XRB Radio » Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Patrick passes on Indy 500 this year

Brian Scott — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 17:15:33 +0000

Danica Patrick will not run the Indianapolis 500 this season.

Patrick will instead compete in the Coca-Cola 600, which is NASCAR's longest race of the year.

She announced the addition to her 2012 NASCAR schedule Monday.

Patrick has left IndyCar for a full-time move to NASCAR. She's running a full season in the second-tier Nationwide Series for JR Motorsports and 10 races in the elite Sprint Cup Series with Stewart-Haas Racing.

Patrick says she'd like to return to the Indy 500 in the future and would be interested in running both events on the same day. She says she just couldn't make it work this season.

Tagliani signs on with BHA

Brian Scott — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 17:15:16 +0000

Bryan Herta Autosport has signed Alex Tagliani to drive in the Izod IndyCar Series this season.

The team won the Indianapolis 500 last year with Dan Wheldon as the driver. Tagliani drove the car in last year's season finale at Las Vegas, where Wheldon was killed in an early 15-car accident.

Tagliani finished 14th in points last season and won poles at Indianapolis and Texas while driving for Sam Schmidt Motorsports.

He sat out the race at Kentucky when Wheldon took his seat as a warm-up for Las Vegas.

Tagliani has never won in IndyCar, and his career-best finish is fourth in a race.

The team has a factory deal with Lotus and said Monday it hopes to announce a sponsor for Tagliani later this week.

Fisher gets new driver and new partner for 2012 IndyCar season

Brian Scott — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 17:15:39 +0000

Sarah Fisher has signed a driver and a business partner for the 2012 Izod IndyCar season.

Fisher on Wednesday introduced Josef Newgarden as driver of her No. 67 entry next season. Newgarden won five races en route to the Firestone Indy Lights title last season.

Fisher also said she has partnered with Kansas businessman Wink Hartman, and her team has been renamed Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing.

She did not announce a schedule for Newgarden, but Fisher said she hopes to run the full season. Fisher also did not announce a sponsor or engine manufacturer.

Ed Carpenter gave Fisher her first victory as a car owner in October at Kentucky, but she lost the driver and sponsor shortly after and has been working hard to rebuild the team since.

Indy 500 runner-up Hildebrand resigned to Panther Racing for two more years

Brian Scott — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 17:15:05 +0000

Indianapolis 500 runner-up JR Hildebrand will be driving for Panther Racing the next two seasons.

The team said on Wednesday it exercised an option that will keep the American driving for them in 2012 and 2013.

Hildebrand was this year's IndyCar rookie of the year and led the Indy 500 until crashing on the last turn of the last lap. His car skidded down the front straight, crossing the finish line second behind the late Dan Wheldon.

It was a strange season for Hildebrand, who tore the ACL in his left knee in June, broke a bone in his hand in September and sustained a concussion and bruised sternum in the Las Vegas crash that killed Wheldon.

Hildebrand still led three races and had five top-10 finishes.

IndyCar plans memorial for Wheldon at Conseco

Brian Scott — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 16:15:56 +0000

IZOD IndyCar is planning a public memorial Sunday to honor Dan Wheldon, who was killed last weekend during a race at Las Vegas Speedway.

IndyCar said in a news release Tuesday night that the memorial honoring the two-time Indianapolis 500 winner will be at 4 p.m. Sunday at Conseco Fieldhouse.

A trust fund has also been set up to benefit Wheldon’s wife and two young children. The public can make donations to the Dan Wheldon Family Trust Fund starting Wednesday by mailing to Fifth Third Private Bank, Attn: Dan Wheldon Family Trust, 251 N. Illinois St., Suite 1000, Indianapolis, IN 46204.

Busy weekend of racing culminates in Menard’s Brickyard 400 win

Brian Scott — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 16:15:36 +0000

It was a busy weekend of racing in and around Hendricks County culminating in Paul Menard’s first NASCAR Sprint Cup victory in the Brickyard 400 yesterday at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Menard won the race in the pits and was able to squeeze every ounce of fuel out of his #27 NIBCO/Menards Chevrolet to hold off a hard charging Jeff Gordon for the win.

The green flag on a weekend full of racing was dropped Friday night at Lucas Oil Raceway as the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series AAA Insurance 200 was won by Timothy Peters who battled his way back from a rear starting position and overcame a shredded tire to capture his third win of his career.

The NASCAR Nationwide Series cars then took their turn at the .686 mile oval at Lucas Oil Raceway on Saturday night for the Kroger 200 benefitting Riley Hospital for Children. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. had the dominate car of the evening as the #6 Blackwell Angus Beef/Cargill Ford led 189 of the 204 laps. But a late caution let the pack bunch up behind Stenhouse Jr. and on lap 189 Brad Keselowski took the lead and went on to win for the 14th time in his career as the race ended with a green-white-checker finish.

