News for the Week of April 13, 2015 – April 19, 2015

Dixon wins at Long Beach – Scott Dixon won the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach in a dominant performance on Sunday. Castroneves, Montoya, Pagenaud, and Kanaan completed the Top 5. The race had only one early caution after a calamitous Grand Prix of Louisiana last week. Full results here. – OW33 – (4/19/15)

Jones takes Long Beach for third straight win – Carlin’s rookie Ed Jones won an exciting race on Sunday to grab in the Indy Lights win at Long Beach. Full results here. – Indy Lights – (4/19/15)

Bell confirmed for DRR at the 500 – “Dreyer & Reinbold – Kingdom Racing announced that Townsend Bell will drive the No. 24 Robert Graham Special in the 99th Running of the Indianapolis 500.” “We are extremely pleased to have Townsend back in our car for the Indianapolis 500,” Dennis Reinbold said. “Townsend has proven to be contender at Indy for many years, including last year’s event when he was running second with 10 laps to go. With the Robert Graham brand, we feel Townsend and No. 24 Chevrolet-powered machine will be right in the thick of things when the checkered flag is in the air on May 24.”- INDYCAR – (4/19/15)

Indy Lights Rising Star Jack Harvey to Start Up Front at Long Beach – Jack Harvey led the speed charts in qualifying today at Long Beach with an impressive time of 01:12.0405. Jack is the only non-rookie in starting in the top five, which includes: Spencer Pigot, Kyle Kaiser, Ed Jones, and Felix Serralles. Full qualification results from IndyCar. – (4/18/2015)

Helio Castroneves Takes the Pole at Long Beach – Helio was the only driver starting on the Firestone Red tires in the final session of qualifying, and in the end used two whole sets of reds in getting the pole. Pagenaud, JPM and RHR all waited until approx. 3 min were remaining in the final session prior to coming out on the course. – Unofficial Results via IndyCar below – (4/18/2015)

Q3 - LB

Q2 “Fast Twelve” Group Results from Qualifying at Long Beach –  Solid Q2 session at Long Beach; RHR, Newgarden, Helio, JPM, Dixon, and RHR all move on to the Firestone Fast Six. RHR was the only driver in the 1:07’s to move on to the Fast Six. – Unofficial Results via IndyCar – (4/18/2015)

Q2 - LB

Group 2 Results from Qualifying at Long Beach – Coletti was to move on based on lap time… until he crashed and was moved back to 12th. Will Power was playing it slow and took the unlucky break with the Coletti crash and doesn’t make the Cut. Montoya, Saavedra, Pagenaud, Newgarden, Bourdais, and Marco all move on. Unofficial Results via IndyCar – (4/18/2015)

Group 2 - LB

Group 1 Results from Qualifying at Long Beach – Tony Kanaan, RHR, Helio Castroneves, Scott Dixon, Carlos Munoz, and Graham Rahal move on in group 1. Unofficial Results via IndyCar – (4/18/2015)Group 1 - LB

Simon Pagenaud leads P3 – Pagenaud, Castroneves, POwer, Dixon, Saavedra, Rahal, Newgarden, RHR, Bourdais, and Kanaan led the boards in P3. Graham Rahal led all Honda powered drivers in position 6 overall, with the top 15 drivers all under 1:08 lap times. – P3 ResultsCombined Results – (4/18/2015)

Take a Lap around LB with Rahal – Graham Rahal takes a lap around the Streets of Long Beach on this edition of the #INDYCAR In-Car Theater – YouTube – (4/18/2015)

Daly replaces injured Moran at DCR for Long Beach – Due to Rocky Moran Jr. breaking his thumb in a crash on Friday, Conor Daly will drive the No. 18 for Dale Coyne Racing on Saturday and Sunday in Long Beach. It’s Daly’s first Verizon IndyCar Series experience since Indianapolis in 2013. – NBC Sports – (4/18/15)

Will Power Back On Top in P2 – Will Power has jumped back on top of the speed charts in the second practice session for Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. This final practice once again showed the dominance of Penske; all four drivers in the top five. Graham Rahal was the fastest Honda in position seven, with him, Marco, and RHR remaining the only three Honda’s in the top 10. Everyone is within approx. 1.2 seconds of each other, except for Moran Jr. and Dracone, who are over 2 seconds off the pace. Results via IndyCar- P2 ResultsCombined Results – (4/17/2015)

