News for the Week of August 4 – August 10, 2014

Dallara IL15 on board from Mid-Ohio – Here’s some on-board footage of Tristan Vautier in the Dallara IL-15 from testing at Mid-Ohio this week. Looks great and sounds even better. – MRTI TV – (8/8/14)

INDYCAR launches new site for favorite driver and championship predictions – INDYCAR has taken it’s #IndyRivals campaign to a new level by using the phrase as the domain for their website to vote on fans’ favorite driver. At the site, which is available at the link, fans can vote daily on their favorite driver and their prediction to win the championship. In doing so they become eligible fro cool prizes. Check it out. – IndyRivals.com – (8/8/14)

Pruett’s Mid-Ohio “Rewind” – RACER’s Marshall Pruett recaps the Verizon IndyCar Series’ race at Mid-Ohio from this past weekend in excellent fashion. Great read. – RACER – (8/8/14)

SPM to add TUDOR team? – RACER’s Marshall Pruett reports that Schmidt Peterson Motorsports is considering joining the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship in 2015, with a Prototype berth in Honda’s new ARX-04b coupe. “It’s not a stretch for us; when we look at our HPD relationship, the big investment we’ve made in simulation tools, and the limited testing on the horizon, it’s a very similar challenge to IndyCar in that regard. There’s a wealth of sports car experience to be drawn upon, as well,” says SPM General Manager Rob Edwards. – RACER – (8/7/14)

TAG Heuer/IndyCar deal should result in increased marketing exposure – According to this report from the Indiana Business Journal, part of the new TAG Heuer/IndyCar sponsorship deal will result in a combined marketing campaign. “A Tag Heuer print campaign noting the brand’s involvement in the IndyCar Series also is forthcoming, series officials said, and the watch maker is planning a massive IndyCar-centric marketing campaign for next year.” – IBJ – (8/7/14)

Keith Hylton to return as Lights owner? – Keith Hylton, the former owner of Toyota Atlantics-competitor Hylton Motorsports, tweeted out an image that “Hylton GP” was looking for a “future IndyCar champion” with the text “Testing the waters…Indy Lights”. Could be one to watch with the new chassis coming next year. – @kdhylton – (8/7/14)

National Guard to end all racing sponsorships at season’s end – The National Guard will pull its NASCAR and Verizon IndyCar Series team sponsorships at the end of 2014. The loss of the $12 million deal will surely be a big blow to Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing moving forward. “Significantly constrained resources and the likelihood of further reductions in the future call for more innovative and cost-effective ways of doing business,” said Maj. Gen. Judd Lyons, acting director of the Army Guard, in the announcement. – Military Times – (8/6/14)

Luyendyk to be inducted into the Int’l Motorsport HOF – Arie Luyendyk will be inducted into the International Motorsport Hall of Fame today as part of the 2014 class alongside Ole Bardahl, Raymond Beadle, John Bishop, Ricky Graham, Marshall Teague and Rusty Wallace. – motorsport.com – (8/6/14)

Mid-Ohio ratings up 98% over last year – “NBCSN’s presentation of the IndyCar Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio on Sunday (3:43-5:48 p.m. ET) averaged 386,000 viewers, up 98% from the same race in 2013 (195,000 average viewers). Overall, NBCSN’s coverage of the 2014 Verizon IndyCar Series through nine races has drawn 398,000 average viewers, up 38% from the 2013 season average viewership through nine races on NBCSN (289,000).” – NBC Sports – (8/6/14)

Miller’s Mailbag 8/6/14 – RACER’s Robin Miller’s weekly fan Q&A recaps a wild Mid-Ohio weekend and covers much more. Great read as always. – RACER – (8/6/14)

INDYCAR announces TAG Heuer deal – “INDYCAR announced today that TAG Heuer…has been named the official watch of the Verizon IndyCar Series and Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The partnership includes entitlement sponsorship of the TAG Heuer Pit Stop Challenge, held annually on Carb Day before the Indianapolis 500.” – INDYCAR – (8/6/14)

Cavin Q&A 8/6/14 – Curt Cavin’s fan Q&A covers the next big IndyCar retirement, the 2015 calendar, engine manufacturers, and more. – Indianapolis Star – (8/6/14)

