SPEEDWAY, IN (May 23, 2025) – Barry Wanser of Chip Ganassi Racing and broadcast statistician Russ Thompson are joint winners of the Robin Miller Award, named after the legendary Indianapolis journalist who died in 2021.

The award honors “an unheralded individual who’s devoted a significant portion of their life to IndyCar racing while bringing unbridled passion and unrelenting work ethic to enrich the sport.”

Wanser (pictured above with Alex Palou) has certainly done that in his tenure at CGR, where he is a team manager and race strategist on the No. 10 DHL Honda, driven currently by three-time Champion Alex Palou. Wanser has worked with some of the best drivers that have ever strapped into one of CGR’s race cars including, Alex Zanardi, Juan Pablo Montoya, Scott Dixon, Dario Franchitti and now Palou.

“This is a true honor,” said Wanser. “A surprise. Robin was a close friend of mine. I’m honored to represent him in this award, and certainly the team. I prefer being a behind the scenes guy and not thrust into the spotlight, but being here today, being honored, being completely surprised… thank you.”

“Barry’s been one of these guys that’s been with us for over 20-years and he’s so much more to the team than just a team manager,” said team owner Chip Ganassi.

“Every team needs a leader and the 10-car is Barry,” Dario Franchitti, who drove the No. 10 from 2009 – 2013 winning 3-Championships and 2-Indianapolis 500’s, told RACER. “When you think about the lottery of the people you get to work with, the fact that I got to work with that guy as my strategist, as our team leader….I won the lottery there.”

“We started together working on Juan Montoya’s car,” said Ricky Davis, Crew Chief on the No. 10 Honda.   “He’s got the intelligence, he knows racing, he understands it and he has the ability to deal with things that most people – their heads would probably explode.”

Thompson has been a statistician for 35-years and has provided the television broadcast talent the little nuggets of information that fans soak up during broadcasts.

“On behalf of myself and my family, this award just means everything to us, to think that all of you honor (Robin) once a year, these incredible people that are part of this fabulous race and this fabulous race track,” said Robin Miller’s sister Diane, who was on-hand for the award ceremony. “And this is Robin’s home. I mean, he might be sprinkled here a little bit, but he’s always here in spirit, and I know this week he’s really been here in spirit. I can’t think of two more deserving individuals to get this award.”

The first recipient of the award was Miller himself (2019), followed by Bob Jenkins (2021), Judy Dominick and the late T.E. McHale (2022), Ziggy Harkus (2023) and Anne Fornoro (2024).

(April 13, 2025) – Porsche Penske Motorsports remains perfect in IMSA competition in 2025 plus Hendrick Motorsports Alex Bowman wins the NASCAR Cup Series pole position in Bristol.  The USF 2000 and USF Junior’s take on NOLA Motorsports Park.  Chip Ganassi Racing and Journie Rewards announce their driving academy class of 2025.

Porsche Penske Win At Long Beach

• Porsche Penske Motorsports (PPM) is perfect so far in 2025 in IMSA as Felipe Nasr and Nick Tandy captured their third consecutive overall and Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) class win in Saturday’s Long Beach race. PPM completed its second straight 1-2 finish, with Mathieu Jaminet and Matt Campbell again finishing second in their No. 6 Porsche 963. The No. 24 BMW, started by Dries Vanthoor and finished by Philipp Eng, came home third for both the pair and the team’s first GTP podium finish of 2025.

Alex Bowman on Bristol Cup Pole

• Alex Bowman’s fast lap of 14.912-seconds (128.675 mph), the fastest lap ever run at Bristol Motor Speedway in the NASCAR Cup Series Gen 7 race car, was good enough to hold off Ricky Stenhouse Jr. by 0.013 seconds (128.563 mph) to earn the pole position for Sunday’s Food City 500 NASCAR Cup Series race. Kyle Larson (128.511 mph) qualified third.  Denny Hamlin, winner of the last two Cup events, was fourth at 128.460 mph and Ryan Blaney topped all Ford drivers with a fifth-place qualifying lap at 128.305 mph. Bristol Cup Lineup

Journie Rewards Driving Academy Class of 2025

• Journie Rewards has selected three drivers to participate in the 2025 edition of the Journie Driving Academy (JDA). Decklan Deonarine (13, Ontario) will compete in the Rok Cup, Rotax Max Challenge and Kartstars championships this season. Jack Klym (9, Saskatchewan) will compete in the Rotax Max Challenge this season. Nathan Reddish (13, Ontario) will compete in the Briggs Junior Light division of the Mosport International Karting Association (MIKA) schedule in what will be his first season of club competition. To learn more about the JDA, visit chipganassiracing.com/jdac.

