilson
6 - Helio Castroneves
7 - AJ Allmendinger
8 - Simon Pagenaud
9 - Charlie Kimball
10 - Ed Carpenter
11 - Oriol Servia
12 - Ryan Briscoe
13 - Takuma Sato
14 - Scott Dixon
15 - Ana Beatriz
16 - Tristan Vautier
17 - Simona De Silvestro
18 - EJ Viso
19 - Will Power
20 - James Jakes
21 - James Hinchcliffe
22 - Conor Daly
23 - Dario Franchitti
24 - Alex Tagliani
25 - Graham Rahal
26 - Katherine Legge
27 - Townsend Bell
28 - Josef Newgarden
29 - Sebastien Bourdais
30 - Pippa Mann
31 - Buddy Lazier
32 - Sebastian Saavedra
33 - JR Hildebrand

Friday, May 24, 2013

Carb Day: Final Practice


With 1,305 laps turned in the hour long session, several yellows were flown including a small incident at the entrance to pit lane resulting in nose damage to the #18 of Ana Beatriz. The last caution came just shy of noon, at the end of the session, when Ryan Briscoe's Honda caught fire.

“We were actually on a huge lap, coming to the checkered flag before the engine went," Briscoe said. "But looking at the bright side of things, it’s better to happen now than the first couple laps of the race. So maybe we’ll be really lucky and be able to put in a fresh engine without a penalty for the start of the race. It looks like the cars are running strong, so I’m feeling good for the race."

1 - Simon Pagenaud 225.827
2 - EJ Viso 225.304
3 - Ryan Hunter-Reay 225.053
4 - Scott Dixon 224.870
5 - Sebastien Bourdais 224.848
6 - Dario Franchitti 224.688
7 - James Jakes 224.622
8 - Katherine Legge 224.409
9 - Marco Andretti 224.293
10 - Alex Tagliani 224.231
11 - Tony Kanaan 224.204
12 - Justin Wilson 224.112
13 - AJ Allmendinger 224.106
14 - James Hinchcliffe 224.073
15 - Will Power 224.047
16 - Josef Newgarden 223.814
17 - Ed Carpenter 223.794
18 - Oriol Servia 223.771
19 - Takuma Sato 223.737
20 - Charlie Kimball 223.666
21 - JR Hildebrand 223.569
22 - Ryan Briscoe 223.549
23 - Graham Rahal 223.307
24 - Tristan Vautier 223.277
25 - Sebastian Saavedra 223.276
26 - Townsend Bell 222.927
27 - Simona De Silvestro 222.908
28 - Helio Castroneves 222.026
29 - Conor Daly 221.773
30 - Carlos Munoz 221.734
31 - Ana Beatriz 220.786
32 - Buddy Lazier 219.167
33 - Pippa Mann 149.106

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

INDYCAR Announces Indy Qual Penalties

INDYCAR announced in a press release Tuesday three penalties levied against IZOD IndyCar Series competitors for violations during Indianapolis 500 qualification technical inspection.
The fines are: 
The No. 8 entry of Chip Ganassi Racing driven by Ryan Briscoe has been fined $5,000 for not complying with Rule 14.6.4.16.
14.6.4.16 Rear Wings: The mainplane trailing edge height, as measured from the chassis reference plane is 28.010-28.210 inches. 
The No. 15 entry of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing driven by Graham Rahal has been fined $10,000 for not complying with Rule 14.1.8.

14.1.8 Technical Specifications General: The following forms of cooling are permitted outside the assigned garage: A) Cooling towels applied to bodywork; B) Driver cooling fans; and C) Brake cooling fans (in assigned pit box only)

The No. 17 entry of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing driven by Michel Jourdain Jr. has been fined $1,000 for not complying with 14.6.7.7.
14.6.7.7 Bodywork: All of the remaining underwing parts (splitters, sidewall extensions etc.) must remain as supplied with the exception of adding extra fasteners or the permitted trim to the underwing sidewall.

Sunday, May 19, 2013

Bump Day Recap

Michel Jourdain, who didn't make a single qualifying attempt Sunday, struggled to get up to speed all day and failed to make the field, becoming the first '500' Bump since 2011.

20-minutes before the gun was set to sound Jourdain pitted and was instructed out of the car by team owner Bobby Rahal for fear the veteran driver would be hurt in a desperate attempt to make his 3rd Indianapolis 500.