Rocky Moran Jr. Replaces Huertas – Dale Coyne Racing has made a last second change going into this weekend at Long Beach… Rocky Moran Jr. will be replacing Carlos Huertas in the No. 18 Trench Shoring Honda.  Moran Jr. last raced in an open wheel type car in 2005, but is well versed on the streets of Long Beach; having raced GRAND-AM ther several times in a Daytona Prototype. – NBC Sports – (4/17/2015)

Dixon Leads P1 Charts at Long Beach – Scott Dixon lead P1 at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach with a fast lap of 1:08:6458. RHR, 3rd quickest and Munoz, 8th quickest were the only Honda’s in the top ten. Results at the link. – INDYCAR. – (4/17/2015)

Moran Jr. replaces Huertas for DCR at Long Beach – Rocky Moran Jr. will drive the No. 18 Dale Coyne Racing Honda this weekend at Long Beach. Moran Jr. replaces Carlos Huertas. Curt Cavin reports that Huertas is still an option for the Indy 500 but that’s to be determined. – Indianapolis Star – (4/17/15)

DRR & Kingdom Racing to announce 500 plans on Saturday – “A media conference will be held this Saturday, April 18, to announce the driver, partners and car entry for Dreyer & Reinbold – Kingdom Racing in the 99th Indianapolis 500 Mile Race schedule for Sunday, May 24, 2015. The conference is set for 3:45 p.m. PDT at the Dan Gurney Media Center at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. The Saturday announcement will follow the Verizon IndyCar Series post-qualifying media conference.” Townsend Bell is expected to be the driver. – DRR/Kingdom Racing Press Release – (4/16/15)

Jonathan Byrd’s Racing and Clauson to be No. 88 at the 500 – Jonathan Byrd’s Racing announced that their car number at the 99th Indianapolis 500 Mile Race will be No. 88. The car will be driven by Bryan Clauson. – @ByrdRacing – (4/16/15)

Mann gets Indy 500 deal with DCR – Pippa Mann confirmed she has an Indy 500 ride with Dale Coyne Racing for this year’s 99th Running of the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race. She will once again be in pink with support of Susan G. Komen. “It was an honor last year to be able to partner with Susan G. Komen,” said Mann. “By bringing Komen’s iconic images and colors to the Indy 500, we were able to promote its cause, while raising funds and awareness for Komen’s mission.” – Pippa Mann – (4/16/15)

INDYCAR Long Beach preview/details – INDYCAR’s Long Beach preview is posted on their site and features all of the details, notes, and special rules for this weekend’s 41st Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. – INDYCAR – (4/16/15)

INDYCAR announces penalties from NOLA – Ryan Hunter-Reay was docked three championship points and put on probation for for three races for avoidable contact. Marco Andretti was fined $500 for not keeping his helmet visor down during a pit stop. Francesco Dracone was fined $10,000 and placed on probation for six races for contact with pit personnel. There were several crew member penalties. More information at the link. – INDYCAR – (4/15/15)

Team Moore Racing signs driver Toledano – “Team Moore Racing today announced that Alfonso “Picho” Toledano has signed with the team for the remainder of the 2015 season of Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires beginning with the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course event on May 7-9.” See the fantastic livery here. – Indy Lights – (4/15/15)

NOLA promoter confident for event’s future – Andretti Sports Marketing president John Lopes remains optimistic for the NOLA Motorsports Park event even in the face of a disappointing weekend due to weather. Great read. ““It’s disappointing because of the weather,” Lopes told MotorSportsTalk. “If the weather was different, I think we’d have a completely different conversation right now. The place would have been jammed. New Orleans is a big walkup crowd, and this killed the walkup. Essentially what you saw there was advance ticket sales, this didn’t include a walkup because they by and large stayed home. Our sales were down by as much as half because of the weather, so you can imagine what it would have been otherwise.”” – NBC Sports – (4/15/15)

