IndyCar
Racing Notebook – Monday, February 3
PITTSBURGH, PA (Pittsburgh Racing Now) – A busy Monday in the Motorsports world. Honda Performance Development is funding a scholarship for young open wheelers; Bobby Rahal is adding a NASCAR industry veteran to RLL Racing’s Business Development team; Defending Lernerville Speedway Big Block Modified Champ Brian Swartzlander headed to the 2020 DIRTcar Nationals at Volusia Speedway Park.
- Honda Performance Development (HPD) is continuing their history of supporting the next generation of racing talent. HPD is establishing a scholarship for the F3 Americas Drivers Champion. HPD’s scholarship will enable the F3 Drivers’ Champion to compete in the subsequent year’s Indy Lights full season. This annual HPD scholarship will be used to support the F3 Champion’s chosen Indy Lights team and will be transferable to any HPD partner team supporting the F3 Drivers’ Champion in the Indy Lights or NTT IndyCar Series.
- Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing is expanding their sales and marketing efforts by adding two new team members. Sports marketing veteran Pat Wood has joined the team as Vice President, Business Development. Wood has 20-years of experience in sports marketing and business development with stints in the NBA (Cleveland Cavalier), Motorsports (Charlotte Motor Speedway), and Media (Street & Smith’s Sports Business Group/NASCAR Scene/Sporting News). RLL Racing is also adding Sam Sluga as account executive.
- Defending Lernerville Big Block Modified Champ and Dirt Hall of Famer Brian Swartzlander is heading south to start the 2020 season. Swartzlander is heading to the 2020 DIRTcar Nationals that begin this week at Volusia Speedway Park in Barberville, Florida per the Super DIRTcar Twitter account:
Dirt Hall of Famer @swartzlander83 will join the fun in the sun at Volusia Speedway Park for this year's Super DIRTcar Series @DIRTcarNats opener, which is only 11 days away! #FLinFeb pic.twitter.com/f5idqlWrRd
— Super DIRTcar Series (@SuperDIRTcar) January 31, 2020
- Longtime John Hunter Nemechek sponsor Fire Alarm Services is following him to Front Row Motorsports (FRM). Fire Alarm Services, Inc. (FAS), a leader in fire, life safety, and security services, will serve as the primary partner for the Sunoco Rookie-of-the-Year contender at Martinsville Speedway in May, Indianapolis Motor Speedway in July, Daytona International Speedway in August and the season finale at Phoenix Raceway in November. The brand will also be a major associate partner on Nemechek’s No. 38 Ford throughout the season.
Welcome back long-standing partner Fire Alarm Services, Inc.! Thank you for all of your support over the years. #NASCAR | @Team_FRM https://t.co/6dhxiCyF2u
— John Hunter Nemechek (@JHNemechek) February 3, 2020
- Joe Gibbs Racing announced today that SiriusXM will be featured as the primary sponsor of Martin Truex Jr.’s No. 19 Toyota Camry for five races during the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season. Truex’s Camry will carry the SiriusXM colors for the Busch Clash at Daytona International Speedway (February 9), the first night race at Martinsville Speedway (May 9), both races of the doubleheader weekend at Pocono Raceway (June 27-28) and the series’ annual visit to New Hampshire Motor Speedway (July 19).
- Brennan Poole and Premium Motorsports are thrilled to welcome Spartan Mosquito into the NASCAR Cup Series on the No. 15 Chevy Camaro as their partner for 17 races/15 points races, including the crown jewel Daytona 500 race. The No. 15 Camaro and Poole will represent Spartan Mosquito’s unique and effective consumer products, along with their charitable efforts in support of our Armed Forces and those who have served our country. At the Daytona 500, in addition to unveiling its new Spartan GO! Mosquito repellant, the Spartan Mosquito No. 15 will also proudly display the R.E.D. (RememberEveryoneDeployed.org) organization above the rocker panels and on the back bumper of the race car. “We are extremely thrilled to begin this relationship with Premium Motorsports and Brennan Poole,” Spartan owner Jeremy Hirsch said in a statement. “We are equally proud and humbled to have this opportunity to bring to light the
‘RememberEveryoneDeployed.org’ organization and to help raise awareness about the hardships faced by our troops – those brave men and women who place themselves in harm’s way so that we may rest peacefully at night”.
LEXINGTON, OH (Pittsburgh Racing Now) – PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon is looking to get back to victory lane and the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Complex could be exactly what ‘the Iceman’ needs.
Chip Ganassi Racing has 11-wins at Mid-Ohio, the 13-turn 2.258-mile permanent road course 181-miles West of Pittsburgh. The list of winners includes Alex Zanardi (1996, 1997), Juan Pablo Montoya (1999), Dario Franchitti (2010), Charlie Kimball (2013) and Dixon (2007, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2019).
“I think the last to first of course was probably the best one,” recalled Dixon. “Obviously the most unexpected one where I think where we were able to save a ton of fuel. We kind of caught a caution, which I think was Ryan Hunter-Reay, at the perfect time and went on to win”.
The 1-2 finish between he and one of his CGR teammates was one of the most memorable too.
“I think that probably was the craziest one was with Felix Rosenqvist, a few years back, where it was a two-stop strategy against a three-stop strategy. We drove the tires off, and I think I had a whole logjam behind me the last three or four laps.”
Dixon and the No. 9 PNC Bank Honda team is looking up at a logjam in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES Championship where Dixon sits sixth, 67-points behind teammate Marcus Ericsson.
