News for the Week of August 1, 2016 – August 7, 2016

Clauson airlifted after Belleville midget race – From Bryan Clauson Racing: “Bryan was severely injured last night while competing in the Belleville Nationals midget race at Belleville High Banks in Kansas. Bryan was airlifted to Bryan Medical Center West in Lincoln, Nebraska following the accident, where he remains in critical condition and under the care of the medical staff. We appreciate the support of the racing community and are thankful for the outreach we’ve received. We ask that you continue to respect our privacy as we focus on Bryan. ” Full release at the link and view the incident here. – Bryan Clauson Racing – (8/7/2016)

Pocono testing update – INDYCAR posted a nice update on the Verizon IndyCar Series test at Pocono Raceway on Thursday, August 6th. Max Chilton was appreciative of getting a chance to test at Pocono. “It’s hugely important,” said Chilton. “You’ve got to leave this being comfortable in what you’ve got for the race. We’re trying to get that, so I’m confident to come back here in a fortnight.” – INDYCAR – (8/5/2016)

Carlin evaluating 2017 Verizon IndyCar Series entry – Motorsport.com’s David Malsher reports Carlin owner Trevor Carlin would like his team to join the Verizon IndyCar Series in 2017 but they have a long way to go to be ready. “I’d say the chances of being on the grid next year are the best they’ve ever been, but there’s a long way to go before we’re confident of putting our entries in,” Carlin told Motorsport.com. Full story at the link. – Motorsport.com – (8/5/2016)

Rossi has no definite plans beyond finishing ’16 Verizon IndyCar Series season – Motorsport.com’s David Malsher reports that Alexander Rossi has no imminent plans for his racing career following the conclusion of the 2016 Verizon IndyCar Series season at Sonoma Raceway. Rossi denies the speculation that he’s immediately heading to Formula 1 to potentially race for Manor after serving as a reserve driver again. Rossi also drops this line regarding 2017: “You’re always talking to other teams, for sure. There have been discussions with other F1 teams besides Manor and there have been some discussions with teams other than Andretti within IndyCar.” Full story at the link. – Motorsport.com – (8/4/2016)

Marco hosts racing stars – Curt Cavin of the Indianapolis Star has a nice piece on Marco Andretti’s continual hosting of fellow racers from across the world at his Pennsylvania home. It’s a good read with nice insight into the side of Marco Andretti the public doesn’t always see. “He’s such a genuine guy, such a loyal guy, such a generous guy,” said James Hinchcliffe. “If you’re a friend of his and he trusts you, he’s the best guy you can have in your corner. – Indianapolis Star – (8/4/2016)

TMS makes Firestone 600 continuation “Back The Blue Night” – “Texas Motor Speedway will play host to “Back The Blue Night” at the Firestone 600 Verizon IndyCar Series race on Saturday, Aug. 27, to display its appreciation for the dedicated service of police officers. “Back The Blue Night” will honor police officers near and far by providing them and a companion free admission to the Firestone 600. Police personnel will be required to show their badge or proper identification at the gate for admittance to the event that will have general admission seating. Texas Motor Speedway also will extend this offer to all first responders that show proper identification at the gate.” – Texas Motor Speedway – (8/3/2016)

Mid-Ohio broadcast gets best INDYCAR TV rating on NBCSN – NBC Sports PR reports that their Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio broadcast on CNBC and NBCSN had the best INDYCAR TV rating on the NBC platform since they acquired the rights in 2009. “Sunday’s IndyCar Mid-Ohio race simulcast on @NBCSN & CNBC produced a 0.62 overnite rating – best ever since acquiring IndyCar rights in 2009” – NBC Sports PR – (8/3/2016)

Miller’s Mailbag 8/3/16 – RACER’s Robin Miller’s weekly fan Q&A is a great read as always. – RACER – (8/3/2016)

Trackside podcast 8/2/16 – 1070 The Fan’s Trackside with Curt Cavin and Kevin Lee radio show from 8/2/16 is a great listen as always. The pair recaps the INDYCAR weekend at Mid-Ohio and spend some time talking about rumors and speculation for 2017. – 1070 The Fan – (8/3/2016)

8/4 Pocono test open to general public – “The Verizon IndyCar Series test session at Pocono Raceway on Thursday, August 4 will be free and open to the public and fans are encouraged to attend to get a preview of the upcoming ABC Supply 500 race weekend scheduled for August 20-21…Drivers scheduled to take to the track include Marco Andretti, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Alexander Rossi, Carlos Munoz, Ed Carpenter, Josef Newgarden, Takuma Sato, Jack Hawksworth, Scott Dixon, Max Chilton, Charlie Kimball, Tony Kanaan, Graham Rahal, James Hinchcliffe and Mikhail Aleshin. Fans can enter through Gate 1 of Pocono Raceway beginning at 9 a.m., with the test scheduled to run from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Seating in Club Pocono will be free of charge.” – Pocono Raceway – (8/2/2016)