DCR crew member “a very lucky boy” – Dale Coyne Racing crew member Todd Phillips was knocked upside down by the No. 19 car driven by Francesco Dracone in the pits during Sunday’s Indy Grand Prix of Louisiana but escaped with only some bruising and a lacerated leg. According to the Indianapolis Star’s Curt Cavin, he doesn’t expect to be back at Long Beach but should be back soon. “I’m glad I jumped,” he told The Indianapolis Star on Tuesday evening. “If I’m planted (on the ground) it gets real ugly real quick…At the end of the day I’m a very lucky boy.” – Indianapolis Star – (4/15/15)

Long Beach spotter guide is out – The spotter guide for the Verizon IndyCar Series’ Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach is out. It features new liveries for Castroneves in the No. 3, Saavedra in the No. 8, and Rahal in the No. 15. – Long Beach Spotter Guide – (4/15/15)

Rahal excited for Newman documentary – Graham Rahal is excited to see the new documentary on his “hero” Paul Newman. “Winning: The Racing Life of Paul Newman” will be unveiled at a charity premiere on April 16th which Rahal will attend. “He’s my hero. I really think Paul Newman is the standard for what a human being should be,” Rahal said. More information at the link. – INDYCAR – (4/15/15)

Verizon IndyCar Series entry list for Long Beach; Simona out – The entry list for the Verizon IndyCar Series’ Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach is out and features 23 cars after it was announced that Sebastian Saavedra would drive the Ganassi No. 8 (rather than Sage Karam) and that Simona de Silvestro will not compete this weekend. New liveries to keep an eye on are Sebastien Saavedra’s AFS colors on the No. 8, Helio Castroneves with AAA on his No. 3, and Graham Rahal’s No. 15 in Steak ‘n Shake colors. – INDYCAR – (4/14/15)

Lights entry list for Long Beach; Hargrove out – The entry list for the Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires’ Grand Prix of Long Beach Presented by Allied Building Products is out and as expected does not include 8Star Motorsports and driver Scott Hargrove. That leaves 12 teams for this weekend’s event. Matthew Brabham was announced for Andretti Autosport earlier on Tuesday. – Indy Lights – (4/14/15)

Ganassi confirms plans for No. 8 for rest of the season; Saavedra in at Long Beach – “Chip Ganassi Racing Teams (CGRT) unveiled its upcoming plans today for the No. 8 Chevrolet entry in the Verizon IndyCar Series, which includes races for both CGRT development driver Sage Karam and team newcomer Sebastian Saavedra– who will pilot the No. 8 AFS Chevrolet at this weekend’s Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. Saavedra will be backed by AFS Racing/Automatic Fire Sprinklers, Inc., one of the western states largest full service fire sprinkler companies, for the races in Long Beach, the Grand Prix of Indianapolis and Sonoma, with an additional race at the Indianapolis 500 through a fifth entry overseen by CGRT. After starts in St. Petersburg and New Orleans this season for CGRT, Karam will rejoin the team in the No. 8 Chevrolet for the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama and the Indianapolis 500, and is scheduled to run the balance of the season until Sonoma.” See the livery on the No. 8’s livery page here. – CGRT – (4/14/15)

Brabham back with AA in Lights at Long Beach – “Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires race winner Matt Brabham will head to Long Beach, CA with two-times series champions Andretti Autosport to contest the hour-long race this Sunday. The Mazda Road to Indy veteran will pilot the No. 83 Stellrecht Company Andretti Autosport Mazda on the streets of Long Beach. “I am incredibly happy and grateful to be heading to Long Beach, and a big thanks must go to Bob Stellrecht for believing in me and giving me this opportunity,” said Brabham. “I am confident we will be right up there at the top and fighting competitively.”” – Indy Lights – (4/14/15)

Servia to race for RLL at the Indy 500 – Oriol Servia will drive for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing in the 99th Indianapolis 500 Mile Race this May. “I honestly couldn’t be any happier to announce that I will be entering the 99th Indi­anapolis 500 with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing,” said Servia. “There is a saying in Spanish “A la tercera va la vencida” (Third time lucky) that I feel fits our effort very well. This will be our third attempt together to cross the most famous brick­yard first after 500 miles” – RLL – (4/14/15)