McNeilly Dominates First Leg of USF2000 Tripleheader at NOLA

• Liam McNeilly was peerless today in the first of three USF2000 races at NOLA Motorsports Park. McNeilly led throughout the 15-lap race under sunny skies to secure his third win in as many races for the Jay Howard Driver Development team. Jack Jeffers, from San Antonio, Texas, finished second for Exclusive Autosport, while Thomas Schrage, from Bethel, Ohio, climbed from his 10th starting spot to finish third for VRD Racing.

Vergara Edges VRD Teammate Wheldon in USF Juniors Opener

• Joao Vergara narrowly beat VRD Racing teammate Oliver Wheldon to win the opening race of the USF Juniors Presented by Continental Tire season at NOLA Motorsports Park. Vergara took the lead from early pacesetter Leonardo Escorpioni (Zanella Racing) on the sixth lap and fought off a determined challenge from Wheldon, from St. Petersburg, Fla., to secure a well-deserved maiden USF Juniors victory.  Escorpioni rounded out the podium in third.

(April 6, 2025)  – William Byron wins Cup Series Darlington pole plus Mother Nature washes out Pittsburgh’s Pennsylvania Motor Speedway and Lernerville; Marcus Armstrong to run Root colors at Long Beach; Dennis Hauger leads INDY NXT testing at Nashville; Robinhood joins 23xi and more in Sunday’s Racing Notebook;

William Byron Wins Cup Series Pole

• Hendrick Motorsports William Byron will lead the NASCAR Cup Series field to the green flag Sunday at Darlington Raceway.  Byron’s fast lap of 28.774 (170.904 MPH) edged Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing’s Ryan Preece, who posted a fast lap of 28.858 (170.407 MPH).   Last week’s winner Denny Hamlin will start third. Darlington Cup Starting Lineup

Mother Nature Wipes Out Western PA Weekend

• Mother Nature was the winner this weekend in Western PA as Pittsburgh’s Pennsylvania Motor Speedway was forced to cancel their 47th season opener Saturday night.  The PPMS cancellation came on the heels of Lernerville Speedway being forced to cancel their test & tune session Friday night.  PPMS will try to open their regular season this coming Saturday. Another Test & Tune night is currently on tap for Friday, April 11 at Lernerville with opening night April 25th.

Marcus Armstrong to run Root colors at Long Beach

• Marcus Armstrong and the No. 66 Meyer Shank Racing Honda will be carrying the Root Insurance colors when the NTT INDYCAR SERIES returns to action next weekend with the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. Root Insurance’s title partnership will extend to three additional races: the Detroit Grand Prix (June 1st), the Grand Prix of Monterey at Laguna Seca (July 27th) and the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix at Nashville Superspeedway (August 31st).

Hauger Leads INDY NXT Testing At Nashville

• Andretti Global’s Dennis Hauger led all drivers with a fast lap of 187.564 mph on his first day of ever driving on an oval.  Myles Rowe was second fastest at 187.491 mph.  Rookie Lochie Hughes helped Andretti Global produce a 1-3 finish on the speed charts, as he was third at 186.651.  Nashville Superspeedway will host the 2025 series finale Music City Grand Prix on Sunday, Aug. 31.

Robinhood Partners with 23XI Racing

• Financial Service company Robinhood is partnering with 23XI Racing. At select NASCAR Cup Series races this season, Bubba Wallace and 23XI development driver Corey Heim will pilot Robinhood-branded cars. For the remainder of the season, Robinhood branding will also be placed on Wallace’s and Heim’s uniforms and team equipment.