RACER updates on 2015 IndyCar calendar – RACER’s Marshall Pruett gives his thoughts on how IndyCar’s 2015 schedule is shaping up at the moment. Highlights include likely early-season races in Dubai and Brasilia, Toronto likely taking Texas’ date, and the possibility of losing Texas for New Orleans. – RACER – (8/6/14)

Mid-Ohio draws a 0.25 TV rating – From Mitch Metcalf at ShowBuzzDaily: “The Mid-Ohio Indycar Race on NBCSN Sunday from 3:45-5:45 pm ET averaged a 0.25 household rating in the 56 metered TV markets.” – ShowBuzzDaily – (8/5/14)

Sonoma makes IndyCar test open to fans – Sonoma Raceway has opened their upcoming Verizon IndyCar Series test to the public on August 7th. Drivers, times, and details can be found at the link. – Sonoma Raceway – (8/5/14)

IndyCar stars take in the Indiana State Fair – Mikhail Aleshin, Josef Newgarden, and Simon Pagenaud spent Monday evening at the Indiana State Fair participating in various festivities. NBC’s Tony DiZinno recaps their evening through social media. It’s worth it to watch Newgarden eat an entire grilled cheese in one bite. – NBC Sports – (8/5/14)

IL15 fast in true testing debut – Piloted by Tristan Vautier, the new Dallara IL15’s fastest lap of the day at Mid-Ohio (1:13.4) was faster than both pole laps from Jack Harvey over the weekend. “Overall the car feels really good,” Vautier told RACER. “The brakes are amazing, the engine is really good; the driveability is already great. It feels great inside the car. The noise of the engine is really nice, the paddle shifting is really cool. At the moment, the balance – obviously we have to work on. The level of downforce we will be able to feel a bit later on when the tires get up to temp. It’s pretty cool; it’s a big step forward.” – RACER – (8/5/14)

Hinch explains his navigation through crazy Mid-Ohio start – James Hinchcliffe had the move of the race at Mid-Ohio by not only avoiding the Kanaan/Andretti crash at the start but using the chaos to his advantage and rocketing through the field before the yellow flag was waived. “You close your eyes and hope the other guy is really good at what (he) does,” said Hinchcliffe. “No, I mean, I won’t lie, I was second-guessing the move at one point. I saw the gap there.” More quotes and video at the link. – Indianapolis Star – (8/5/14)

Cavin Q&A 8/4/14 – Curt Cavin’s fan Q&A tackles the classiness displayed by Josef Newgarden and the entire SFHR as they dealt with a late pit stop mistake costing them a potential win and the overall entertainment value of Sunday’s race at Mid-Ohio. – Indianapolis Star – (8/4/14)

Vautier in to test IL15 at Mid-Ohio – Tristan Vautier will test the Dallara IL15 Indy Lights car for 2015 at Mid-Ohio on Monday as a substitute for Conor Daly. Daly has sponsorship obligations in Miami on Tuesday preventing him from participating today per his tweet. Picture of Vautier in the car at the link. – @IndyLights – (8/4/14)

Tony Cotman runs down the new IL15 – “2015 Indy Lights project manager Tony Cotman takes The RACER Channel for a video tour of the new 4-cylinder turbo Dallara IL15 chassis that makes its testing debut on Monday at Mid-Ohio.” A must watch. – RACER – (8/4/14)

Dixon goes from worst to first to take the win at Mid-Ohio – Chip Ganassi Racing grabbed their first win of the season thanks to a little bit of great strategy, luck, and amazing driving from Scott Dixon to go from last on the grid in qualifying to the top step of the podium. Full results here. – INDYCAR – (8/3/14)

Harvey wins again in Lights Race 2 at Mid-Ohio – Jack Harvey dominated the second Indy Lights race almost as strongly as he did the first at Mid-Ohio to grab his 2nd career win of the weekend and career in the series. Full results here. – INDYCAR – (8/3/14)

Harvey wins Lights Race 1 at Mid-Ohio – Zach Harvey won his first career Indy Lights race today with a dominant performance from pole. Gabby Chaves used an early flurry of passes to move up through the field and finish an impressive P2. Full results at the link. – Indy Lights – (8/2/14)

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