Courtesy of Andy Hall, ESPN It’s been a long offseason for fans of the Verizon IndyCar Series, but the wait it almost over. The 2016 season will launch Sunday, March 13, with the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg (Fla.) in one of auto racing’s most picturesque settings. ABC will have a live telecast of the event with pre-race at 12:30 p.m. ET and the green flag at 12:52 p.m. The telecast also will be streaming live on WatchESPN. The 110-lap race will be run on a 14-turn, 1.8-mile temporary racing circuit that includes St. Petersburg city streets as well…
Author: Mike Haag
Mike Haag
Mike Haag has covered motorsports in San Antonio and South Texas for more than 39 years. In addition to covering motorsports for the San Antonio Express-News for nearly 28 years, Mike also has co-hosted TrackSmack with Dawn Murphy for 19 race seasons. In addition to being a writer, Mike taught high school English and Journalism for 30 years before retiring in May, 2020.
Courtesy of Ed Carpenter Racing This weekend’s 2016 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg will mark the return of Ed Carpenter Racing (ECR) to the Verizon IndyCar Series grid. Founded in 2012, the ECR competed under the CFH Racing banner in 2015 after integrating with Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing. ECR will shift their focus to one car for St. Petersburg, the No. 21 Fuzzy’s Ultra Premium Vodka Chevrolet of Josef Newgarden. Newgarden will compete in all 16 Verizon IndyCar Series events in 2016 while team owner Ed Carpenter will run the No. 20 Fuzzy’s Ultra Premium Vodka Chevrolet in the…
Courtesy of the NHRA GLENDORA, Calif. – Lucas Oil Products, an industry leader in lubricants and fuel treatments, has extended the naming rights for the NHRA-owned and operated multi-purpose auto racing facility located just west of Indianapolis, officials from the world’s largest motorsports sanctioning organization announced today. The naming rights began in 2011 and Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis has proudly represented Lucas Oil Products during numerous events at the legendary facility. Lucas Oil Raceway conducts racing events from March to November on a .686-mile oval, a 2.5-mile road course and the historic drag strip. Premiere events include weekly…
Courtesy of the Verizon IndyCar Series Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg Fast Facts Track: 1.8-mile, 14-turn temporary street circuit (clockwise) Race distance: 110 laps / 198 miles Entry List: Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg Push-to-pass parameters: 10 activations for 15 seconds each Firestone tire allotment: Seven sets primary, three sets alternate Twitter: @GPSTPETE, @IndyCar, #FirestoneGP, #IndyCar Event website: www.gpstpete.com INDYCAR website: www.IndyCar.com 2015 race winner: Juan Pablo Montoya (No. 2 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet) 2015 Verizon P1 Award winner: Will Power (No. 1 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet) 1 minute, 0.6931 seconds (106.676 mph) in Firestone Fast Six. Qualifying lap record: Will Power (1:00.6509; 106.841 mph) set on March…
Courtesy of the NHRA GLENDORA, Calif. (March 7, 2016) – NHRA officials announced today that AMALIE Motor Oil Company has agreed to a multi-year extension of its title rights sponsorship of the prestigious NHRA Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway. This year’s AMALIE Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals is scheduled for March 17-20, and is the third event in the 24-race 2016 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series schedule. “We are pleased to continue our partnership with AMALIE Motor Oil at this tradition rich event,” said Brad Gerber, NHRA vice president, chief development officer. “AMALIE Motor Oil has been actively involved in…
Courtesy of Shayna Keller, IRGSE Director of Corporate Communications ORLANDO, Florida – The stage has been set for one of the best season’s in International Hot Rod Association (IHRA) drag racing history. The IHRA AMSOIL Nitro Nationals at Orlando Speed World Dragway put the world’s best driver’s center stage and the result was unprecedented. The 2016 season opener kicked off over the weekend with full fields in all classes that included 2015 World Champions, veterans and a few newcomers to the IHRA Drag Racing Series. What ensued over the three-day event marked one of the most exciting competitions with major upsets, record…
[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id=”9″ gal_title=”Sunday – Las Vegas”] By Reid Spencer – NASCAR Wire Service LAS VEGAS – Overcoming a pit road speeding penalty with daring late-race strategy, Brad Keselowski broke a 33-race drought with a victory in Sunday’s Kobalt 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Keselowski passed Las Vegas native Kyle Busch with five laps left to win for the first time since the fifth race of 2015 at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California. The 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion beat Team Penske shopmate Joey Logano to the finish line by .675 seconds, as Busch lost ground over the closing laps. Rain delayed the start of the race, and high winds and a late-race dust storm made visibility a challenge, but the bizarre…
The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series goes West today for the Kobalt 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (2:30 p.m. CT on FOX). The race will mark the third stop on the NSCS tour and today’s race should be an exciting one. Below are some storylines and news stories that I am following today, along with a few quotes from the drivers on how they feel about racing in Las Vegas Motor Speedway.. Downforce aero package to be a factor: Last weekend’s lower downforce aerodynamics package did not disappoint at Atlanta Motor Speedway and you can expect it to provide a…
Courtesy of Shayna Keller, IRGSE Director of Corporate Communications ORLANDO – The AMSOIL Nitro Nationals season opening qualifying session was fierce among all of the professional classes. Full fields and only eight spots for eliminations saw teams pushing it to the limits. The AMSOIL Nitro Funny Car locked up their eight-car field and sent three drivers home. Defending 2015 IHRA World Champion Jason Rupert qualified in the first position with a 5.631 at 257.97 mph pass in the first round. Mark Sanders placed in the second position with a 5.655 at 258.27 mph. Followed by Mike McIntire Jr., Shawn Bowen, Paul Romine,…
LAS VEGAS – Kyle Busch, driving the No. 18 NOS Energy Drink Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing, won the Boyd Gaming 300 on Saturday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Daniel Suarez finished second and Erik Jones finish third to give Toyota Racing a clean sweep on the podium. Here is what Busch had to say during the post-race press conference after the race. How does it feel to win an XFINITY race at Las Vegas? “We were worried about fuel, but more so we more so worried about (Daniel) Suarez. He was on me there at the end, he…