“I think as a group and as a team, we just haven’t been getting the job done,” said Dixon, a 6-time Series Champion. “I was hoping that the Indy 500 was going to be that turn and kick that we needed, but yeah, it’s been an interesting year, lots of ups and downs and some missed opportunities. We’ll keep after it.”
Dixon, and his teammates, have come up as part of rumors swirling about driver movement in coming seasons. Dixon said he has not been part of those conversations and is happy where he is at.
“I haven’t been a part of any of these conversations, so not really sure where a lot of these things come from,” said Dixon. “Obviously people talk. I even got a few messages from people asking about the same thing. For me I love doing what I’m doing, I love being a part of the team that I’m with, and who knows what comes in the future, but as of right now just focusing on this season. Yeah, that’s all I’ve got to say really. There’s nothing to it.”
Dixon and the rest of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES competitors hit the track for 1st practice Friday at 3:30 p.m. Tickets are available at www.midohio.com.
ELKHART LAKE, WI (Pittsburgh Racing Now) – Josef Newgarden leapfrogged leader Alexander Rossi during green flag pit stops and held off a hard-charging Marcus Ericsson late in the race to win Sunday’s NTT INDYCAR SERIES Sonsio Grand Prix at Road America.
The victory was Newgarden’s third of the year and came with a $1-million dollar bonus from PeopleReady. The bonus went to the first driver to win on an oval (Texas) a street course (Long Beach) and a road course (Road America). The money will be spit with half going to Newgarden and Team Penske and the other half to charities of Newgarden’s choice.
“To finally get it done and most importantly to give that money to charity, half of that money is going to charity with SeriousFun Network and Wags and Walks Nashville,” said Newgarden. “I hope they’re happy about it, that’s a lot of money coming their way.”
Newgarden started second and tucked in behind Rossi, the pole sitter, for the first 14-laps when the first round of green flag pit stops took place. Newgarden’s No. 2 PPG Chevy crew got the two-time Series Champion out ahead of Rossi and as the rest of the field completed their stops. Newgarden inherited the lead.
“You’ve got to be on your toes at all times (in this series),” said Newgarden. “You can go in with a plan, but you probably have to change your plan 90 percent of the time once the race starts to unfold.”
Indianapolis 500 winner Marcus Ericsson finished second in the No. 8 Huski Chocolate Chip Ganassi Racing Honda after passing Rossi on a late restart. The runner-up finish came despite Ericsson making contact with his teammate, and defending Series Champion, Alex Palou while racing for third in Turn 5 on Lap 4.
“First of all, I’m really sorry,” Ericsson said. “You never want to have contact with a teammate. From my point of view, the door was open, and I was already side by side. If you see a gap, you go for it. It’s important at the beginning of the race to get track position.”
Ericsson regained the points lead with the second place finish and sits 27-points ahead of 2nd place Will Power (293-266). Power, last week’s winner at Detroit, finished 19th after rookie Devlin Defrancesco punted Power into the Turn 5 wall early in the race.
The next NTT INDYCAR SERIES race is The Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio presented by the All-New Civic Type R on Sunday, July 3 (noon ET, NBC, Peacock Premium, INDYCAR Radio Network). Mid-Ohio is the closest track to Pittsburgh that the NTT INDYCAR SERIES races.
Sunday’s Racing Notebook has details on the starting lineups for the NTT INDYCAR SERIES race at Road America and the NASCAR Cup Series race at Sonoma as well as Kyle Busch winning another truck series race>
Rossi on INDYCAR Series Pole:
- Andretti Autosports Alexander Rossi earned his first NTT INDYCAR SERIES pole position in three years by beating Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden in knockout-style qualifying for Sunday’s race at Road America. Rossi’s fast lap of 1 minute, 44.8656 seconds edged Newgarden’s 1:44.9371 in the No. 2 PPG Chevrolet. Defending series champion Alex Palou, who led the final warmup session on Saturday afternoon, qualified third at 1:45.3822 in the No. 10 American Legion Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. Teammate and 2022 Indianapolis 500 winner Marcus Ericsson joins Palou in the second row after his best lap of 1:45.4240 in the No. 8 Huski Chocolate Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. Road America INDYCAR Lineup
Larson Leads Hendrick Cup Series Front Row:
- Hendrick Motorsports Kyle Larson is on the pole position for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Sonoma. Larson’s fast lap of 92.111 mph (1m70.776s) edged teammate Chase Elliott’s 92.083 mph in the No. 9 NAPA Chevrolet. Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing’s Chris Buescher qualified third at 91.919 mph after missing last week’s race due to Covid-19. Michael McDowell starts fourth after posting a fast lap of 91.916. Sonoma Cup Lineup
Kyle Busch Wins Truck Series Race:
- Kyle Busch held off Zane Smith to earn his first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series victory of the year Saturday at Sonoma. The win extended his record career total to 62 series victories and a streak of 10 consecutive years with at least one series win. Busch led 45 of the 75 laps in the victory. Wexford’s Kris Wright finished 26th in the No. 44 FNB Chevrolet after starting 30th in his first race at Sonoma. Sonoma Truck Results
Scott Dixon looking to get season and title fight on track at Mid-Ohio
Marks Takes Third Win of Speedweek
Marks Makes it Two at Port Royal Speedway
Abreu Absolute at Grandview
Marks Stops Macri at Lincoln Speedway
A.J. Flick, Colton Flinner, Jeremiah Shingledecker, Chris Schneider capture wins in eventful first leg of Western PA Speedweek at Lernerville Speedway
Dietrich Dominates Smith Tribute at Lincoln Speedway; Lattomus and Champagne Also Win
Flick flies at Lernerville on Friday;
Josef Newgarden wins INDYCAR Detroit Grand Prix Pole
