IndyCar
Hy-Vee To Sponsor Spencer Pigot’s Rahal Letterman Lanigan with Citrone/Buhl Autosport Indy 500 Entry
INDIANAPOLIS, IN (Pittsburgh Racing Now) – Hy-Vee, an employee-owned supermarket chain that operates more than 275 retail stores across eight Midwestern states, will be the primary sponsor of Spencer Pigot’s No. 45 Honda at the NTT INDYCAR SERIES 104th running of the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday, August 23.
Hy-Vee will also be an associate sponsor of Graham Rahal’s entry for the Indy 500. Rahal finished third in the Hy-Vee Honda in Race 2 of the Iowa INDYCAR 250s on July 18.
“We are excited for the opportunity to build on the success our partnership with Hy-Vee produced at Iowa Speedway when Graham earned his second podium finish of the season with third place,” said Bobby Rahal, team co-owner of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing along with David Letterman and Michael Lanigan. “It’s great to be able to expand on that and have Hy-Vee join us as the primary on Spencer Pigot’s entry. Spencer already had one impressive race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway this year and we have high expectations for more of the same at the Indy 500. Much like the fans of Indy car racing, Hy-Vee has a loyal customer base and we appreciate their support as we prepare for the Greatest Spectacle in Racing.”
“This year, the 104th Indianapolis 500 will set records with the number of fans watching it from their homes, and when the opportunity to be a part of it became available, we immediately knew we wanted in on the excitement,” said Randy Edeker, Hy-Vee’s Chairman of the Board, CEO and President. “While Hy-Vee mainly has a presence in eight Midwestern states, our company and our customer base spans across the country. With subsidiaries and employees located throughout the nation, we look forward to supporting racing fans with our sponsorship of Spencer Pigot and Graham Rahal’s entries at the Brickyard.”
Mi-Jack remains on the car as associate sponsor, along with EMBRACE Pittsburgh. EMBRACE Pittsburgh is a powerful movement conceived and driven by Citrone 33 with the goal of championing mental strength throughout the Pittsburgh region. Program resources include many “skills and drills” focused on learning to reduce daily stress, and to be mindful, empathetic, and accepting of yourself and others.
Also new on the car is Catalina Design Group, a British-American family owned and operated company that specializes in Custom Turn-Key Furniture Packages for clients personally and those who have rental guests.
The first day of practice will be Wednesday, August 12, and qualifications for the race will be held on Saturday, August 15, and Sunday, August 16. The 104th Running of the Indianapolis 500 will air live on NBC beginning at 1 p.m. ET on Sunday, August 23.
LOS ANGELES, CA (Pittsburgh Racing Now) – Fox Sports, the new television partner for the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, is aggressively getting the word out that INDYCAR has a new home for 2025.
Sunday Fox Sports debuted the first promotional ad during the network’s NFL coverage, featuring two-time Series Champion and two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Josef Newgarden.
This is the first of three promotional ads that Fox Sports will be rolling out between now and the season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg presented by RP Funding on March 2, 2025. The remaining two spots will feature three-time and reigning series Champion Alex Palou of Chip Ganassi Racing and the series most-popular driver Pato O’Ward of Arrow McLaren.
PLAINFIELD, IL (January 13, 2025) – Dale Coyne Racing is adding INDY NXT by Firestone Vice-Champion Jacob Abel to it’s 2025 NTT INDYCAR SERIES roster.
Abel will drive the No. 51 DCR Honda for the entire 2025 season beginning in March with the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg presented by RP Funding.
“We are excited about running another Indy NXT by Firestone Vice-Champion here at Dale Coyne Racing,” said team owner Dale Coyne.
Abel, a Louisville Kentucky native, won three races in 2024 and finished on the podium in 10-of-14-races, which placed him second in the final standings – a steady progression from his 5th and 8th place Championship finishes the previous two seasons.
“It’s a lifelong dream come true… I can’t thank everyone who’s helped out along the way enough,” said Abel, who impressed in an evaluation day at Sebring last fall.
“We have watched Jacob over the years and did an evaluation test with him at the end of the 2023 season, where he showed great promise in these cars,” said Coyne. “It will be good to run one driver in the #51 car for the whole season, so that we can work on the consistency needed in the highly competitive NTT IndyCar Series.”
“I’ve had a great relationship with Dale for the last couple of years, and I’m very thankful for the confidence he has in me,” said Abel. “The team has some very experienced personnel joining and returning to the program, and I have full confidence they will deliver a great race car and help me learn the ropes of the NTT IndyCar Series. It’s going to be a fun but challenging journey, and I can’t wait to get started.”
Coyne said talks are progressing to fill the other vacant seat in the DCR stable.
“Our plans for our second driver are coming along quite nicely, and we will have more news on that in approximately three weeks.”
The 2025 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season kicks off February 28 – March 2 with the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg presented by RP Funding.
LEBANON, TN (September 15, 2024) – Andretti Global’s Colton Herta passed Pato O’Ward with four laps to go in the Sunday’s Big Machine Music City Grand Prix to claim his first oval NTT INDYCAR SERIES victory of his career.
“I’m so happy,” said Herta, whose No. 26 Gainbridge Honda crossed the finish line 1.8206-seconds ahead of O’Ward. “We knew we were going to have a hot rod in the race. It’s been an amazing year.”
The victory also vaulted Herta a couple of spots up in the final standings of the year.
“I just saw I finished second in the championship, which is awesome,” said Herta. “Hoping to do a little bit better next year.”
The second place finish was the sixth of the year for O’Ward and the twenty-sixth of his career and said afterwards he was lucky to finish there.
“Yeah, I wish I could have done it a little bit harder on him,” said O’Ward. “Those reds (Firestone alternate tires) at the end, I couldn’t see straight with so much vibrations. Could barely talk to the team with just how much was going on in the car. I think one more lap, Josef would have gotten me for sure. I was dying.”
Josef Newgarden finished third in the No. 2 Hitachi Chevy. The Tennessee native was not in the Championship hunt after being stripped of a season-opening win at St. Petersburg after he and teammate Scott McLaughlin were found to have illegal software that allowed them to use push-to-pass when others couldn’t.
“Team did a great job today,” said Newgarden. “They put a good car on the track, a great car. We’re going to come back next year and hopefully have a little different cadence would be nice. I’m going to be happy to leave all this in 2024.”
Chip Ganassi Racing’s Alex Palou finished 11th and claimed his second straight Championship and third overall in four years. Dario Franchitti was the last driver to win three championships in four year, winning three straight for CGR from 2009-2011.
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