The end of the race was bittersweet however for everybody involved in the racing at Lucas Oil Raceway during the weekend. The races marked the final time that NASCAR will be racing at the famed short track for the time being. Next year, the Nationwide Series is moving to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in conjunction with the running of the Brickyard 400. NASCAR has not announced where or even if the Camping World Truck Series will race that weekend.

IMS to offer Quaker State 400 fans special deals

Brian Scott — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 16:26:38 +0000

Fans whose only seat for last Saturday's NASCAR race was the one in their car will have a better chance to see the cars on the track should they choose to hit the road for two hours longer.

On Monday the Indianapolis Motor Speedway announced a promotion in which free and discounted tickets would be offered for the Friday and Saturday activities leading up to the Brickyard 400 on July 31st.

Those fans who have their ticket stub from the Sprint Cup race at the Kentucky Speedway in Sparta can present it at an IMS ticket office and can receive a free ticket to Friday practice or a reduced five-dollar ticket to Saturday qualifying.

Free parking is also being offered for those ticket holders at three speedway lots.

Nearly 20,000 fans that had tickets to Saturday's Quaker State 400 didn't make it due to traffic problems surrounding the Kentucky Speedway. That has been the main story from the inaugural Sprint Cup event at the track which was a sellout.

Tagliani takes pole in shootout

Brian Scott — Sat, 21 May 2011 22:46:22 +0000

Alex Tagliani won the Fast Nine Shootout to take the pole for the Centennial
Running of the Indianapolis 500 to be run on May 29^th.

Tagliani was the last driver of the day and turned the fastest laps of the
day to win the pole with a four lap average of 227.472. The speed was .518 of a
MPH faster than his provisional pole speed of 226.954 set earlier in the
afternoon.

Here are the results of the Fast Nine Shootout.

	#	Driver	Fast Nine Speed	Original Qualification Speed	Difference
1.)	77	Alex Tagliani	227.472	226.954	0.518
2.)	9	Scott Dixon	227.340	226.701	0.639
3.)	2	Oriol Servia	227.168	225.775	1.393
4.)	99	Townsend Bell	226.887	226.277	0.610
5.)	12	Will Power	226.773	226.089	0.684
6.)	98	Dan Wheldon	226.490	226.300	0.190
7.)	44	Buddy Rice	225.786	225.746	0.040
8.)	67	Ed Carpenter	225.121	226.171	-1.050
9.)	10	Dario Frachitti	No Run	226.379

The shootout was not without a bit of drama as both of the Ganassi cars run
by Scott Dixon and Dario Franchitti ran out of gas during their shootout
attempts. Dixon’s car ran out of gas while coming out of turn four after he
finished his run and had to be pushed to tech. Franchitti on the other hand was
in the middle of a run that saw the first three laps over 227 but his car ran
out of gas on the final lap in the same spot as Dixon’s. Team owner Chip Ganassi
acknowledged that they had made a racing decision to make the cars as light as
possible for the pole run. A visibly distraught Franchitti exited his car
immediately after it was pushed to a stop and walked away without removing his
helmet.

Even though Franchitti did not finish his shootout run, he will start the
Indianapolis 500 from the outside of row three with his earlier qualifying
attempt of 226.379.

Foyt to once again drive laps at IMS

Brian Scott — Tue, 10 May 2011 16:10:02 +0000

A.J. Foyt will once again be turning laps at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway this May for the 100^th Anniversary of the Indianapolis 500. 50 years after winning his first Indianapolis 500, Foyt has accepted an invitation to drive the Chevrolet Camaro Pace Car for this year’s race on May 29^th.

Foyt takes the wheel after Donald Trump backed out of the duty after considerable public backlash to his invitation. Trump announced that he would be unable to attend the race.

Foyt is a five time winner at the 500. Four times as a driver and once as a team owner. He will mark his 54th consecutive Indianapolis 500 as a driver or team owner this year, an unprecedented span. He made a record 35 consecutive starts as a driver from 1958-92 and led a record 13 races. He also completed 12,272.5 career miles in the race, another record.

Foyt also will be honored Saturday, May 28 on A.J. Foyt Day at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He will participate in a question-and-answer and autograph session with fans. Video highlights of Foyt's incredible career also will air on the video boards located around IMS throughout the day.

Kanaan Future Uncertain After Losing Sponsor

Brian Scott — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 14:56:43 +0000

7-Eleven is discontinuing its Izod IndyCar Series sponsorship program, which could leave 2004 champion Tony Kanaan without a ride next season.

Kanaan has three years left on his contract with Andretti Autosport, but it's unclear if Michael Andretti's team could afford to pay him.

Kanaan is due more than $3 million per season based on the contract signed in August 2008. He has won 14 races for the Indianapolis-based team since 2003.