News for the Week of March 2, 2015 – March 8, 2015
INDYCAR hosts media event in Miami – INDYCAR held a media event in Miami on Friday involving five current Verizon IndyCar Series drivers. Helio Castroneves, Gabby Chaves, Tony Kanaan, Juan Pablo Montoya, Carlos Munoz attended the event heavily promoted by @IndyCarLatino on Twitter. – @IndyCarLatino – (3/6/15)
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CFH Racing gets new sign at Speedway shop – CFH Racing had a new sign installed at their Speedway shop on Friday as they continue their transition to one unified team. Picture at the link. Looks great! – CFH Racing – (3/6/15)
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INDYCAR 2018: iRacing’s David Phillips – RACER’s INDYCAR 2018 series continues with the iRacing’s David Phillips. Phillips offers an exciting view into what “sim racing” could do to put INDYCAR in a unique position in the racing world. “Believe me, I’m no fan of IndyCar’s seven-month off-season. But what if there was an online IndyCar race streamed on October, November, December, January and/or February week nights with a handful of “real” IndyCar drivers competing against the world’s top sim racers? What if those races featured exclusive fields of a dozen or more “real” racers (perhaps including competitors from the IndyCar ladder system) in a “Winter IndyCar Online Racing Series”?” – RACER – (3/6/15)
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IMS unveils 2015 500 ticket – The 2015 Indianapolis 500 Mile Race ticket was unveiled on Wednesday featuring 2014 winner Ryan Hunter-Reay. RHR was unable to make it to the ceremony due to the birth of his second son. Picture at the link. – IMS – (3/6/15)
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RHR welcomes birth of his second son – Ryan Hunter-Reay and wife Beccy gave birth to their second son on Wednesday. Ryan Hunter-Reay’s likeness will be unveiled on the 2015 Indianapolis 500 ticket later on Wednesday evening. Picture at the link. – Ryan Hunter-Reay – (3/5/15)
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Arrow to sponsor SPM/Hinch No. 5 – “Schmidt Peterson Motorsports (SPM) proudly announced today that Denver-based technology company Arrow Electronics will be the primary sponsor of the No. 5 car driven by James Hinchcliffe in the 2015 Verizon IndyCar Series.” See the livery SPM. – here – (3/5/15)
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Honda aero kit to be unveiled 3/9/15 – Per a tweet from their own Twitter page the Honda road/street/short oval aero kit will be unveiled on Monday, March 9th. “.@IndyCar off-season can make anyone dizzy. Tune-in March 9th for a clear image of the #HPDAeroKit. #HondaRacing” – @HondaRacing_HPD – (3/5/15)
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Miller’s Mailbag 3/4/15 – RACER’s Robin Miller’s weekly fan Q&A is a great read as always. – RACER – (3/4/15)
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Carlin leads the way in Lights Barber testing – Carlin’s Ed Jones and Max Chilton were P1 and P2 in Indy Lights Winterfest testing at Barber Motorsports Park on Tuesday on a wet track. Only 10 cars of what’s typically been 12 made it on track. The car count should increase when the season starts as Team Moore Racing and others figure out driver plans. – Indy Lights – (3/4/15)
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Sunoco named official fuel of IMS and extends role with the Verizon IndyCar Series – Sunoco has been named the official fuel of Indianapolis Motor Speedway and has extended its role as official fuel of the Verizon IndyCar Series for “2015 and beyond.” “Sunoco is a natural fit with INDYCAR and IMS, as they not only provide a world-class product to our competitors, but they also have a strong heritage in motorsports as well,” said Mark Miles. – INDYCAR – (3/3/15)
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Cavin Q&A 3/3/15 – The Indianapolis Star’s Curt Cavin’s fan Q&A covers Mario & A.J., Simona, and more. – Indianapolis Star – (3/3/15)
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Teams take delivery of aero kits – The teams of the Verizon IndyCar Series received the road/street/short oval aero kits just before the March 1st deadline and are starting to piece their new cars together. The test window opens again on March 13th and many teams will be at either NOLA Motorsports Park, Sebring International Raceway, or Texas Motor Speedway. The main open test will be at Barber Motorsports Park on March 16th and 17th. The speedway aero kit must be delivered by the April 1st deadline. – INDYCAR – (3/3/15)