NOLA gets a 0.27 TV rating – Sunday’s Indy Grand Prix of Louisiana drew a 0.27 overnight TV rating on NBCSN. That compares to a 2.85 for the Sprint Cup Series at Texas on Saturday night and a 0.19 for F1 at 1:30am Sunday morning. – ShowBuzzDaily – (4/13/15)

RHR exchanges helmets with Saban – Ryan Hunter-Reay exchanged helmets with boxer Deontay Wilder and Alabama head football coach Nick Saban at a promotional event for INDYCAR’s race weekend in Barber on Monday. Picture at the link. – INDYCAR – (4/13/15)

RHR exchanges helmets with Saban – Ryan Hunter-Reay exchanged helmets with boxer Deontay Wilder and Alabama head football coach Nick Saban at a promotional event for INDYCAR’s race weekend in Barber on Monday. Picture at the link. – INDYCAR – (4/13/15)

Video emerges of Dracone pit incident at NOLA – Jalopnik has posted a video of Francesco Dracone’s incident in the pits during Sunday’s Indy Grand Prix of Louisiana. Dracone lost control of his car in the pits and hit crew member Todd Phillips. Somehow, Phillips’ only significant injury was a laceration on his leg. – Jalopnik – (4/13/15)

Chaves gets “unauthorized assistance” at GP of Louisiana – MotorSportsTalk’s Tony DiZinno put together a solid recap of BHA rookie Gabby Chaves’ interesting day. Chaves was one of the biggest movers of the early part of the race until he got clipped by James Hinchcliffe, spun into the grass, and got stuck until a corner worker gave him a push. This spawned all kinds of excitement on Twitter and other social media platforms. Pictures and video at the link. – NBC Sports – (4/13/15)

Hinchcliffe wins GP of Louisiana – James Hinchcliffe won the inaugural Grand Prix of Louisiana at NOLA Motorsports Park in a timed race due to weather conditions and plenty of yellow flags. Hinch pitted only once throughout the whole race but made it stick thanks to short green flag stints late due to a large number of cautions. Castroneves, Jakes, de Silvestro, and Montoya completed the Top 5. Read our live blog of the race at the link. Full results here. – OW33 – (4/12/15)

Scary 3 car incident brings out last caution at GP of Louisiana – A scary incident between Simon Pagenaud, Ryan Hunter-Reay, and Sebastien Bourdais brought out the last caution of the Grand Prix of Louisiana with under eight minutes to go. Pagenaud ran out of race track next to RHR, lost control in the soaked mud and grass, and wiped out both RHR and Bourdais as they entered a turn. Video and quotes at the link. – NBC Sports – (4/12/15)

GP of Louisiana qualifying cancelled due to severe weather – Verizon IndyCar Series qualifying at NOLA Motorsports Park was cancelled after severe weather stopped the qualifying session at the completion of Round 1. The session was full of controversy after Sebastien Bourdais had his two fastest times thrown out for a “block” on Tony Kanaan as he reentered the track after going into a run off lane. Juan Pablo Montoya and Helio Castroneves are the big winners of the decision to cancel qualifying as neither made it out of Group 1 in Round 1. View our full recap of the action at the link. Starting grid here. – OW33 – (4/11/15)

Sir Patrick Stewart named Grand Marshall for Long Beach – “Acclaimed stage and screen actor Sir Patrick Stewart will serve as grand marshal for the Verizon IndyCar Series race on April 19 at the 41st Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. Stewart is a racing enthusiast who competed in the 2002 Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race on the streets of Long Beach. Best known for his roles in “Star Trek: The Next Generation” and the X-Men franchise, Stewart returns to series television later this year starring as the title character in “Blunt Talk.” Former Indy car driver Adrian Fernandez, who is enshrined on the Long Beach Motorsports Walk of Fame, will be the honorary starter.” – INDYCAR – (4/11/15)

Attorneys of spectator struck at St. Pete want the debris –  According to the Tampa Bay Times the attorneys of the spectator injured in the race at St. Pete “notified the city that she intends to file a lawsuit over its “negligent acts or omissions.”” They would like the city to preserve the piece of debris that hit the spectator to review. – Tampa Bay Times – (4/10/15)

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