News for the Week of May 2, 2016 – May 8, 2016

Trackside podcast 5/6/16 – 1070 The Fan’s Trackside with Curt Cavin and Kevin Lee radio show from 5/6/16 is a great listen as always. – 1070 The Fan – (5/7/2016)

Boles joins Pat McAfee’s #FacebookFriday – IMS President Doug Boles was a guest on Indianapolis Colts punter and local celebrity Pat McAfee’s #FacebookFriday show. It’s highly entertaining. Check it out at the link. – Pat McAfee – (5/6/2016)

IMS announces reserved seating sold out for 500 – “Indianapolis Motor Speedway officials celebrated an epic and historic milestone today, announcing that all reserved seating is officially sold out for the 100th Running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by PennGrade Motor Oil. While general admission tickets are still available in the IMS infield, the massive grandstands around the 107-year-old 2.5-mile oval, and all hospitality suites, will be completely filled. The news was shared this afternoon by IMS leadership on the steps of the Indiana Statehouse, with community leaders including Indiana Governor Mike Pence and Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett flanked by the iconic Borg-Warner Trophy.” – IMS – (5/6/2016)

Trackside podcast 5/5/16 – 1070 The Fan’s Trackside with Curt Cavin and Kevin Lee radio show from 5/5/16 is a great listen as always. Max Chilton joins the pair in studio. – 1070 The Fan – (5/6/2016)

Jahia and Lucas Oil to co-sponsor SPM No. 77 at Indy 500 – “Schmidt Peterson Motorsports (SPM) announced today that Lucas Oil and Jahia Solutions Group will co-sponsor the No. 77 SPM with Marotti Racing entry driven by Oriol Servia in the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500. Jahia and long-time SPM partner Lucas Oil will share the No. 77’s livery. Forrest Lucas, founder of Lucas Oil, first partnered with SPM team co-owner Sam Schmidt more than a decade ago when his company served as a primary sponsor for Schmidt’s Indianapolis 500 entry for Richie Hearn in 2003. Since then, Lucas Oil has served as a title sponsor for each race season on one of SPM’s Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires entries.” – SPM – (5/5/2016)

Keith Urban to ride in two-seater with Mario before Indy 500 – “Four-time GRAMMY Award winner Keith Urban will roll off with the field of 33 drivers at this year’s 100th Running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by PennGrade Motor Oil. He will be Mario Andretti’s passenger in the custom-built two-seat Indy car billed as the “Honda Fastest Seat In Sports.” Andretti and Urban will follow four parade cars and lead the official Pace Car on three parade laps leading up to the most famous race in the world. Once Andretti and Urban exit the circuit, the field of 33 cars will take the green flag. The race will air live on ABC at noon ET on May 29.” “I inherited my love of cars from my dad,” Urban said. “We used to take family driving trips purely for the love of driving. They’re also featured heavily in a bunch of my songs, including some on my new album RIPCORD. For me they symbolize freedom, independence, adventure and so much more. The Indy 500 is one of the true iconic motorsport events and to get to drive with a legend like Mario (Andretti) in this 100th race is indescribable and something I wish my dad could’ve seen!” – IMS – (5/5/2016)

Royal Purple joins Ed Carpenter Racing as sponsor – “Just in time for the iconic 100th running of the Indianapolis 500, premium synthetic lubricant and performance chemical manufacturer, Royal Purple®, today announced its sponsorship of the Ed Carpenter Racing Verizon IndyCar Series team for the 2016 race season. In celebration of its partnership with Ed Carpenter Racing, Royal Purple is launching the 2016 Royal Purple Indy 500 Sweepstakes, offering race fans the opportunity to win a one-of-a-kind Royal Purple racing helmet signed by Ed Carpenter. From May 5 – June 1, fans can enter the sweepstakes by completing the online entry form at www.RoyalPurple.com. Following the close of the sweepstakes’ entry period, one winner will be chosen at random to receive the grand prize.” – Ed Carpenter Racing – (5/5/2016)