The 25-33 positions filled in as:

25 - Josef Newgarden 225.731mph
26 - Graham Rahal 225.007mph
27 - Sebastian Saavedra 2224.929mph
28 - Tristain Vautier 224.873mph
29 - Ana Beatriz 224.184mph
30 - Pippa Mann 224.005 mph
31 - Conor Daly 223.582 mph
32 - Buddy Lazier 223.442 mph
33 - Katherine Legge 23.176mph

The 24 already qualified drivers turned Bump Day into one of  the heaviest trafficked practice day of the year with over 2,700  laps turned.





Saturday, May 18, 2013

Pole Day Recap

2013 Pole Day is in the books and for the first time since 1957 with Pat O'Connor, a Hoosier will be leading the 33-car pack to the drop of the green flag for the Indianapolis 500.

1. (20) Ed Carpenter, Dallara-Chevy 02:37.3689 ( 228.762)
2. (26) Carlos Munoz, Dallara-Chevy 02:37.6581 ( 228.342)
3. (25) Marco Andretti, Dallara-Chevy 02:37.7139 ( 228.261)
4. (5) EJ Viso, Dallara-Chevy 02:37.7907 ( 228.150)
5. (2) AJ Allmendinger, Dallara-Chevy 02:37.8264 ( 228.099)
6. (12) Will Power, Dallara-Chevy 02:37.8342 ( 228.087)
7. (1) Ryan Hunter-Reay, Dallara-Chevy 02:37.9614 ( 227.904)
8. (3) Helio Castroneves, Dallara-Chevy 02:38.0596 ( 227.762)
9. (27) James Hinchcliffe, Dallara-Chevy 02:38.5411 ( 227.070)
10. (4) JR Hildebrand, Dallara-Chevy 02:38.2830 ( 227.441)
11. (98) Alex Tagliani, Dallara-Honda, 02:38.3209 ( 227.386)
12. (11) Tony Kanaan, Dallara-Chevy 02:38.6260 ( 226.949)
13. (22) Oriol Servia, Dallara-Chevy 02:38.7206 ( 226.814)
14. (19) Justin Wilson, Dallara-Honda, 02:39.0318 ( 226.370)
15. (7) Sebastien Bourdais, Dallara-Chevy 02:39.1543 ( 226.196)
16. (9) Scott Dixon, Dallara-Honda, 02:39.1808 ( 226.158)
17. (10) Dario Franchitti, Dallara-Honda, 02:39.2434 ( 226.069)
18. (14) Takuma Sato, Dallara-Honda, 02:39.3681 ( 225.892)
19. (83) Charlie Kimball, Dallara-Honda, 02:39.3768 ( 225.880)
20. (16) James Jakes, Dallara-Honda, 02:39.4268 ( 225.809)
21. (77) Simon Pagenaud, Dallara-Honda, 02:39.5219 ( 225.674)
22. (60) Townsend Bell, Dallara-Chevy 02:39.5438 ( 225.643)
23. (8) Ryan Briscoe, Dallara-Honda, 02:39.8117 ( 225.265)
24. (78) Simona De Silvestro, Dallara-Chevy 02:39.8398 ( 225.226)

With 24-car and driver combinations locked into the race, 10 more will attempt to make the field tomorrow, leaving one on the outside looking in. Those 10 drivers are:

- Michel Jourdain - Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
- Graham Rahal - Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
- Josef Newgarden - Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing
- Sebastian Saavedra - Dragon Racing
- Conor Daly - A.J. Foyt Racing
- Tristian Vautier - Schmidt Peterson Motorsports
- Katherine Legge - Schmidt Peterson Motorsports
- Ana Beatriz - Dale Coyne Racing
- Pippa Mann - Dale Coyne Racing
- Buddy Lazier - Lazier Partners Racing






















Friday, May 17, 2013

Q&A With A.J. Allmendinger

A.J. on what it feels like to be a rookie, back in the Indycar, golf and more.



Thursday, May 16, 2013

Conor Daly Crashes In Turn 1


Rookie Conor Daly became victim to the first incident of the month at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway during practice for the Indianapolis 500.

Daly was turning his 43rd lap of the day when sliding up into the Turn 1 wall making hard contact with the SAFER Barrier before turning up onto it's side and landing back right side up. The #41 car sustained expensive right side damage.

 “We had just made a change on the springs in the rear," said Daly. "For me, I felt comfortable the whole time. It's all been reasonably good. I was just trying to experience a little bit more with the car, and there was a car in front and me. The wind, it feels like it's been gusting more, and the rear was leaning hard on the outside tire, and it just kind of folded over on itself. I just lost it. Just not good.”

The 21-year-old Indiana native was checked, cleared, and released from the infield care center and has been cleared to drive.

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Day 4 Photos