Cooper Tire named official tire of Mid-Ohio – “Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course announced today that Cooper Tire has been selected as the official tire of Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and The Mid-Ohio School…Cooper will also have a presence throughout the grounds of Mid-Ohio, with signage at the front stretch crossover bridge and the iconic tower that sits at the start/finish line, housing the facility’s media center and hospitality suites.” – Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course – (8/2/2016)

Gateway set to be added to ’17 schedule – RACER reports that Gateway Motorsports Park will be on the 2017 Verizon IndyCar Series schedule. “RACER has learned it will be the 1.25-mile oval at Gateway Motorsports Park, located east of St. Louis in Madison, Ill., and the race will be held in August. Australia, Portland and Calgary remain possibilities but not until 2018.” More at the link. – RACER – (8/1/2016)

INDYCAR re-energizes efforts to land third engine manufacturer – SBJ’s Adam Stern reports that INDYCAR has reinvigorated its efforts to land a third engine manufacturer for the Verizon IndyCar Series. Ford, Toyota, and Alfa Romeo are all mentioned as possibilities. If you’re not an SBJ subscriber, you can learn more via Stern’s tweets here. – SportsBusiness Journal – (8/1/2016)

Dixon questions his Mid-Ohio move because it was on Helio – Scott Dixon questioned himself after his incident in the Honda 200 at Mid-Ohio that maybe he shouldn’t have made the move because it was on Helio Castroneves. “Had we had a little more room I think we could have gotten through there just fine,” said Dixon. “It was definitely an aggressive move but I should have known better trying that with Helio. It usually ends like this with him.” – RACER – (8/1/2016)

INDYCAR stars featured on Celebrity Family Feud – Verizon IndyCar Series stars Helio Castroneves, Tony Kanaan, James Hinchcliffe, Will Power, and Conor Daly were contestants on ABC’s prime time show Celebrity Family Feud. The group competed against Sports Illustrated swimsuit models. Watch the episode at the link. – indy44 – (8/1/2016)

Pagenaud returns to his winning ways at Mid-Ohio – Team Penske’s Simon Pagenaud won The Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio on Sunday with an aggressive pass on teammate Will Power on the last restart. The full Top 5 was Pagenaud, Power, Munoz, Rahal, and Hinchcliffe. Dixon finished last after early contact with Castroneves. Aleshin was poised to win his first career Verizon IndyCar Series race until a yellow erased his big lead and he suffered contact leaving his pit box in the last round of pit stops under caution. Here are the race highlights. Full results here. – INDYCAR – (7/31/2016)

Urrutia completes Mid-Ohio sweep with Lights Race 2 win – Schmidt Peterson Motorsports’ Santiago Urrutia dominated Indy Lights Race 2 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course just as he did in Race 1 to complete the weekend sweep. The rest of the Top 5 was Stoneman, Negrao, Veach, and Blackstock. Full results here. – Indy Lights – (7/31/2016)

Urrutia dominates in Lights Race 1 win at Mid-Ohio – Schmidt Peterson Motorsports’ Santiago Urrutia dominated Indy Lights Race 1 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course for an easy win on Saturday. The rest of the Top 5 was Negrao, Stoneman, Serralles, and Veach. Full results here. – Indy Lights – (7/30/2016)

Pagenaud wins the pole and sets new track record at Mid-Ohio – Team Penske’s championship leader Simon Pagenaud won the pole and set a new track record with a lap of 1:03.8700 in qualifying for The Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio. The rest of the Firestone Fast 6 finishing order was Power, Newgarden, Hunter-Reay, Kimball, and Rahal. Scott Dixon surprisingly only managed P11 in the session. Full results here. – INDYCAR – (7/30/2016)

Daly could be a hot commodity for ’17 – RACER’s Marshall Pruett has a nice piece on Conor Daly as he inches closer to his first offseason with full-time experience in the Verizon IndyCar Series as a potential free agent. Daly says Dale Coyne Racing has an option on him for 2017 through 10/31/16 but other teams are inquiring about his plans. “I like the group I’m with, and it would be hard to leave that after one year,” Daly told RACER. “But then you also have the fact that some people have reached out and asked what I’m doing next year and if I could be available, which is also cool. My first option is Dale and reuniting with the team because I know we can achieve a lot more together. For where I’m at right now, I know I need to perform to the best of my abilities and the rest will take care of itself.” – RACER – (7/29/2016)

SPM expects Hinch and Aleshin back in ’17 – RACER’s Marshall Pruett reports that Sam Schmidt expects both James Hinchcliffe and Mikhail Aleshin to be back with Schmidt Peterson Motorsports in the Verizon IndyCar Series in 2017. “It’s common knowledge James has another year left with his contract with us,” Schmidt told RACER. “On Mikhail, he says he’s coming back next year, and he will only get better. We expected to be higher up in the points than we are with James, and had a couple of hiccups in Detroit and Road America, but we want to keep building momentum in each race we have left going into next year.” – RACER – (7/28/2016)

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