Bandit Industries, Inc. to serve as associate sponsor for RLL No. 16 at Indy races – “Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (RLL) announced today that Bandit Industries Inc., a premier global manufacturer of industrial wood chippers and wood processing equipment, will be an associate sponsor for the No. 16 Verizon IndyCar Series entry of reigning Indy Lights champion Spencer Pigot in both events at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, including the Angie’s List Grand Prix of Indianapolis May 14 and the 100th Running of the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race Presented by PennGrade Motor Oil May 29.” – RLL – (5/5/2016)

Miles “very confident” in lining up Boston replacement soon – Bruce Martin of AUTOSPORT reports that Mark Miles is “very confident” of a race to replace Boston on Labor Day weekend this season. Gateway Motorsports Park and Watkins Glen International are the two most likely venues according to the report. – AUTOSPORT – (5/5/2016)

Trackside podcast 5/4/16 – 1070 The Fan’s Trackside with Curt Cavin and Kevin Lee radio show from 5/4/16 is a great listen as always. Graham Rahal joins the pair at the start of the show. – 1070 The Fan – (5/5/2016)

IMS announces double flyover plan for 500 pre-race ceremonies – “This year, as the historic 100th Running of the Indy 500 presented by PennGrade Motor Oil prepares to celebrate decades or racing innovation, pre-race festivities will take on a similar theme with two special flyovers. The first will feature historical World War II-era military planes while the second will feature state of the art F-18E Superhornets piloted by the U.S. Navy. “The 30 minutes before the green flag drops are always my favorite time of the year,” said IMS President J. Douglas Boles. “This year’s flyovers will be thrilling, and represent the perfect blend of past and present we’re celebrating at the 100th Running of the Indy 500.” The first flyover will include two planes that saw action during critical World War II missions: a Douglas SBD-5 and P-51 Mustang. It will be carried out in collaboration with the Commemorative Air Force, an organization founded to acquire, restore and preserve in flying condition a complete collection of combat aircraft which were flown by all military services of the United States.” – IMS – (5/4/2016)

Pagenaud/Rahal rivalry goes way back – NBC Sports’ Daniel McFadin has a nice piece on the fact that Simon Pagenaud and Graham Rahal have been “rivals” since 2006. The duo battled for the Champ Car Atlantic Series that year and while Rahal won six races it was Pagenaud who won the title. Cool perspective on the pair that battled it out for the Barber win. Rahal: “He’s a guy I like to beat. Barber was frustrating, not because I lost to him, but because I defeated myself to lose to him.” Pagenaud: “Graham is a very aggressive driver, he’s exciting to watch. Maybe a lot more exciting than me. He’s a very good driver. I have a lot of respect for him because he can sometimes outdrive the car, make it better than it actually is.” – NBC Sports – (5/4/2016)

Miller’s Mailbag 5/4/16 – RACER’s Robin Miller’s weekly fan Q&A is a great read as always. – RACER – (5/4/2016)

AP’s “The evolution of the Indy 500 car” – The Associated Press has put together a cool interactive information graphic on how the cars of the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race have changed over the years. Check it out at the link. – AP – (5/4/2016)

Kristi Lee interview with Doug Boles – Popular former “The Bob and Tom Show” personality Kristi Lee has posted a great interview with IMS President Doug Boles. It’s an equally entertaining and informative listen and a must for all INDYCAR fans. Check it out at the link. – Kristi Lee – (5/4/2016)

Trackside podcast 5/3/16 – 1070 The Fan’s Trackside with Curt Cavin and Kevin Lee radio show from 5/2/16 is a great listen as always. The pair are joined by Stefan Wilson and Anders Krohn in studio. – 1070 The Fan – (5/4/2016)

Dome skids still hot topic after Texas test – Most Verizon IndyCar Series teams tested at the new superspeedway aero kits at Texas Motor Speedway on Tuesday and dome skids remain a hot topic especially as a Honda versus Chevy debate. Graham Rahal: “They make a difference. My car is pretty loose here. It was really loose during testing at Indy. The guys that tell you it doesn’t make a difference are lying, to be honest. There is obviously some politics going on.” Tony Kanaan: “We ran in a pack of six or seven cars, but it’s not going to be a pack race, and it’s not going to be like last year either. It will be somewhere in between.” – RACER – (5/4/2016)