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Carlin and Chilton still evaluating options – Max Chilton, who has been testing for new Indy Lights entrant Carlin, will continue testing for the team at Barber today even though he was just announced as a driver for Nissan in the WEC. Carlin boss Trevor Carlin says the two may still be able to come to an agreement. “He hasn’t confirmed a program yet, so everything else is still fluid,” Carlin told RACER. “He’s on his way to Barber to test tomorrow in Indy Lights, so it’s still an active topic. We haven’t made a firm decision on what he’s doing with us, and now that he has his sports car deal finalized, there’s a possibility he can do both championships. There’s only one date clash, so he’s got to make that decision on whether he wants to both sometime soon.” – RACER – (3/3/15)
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Team Moore Racing working on confirming driver(s) – Indy Lights team Team Moore Racing has a new car ready to go and is working on filling their current available seat with a driver. “We aren’t headed to Barber right now for the Indy Lights test, but we’re expecting to be out running soon,” owner Mark Moore told RACER. “I have three contracts out to a few drivers, and at least one looks like they are serious. We were one of the later teams to order a car, so that’s limited us to having one car in our shop right now. If we can sign a second driver, it would make it a lot easier to get a second car and go racing as a two-car team. We’d love to have two cars to support the series.” – RACER – (3/2/15)
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GP of NOLA releases schedule – The inaugural Grand Prix of Louisiana released its three day schedule today with a loaded lineup of action. The Verizon IndyCar Series race will be held on Sunday, April 12th. Check out the full schedule at the link. – GP of NOLA – (3/2/15)
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2015 Indianapolis 500 ticket unveiled on March 5 – “2014 Indianapolis 500 Mile Race winner Ryan Hunter-Reay and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway will unveil the image of the 2015 Indianapolis 500 ticket at the 500 Festival Corporate Members Event at Eugene and Marilyn Glick Indiana History Center at 6 p.m. on Thursday, March 5. Doors open at 5 p.m.” – IMS PR – (3/2/15)
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“Air Newgarden” is a thing – Friday night was IMS Night at Bankers Life Fieldhouse and Josef Newgarden was heavily promoted throughout the Pacers’ game against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Newgarden met fans in the foyer, participated in a couple big screen interviews/promotions, and even dunked with the Pacers Power Pack. Pictures and video at the link. – INDYCAR – (3/2/15)
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Chilton will race WEC in 2015 – Former Formula 1 driver Max Chilton, who had been testing for Carlin’s Indy Lights team, will drive for Nissan’s new team in the World Endurance Championship. The series has many conflicts with the INDYCAR season so Chilton’s opportunities with Carlin would be appear to be very limited if not finished. – Sky Sports – (3/2/15)
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Cavin Q&A 3/1/15 – The Indianapolis Star’s Curt Cavin’s fan Q&A covers aero kits, Justin Wilson, and more. – Indianapolis Star – (3/2/15)
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DCR hoping “to make decisions next week” – After Alexander Rossi confirmed his plans to race in GP2 in 2015 Dale Coyne Racing is hoping to move forward with their driver decisions fairly quickly. The American was expected to earn one of two available seats with the team but now they’re open to other possibilities including bringing back veteran Justin Wilson. “We’re looking at several people – the ones we’ve testing and a few others ones we haven’t,” Coyne told RACER. “We expect to make decisions next week.”- RACER – (2/27/15)
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Rossi to race in GP2 in ’15 – Alexander Rossi will drive for Racing Engineering in the 2015 GP2 Series. The highly rated American was in talks with Dale Coyne Racing for a Verizon IndyCar Series seat. – Alexander Rossi – (2/27/15)
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USA Today and INDYCAR announce marketing partnership – “INDYCAR and the USA TODAY Sports Media Group announced today that they have entered into a multi-year official marketing relationship that will make USA TODAY Sports and its affiliated properties a preferred marketing partner of INDYCAR in the U.S. ” “INDYCAR is one of the premier sports properties in the world and we’re thrilled to be able to partner with them,” said Dave Morgan, President, USA TODAY Sports Media Group. “We’re looking forward to collaborating on ways to maximize our unique cross-platform capabilities in order to create the greatest impact and value for INDYCAR and their partners.” – Business Wire – (2/26/15)
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