Jimmie Johnson to run Indy 500, full IndyCar schedule
The seven-time NASCAR champion had been speeding toward the Indy 500 decision he finally announced Wednesday since he moved to IndyCar earlier this year.
The seven-time NASCAR champion had been speeding toward the Indy 500 decision he finally announced Wednesday since he moved to IndyCar earlier this year.
Unser won the Indy 500 in 1970, 1971, 1978 and 1987, and is the only driver in history to have both a sibling and a child also win one of the biggest races in the world.
The two-time Indianapolis 500 winner spent the last four years driving for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing but was not retained for next season.
IndyCar team owner Michael Andretti said “control issues at the 11th hour” derailed Indianapolis-based Andretti Autosport’s bid to buy the Alfa Romeo team from Sauber, but he has not given up on his attempt to acquire a Formula One team.
Researchers believe that returning the IndyCar Series race downtown after several years on Belle Isle will increase its economic benefit by 20%.
Levi Jones, a veteran sprint car driver and current USAC executive, was named director of the Indy Lights on Monday as the junior racing series readies for its transition to management by IndyCar.
Takuma Sato has raced in IndyCar since 2010 following seven seasons in Formula One. The Tokyo native has driven for Rahal the last four years, winning four races including the Indy 500 in 2020.
Palou’s 35-point lead meant a finish of 11th or better at Long Beach would win him the title, and once challenger Pato O’Ward was knocked out with a mechanical problem, Palou just needed to make it to the finish.
Romain Grosjean did not commit to ovals when he left Formula One to drive for Dale Coyne Racing in IndyCar this season. But his results and comfort level have been so strong that he’s decided to run the full 2022 season with one of the top teams in the series.
IndyCar’s extended partnership with NBC Sports yielded an additional bonus for next year’s schedule, which was already earmarked to air a record number of races on network broadcast.
The track in Newton will host a doubleheader next July in a deal brokered between IndyCar Series owner Roger Penske, team owner Bobby Rahal and grocery chain Hy-Vee, which is based in Iowa.
Organizers will likely investigate whether the wear and tear of three days of practice, qualifying and racing on a rare crossover weekend with the IndyCar, NASCAR Xfinity and Cup series played any role in the chaotic finish.
This Sunday’s revamped Brickyard 200 anchors a weekend that insiders say is sure to go a long way in furthering the motorsport mogul’s long-term strategy for the speedway.
The real estate investor and racing enthusiast has closed a deal with former IndyCar driver Sarah Fisher and her husband that will help them to continue growing their karting business.
With apologies to Detroit, Music City morphed into Motor City as IndyCar stormed into town and proved again downtown streets and bridges and zipping around NFL stadiums are where the series needs to race.
Helio Castroneves, who won his record-tying fourth Indy 500 in May, will return to IndyCar full time next season at the age of 46.
Jon Miller, president of NBC Sports programming, said the extension was a three-year deal and that NBC Sports is proud of the growth it’s seen since it acquired the entire IndyCar schedule in 2019.
Eight of the 33 starters in this year’s Indianapolis 500 had F1 experience. Drivers expect that number to grow in upcoming years.
IndyCar’s current deal with NBC Sports is in its final season and contract negotiations are unclear. There have been reports Penske will take a higher rights fee from a new partner and that NBC has fallen out of the running on a renewal.
Scott Dixon slammed the brakes on IndyCar’s current youth movement by winning his fourth Indianapolis 500 pole by a mere 0.03 seconds on Sunday.