Pruett breaks down remaining 500 rides – RACER’s Marshall Pruett recaps the remaining Indy 500 car/driver combination possibilities and it’s a great read. Gabby Chaves is in the mix for the DCR No. 19 (along with Luca Filippi and James Davison) and may be back as a possibility for the Michael Shank Racing effort as may Mario Dominguez. Buddy Lazier’s car appears to be progressing nicely and there continues to be no update from Grace Autosport. More at the link. – RACER – (5/3/2016)

INDYCAR stars to appear on Family Feud – “Five Verizon IndyCar Series drivers – Helio Castroneves, Tony Kanaan, James Hinchcliffe, Will Power and Conor Daly – will join forces to represent INDYCAR on ABC’s popular game show “Celebrity Family Feud,” hosted by Emmy Award-winning TV personality Steve Harvey. The show’s second season premieres Sunday, June 26 at 8 p.m. ET, with specific episode air dates to be released soon. The drivers will compete against Sports Illustrated swimsuit models Nina Agdal, Samantha Hoopes, Tanya Mityushina, Robyn Lawley and Hannah Ferguson.” – INDYCAR – (5/3/2016)

Cavin details bleak chances of Boston alternatives – The Indianapolis Star’s Curt Cavin has a nice insider look at the chances that any of the possible venues mentioned as Boston replacements could actually be able to host an event. It doesn’t look promising according to what he’s hearing. – Indianapolis Star – (5/3/2016)

Evaluating Boston alternatives – NBC Sports’ Tony DiZinno put together a nice piece evaluating the different potential venues that have been mentioned as possibilities to replace the cancelled Boston event on the INDYCAR calendar. Worth a read. – NBC Sports – (5/3/2016)

Providence has NOT been contacted for Boston replacement – Providence has been mentioned as one of the possibilities as a Labor Day replacement for the cancelled Boston INDYCAR weekend but the Providence Journal reports that there hasn’t been contact from INDYCAR to the city. “We haven’t been in touch with IndyCar,” said Evan England, spokesman for Providence Mayor Jorge Elorza. “We’d be open to seeing if it was right for us but that’s the same as with any event looking to come to Providence.” – Providence Journal – (5/3/2016)

Trackside podcast 5/2/16 – 1070 The Fan’s Trackside with Curt Cavin and Kevin Lee radio show from 5/2/16 is a great listen as always. The pair recap the latest INDYCAR news and spent plenty of time talking about the Boston cancellation. – 1070 The Fan – (5/3/2016)

AFS/Saavedra scrap deal for 500 – RACER’s Marshall Pruett reports that AFS Racing and Sebastian Saavedra’s deal for an entry in an Indianapolis 500 attempt will not happen now. “It was just time. Everything started too late,” Saavedra told RACER. “We had an idea of the time to do it, which was very tight, and once we got started working on it, there was a lot more to do than expected, we didn’t have enough personnel, and many, many factors added up to us telling Gary we shouldn’t do it.” – RACER – (5/2/2016)

Boston mayor surprised by race cancellation – The Boston Herald reports that Boston Mayor Martin Walsh was surprised when he found out the Grand Prix of Boston organizers had decided to cancel the race. “I found out by the press, I wasn’t expecting to find out that way,” Walsh said today in his first public comments on the cancellation. “Certainly I was the biggest advocate for IndyCar of anyone in this whole thing … I want to see if there was a breakdown on our part. There certainly were some questions unanswered on IndyCar’s part that we were asking for Friday.” – Boston Herald – (5/2/2016)

Big test at Texas set for Tuesday 5/3 – Five Verizon IndyCar Series teams will test at Texas Motor Speedway on Tuesday, May 3rd as teams continue to test the new superspeedway aero kit and related dome skid components. Andretti Autosport, Chip Ganassi Racing Teams, Ed Carpenter Racing, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, and Team Penske will all be at the test. Full entry list at the link. – INDYCAR – (5/2/2016)

Mann officially in DCR No. 63 for 500 – “For a fourth consecutive year, Pippa Mann is returning to Dale Coyne Racing as part of the team’s effort at this year’s 100th Running of the Indianapolis 500. Mann will once again be promoting her 2016 Pink #GetInvolved campaign, raising funds for Susan G. Komen, while sporting a pink helmet with the Komen Running Ribbon for the third straight year.” “This cause is something very personal to me, and to Dale Coyne Racing,” expressed the driver of the #63 Dale Coyne Racing machine. “While racing a pink car the past two years certainly attracts attention and awareness for Susan G. Komen, the most important part of our partnership is taking this amazing stage that is the Indianapolis 500, and using it to raise money that can actually go towards care and research.” – Dale Coyne Racing – (5/2/2016)

ECR unveils PFS liveries for No.’s 6 & 21 – Ed Carpenter Racing unveiled their Preferred Freezer Services liveries for the No. 6 & No. 21 cars for both the Angie’s List Grand Prix of Indianapolis and the 100th Running of the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race. See the liveries on our No. 6 and No. 21 livery pages. – Ed Carpenter Racing – (5/1/2016)

Report – INDYCAR race weekend in Boston called off – RACER reports that Grand Prix of Boston organizers have called off their event and are exploring other options. “An event of this magnitude requires considerable city and state support, and though we did overcome significant obstacles and demands that have been presented to us, the most recent demands regarding the flood zone issues and requirements of additional expenditure on the line of credit with no guarantees of overcoming those issues have left us no options but to cancel the race in Boston and look at other options,” said John Casey, CEO and President of the Grand Prix of Boston in a statement. “At this juncture the demands that have been asked of us make this event in Boston economically unviable and despite robust corporate partnerships and excellent tickets sales, if we have no guarantee of MEPA approval then time was of the essence to make this difficult decision. It is very disappointing for everyone who has worked so hard on the event and all of our corporate partners and fans who have supported the Grand Prix of Boston.” Full details at the link. – RACER – (4/29/2016)

“Lionheart – Remembering Dan Wheldon” to be released at IMS – “From the week of the Angie’s List GP of Indy onwards, you will be able to purchase the book for $74.99 (£49.99) at any of the Legends stores on-site at the Speedway. There will also be several promotional events at the track throughout the month, giving you plenty of opportunity to meet the team and maybe get your copy signed by some of the motorsport legends involved in this very special project.” Keep an eye on the Amazon listing here. – Lionheart – (4/29/2016)

IMS posts construction update – Indianapolis Motor Speedway has posted an excellent update on their Project 100 construction. Plenty of pictures and specific updates available at the link. – IMS – (4/29/2016)

Alfe to unveil No. 35 car on May 10th – Alfe Heat Treating, the sponsor for AJ Foyt Racing’s No. 35 entry for both IMS races in May to be driven by Alex Tagliani, will officially unveil “their” car at the Foyt Wine Vault on May 10th. They’re also sanctioning a contest for free tickets to the Angie’s List Grand Prix of Indianapolis: “Before the racing begins, five race fans will have already experienced the luck by entering a Facebook contest one week prior to the special unveiling event. Alfe Heating is sponsoring a contest for which five winners will receive two tickets for the Angie’s List Grand Prix of Indy on May 14th.” – NBC Sports – (4/29/2016)

Furst reports Buddy Lazier’s 500 effort is real – WRTV’s Dave Furst tweeted this on Thursday: “I’m told Buddy Lazier’s #Indy500 effort next month is sponsored & better prepared than last 2 yrs. Full program with Chevy power.” – Dave Furst – (4/28/2016)

IMS Turn 2 hotel plans on hold – Indianapolis Motor Speedway officials have been investigating the possibility of a new hotel at Turn 2 and plans are on hold for the moment as the current Turn 2 suites are the ideal location but they’re also a current success. “I would never say never, but I don’t see it happening in the next handful of years,” Speedway President Doug Boles told IBJ this week. On the current Turn 2 Suites: “These seats and suites sell really well where you’d probably have to put it. These suites are sold out,” Boles said. “You’d have to remove that and build new. These suites are a different cultural experience than our suites anywhere else [at the track].” – IBJ – (4/28/2016)

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