Honda Racing

Bourdais Goes Last to First to Win for Honda at St. Petersburg

Bourdais Goes Last to First to Win for Honda at St. Petersburg
• Rebounds from qualifying crash to win 2017 Indy car season opener
• Dixon charges to third, last-lap pass nets fourth for Hunter-Reay
• Honda drivers claim four of the top five, seven of top-10 finishing positions

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (March 12, 2017) – Sebastien Bourdais and his Dale Coyne Racing team used a fast Honda and perfect race strategy to come from 21st and last on the starting grid to win Sunday’s Verizon IndyCar Series season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.

A crash in qualifying on Saturday left Bourdais starting shotgun on the field at the green flag for the 110-lap event, but a series of passes and early caution flags saw him move to 12th after just 10 laps. Another caution on Lap 25 – in the midst of scheduled first-round pit stops – presented him with a huge opportunity, and Bourdais was quick to take advantage, restarting in second and then passing for the lead on Lap 37.

From there, Bourdais was in control, leading 69 of 110 laps enroute to his 36th career IndyCar victory, moving him to sole possession of 6th on the all-time win’s list. Continue reading Bourdais Goes Last to First to Win for Honda at St. Petersburg →

Chevrolet Racing

Chevy Racing–INDYCAR–St. Petersburg–Pagenaud Scores Solid Podium Finish to Start Season

CHEVROLET RACING IN THE VERIZON INDYCAR SERIES
FIRESTONE GRAND PRIX OF ST. PETERSBURG
STREETS OF ST. PETERSBURG, FLORIDA
POST RACE RECAP
MARCH 12, 2017

Pagenaud Scores Solid Podium Finish to Start Season

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla – (March 12, 2017) – Defending Verizon IndyCar Series champion Simon Pagenaud carried the banner for Chevrolet on the Streets of St. Petersburg with a strong second place finish in the season-opening race. He started 14th today in the 110-lap race on the 1.8 mile/14 turn street course.

Driving the No. 1 PPG Automotive Finishes Team Penske Chevrolet, Pagenaud matched his 2016 finish in the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. The Frenchman went on to win five races and his first title.

Helio Castroneves, No. 3 Hitachi Team Penske Chevrolet finished sixth after starting 16th today. Giving Chevrolet three of the top top-eight finishers was Josef Newgarden, No. 2 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet, who finished 8th. Continue reading Chevy Racing–INDYCAR–St. Petersburg–Pagenaud Scores Solid Podium Finish to Start Season →

Chevrolet Racing

Chevy Fast Facts–Las Vegas

CHEVY FAST FACTS
KOBALT 400
LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
March 12, 2017

A total of 17 Team Chevy drivers will start the KOBALT 400 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The 267-lap/400.5-mile contest around the 1.5-mile venue is scheduled to begin at 3:30 p.m., EDT. Live coverage will be available on FOX, PRN Radio, Sirius NASCAR Radio Channel 90 and NASCAR.com.

CHEVROLET DRIVERS STARTING IN THE TOP-10:
Kyle Larson, No. 42 Target Chevrolet SS, will start 5th
Kasey Kahne, No. 5 LiftMaster Chevrolet SS, will roll off 7th
Jamie McMurray, No. 1 Credit One Bank/Cessna Chevrolet SS, will start 10th

TEAM CHEVY IN MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES (MENCS) COMPETITION:
Chevrolet has won 39 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Manufacturer Championships
Team Chevy drivers have scored 765 wins and 689 poles in NSCS competition

CHEVROLET ON THE TRACK—LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY:
Chevrolet drivers have won seven of 19 races at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Victories by current Team Chevy drivers are:

Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 KOBALT Chevrolet SS, has four wins at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (’05, ’06, ’07 & ‘10)

A Chevrolet driver has won one of the last two races at Las Vegas Motor Speedway
A Chevrolet driver has sat on the pole at Las Vegas Motor Speedway four times
Team Chevy drivers have scored 40 top-five and 79 top-10 finishes at Las Vegas Motor Speedway
A Chevrolet has led 2,128 laps (45.2% of possible 4,708 laps) at Las Vegas Motor Speedway

Richard Childress Racing

Richard Childress Racing–Las Vegas Post Race

Austin Dillon Muscles the No. 2 Rheem Chevy to a Top-Five Finish

“We didn’t start the race out very well and were really tight for a majority of the race. We managed to keep it inside the top-15 and even scored points in the second stage. Justin (Alexander, crew chief) stuck with me and made some great adjustments in the latter part of the race. The balance of the race car was great there for those last couple of restarts and I even thought we would have a shot at the win. All in all, it was a pretty good day for our Rheem Chevy and we’re happy to be third in the owner’s points standings at this point in the season.”

– Austin Dillon Continue reading Richard Childress Racing–Las Vegas Post Race →

Chevrolet Racing

Chevy Racing–INDYCAR–St. Petersburg

CHEVROLET RACING IN THE VERIZON INDYCAR SERIES
FIRESTONE GRAND PRIX OF ST. PETERSBURG
STREETS OF ST. PETERSBURG, FLORIDA
MARCH 11, 2017

Will Power Puts Chevrolet on Pole at St. Petersburg
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla – (March 11, 2017) Will Power likes to start on the pole. For the second consecutive year, the driver of the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevroletgrabbed the Verizon P1 award in Firestone Fast Six qualifying on the Streets of St. Petersburg.
“It is great to start the IndyCar season with a Chevrolet on the pole position,” said Mark Kent, Director of Motorsports Competition. “This pole win required a total team effort by Will Power and the No. 12 Team Penske Chevrolet team. Now the focus for the Chevrolet IndyCar teams turns to tomorrow’s race. It should be a ve ry exciting and competitive season opener.”
Today’s pole is the seventh for the 2014 Verizon IndyCar Series Champion for the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, and his 45th career and the fifth for Chevrolet at the season-opening race. Continue reading Chevy Racing–INDYCAR–St. Petersburg →

Honda Racing

Front Row Start for Honda, Scott Dixon at the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg

Front Row Start for Honda, Scott Dixon at the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg
• Dixon, James Hinchcliffe lead qualifying effort for Honda
• Three Honda teams, four drivers reach “Firestone Fast Six” final qualifying shootout
• 2017 Verizon IndyCar Series opens Sunday

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (March 11, 2017) – Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon again led the Honda effort Saturday at the season-opening Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, advancing to the “Firestone Fast Six” final qualifying round. Dixon will start Sunday’s Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg from the outside of the front row, second.

In all, three Honda Verizon IndyCar Series teams advanced through two rounds of “knockout” qualifying to make the final, led by Schmidt Peterson Motorsports James Hinchcliffe, who will start third. In his first race with Andretti Autosport, veteran Takuma Sato qualified fifth, with Dixon’s teammate Tony Kanaan rounding out the top six. Continue reading Front Row Start for Honda, Scott Dixon at the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg →

Chevrolet Racing

Chevy Racing–INDYCAR–St. Petersburg–Will Power, Pole

CHEVROLET RACING IN THE VERIZON INDYCAR SERIES
FIRESTONE GRAND PRIX OF ST. PETERSBURG
STREETS OF ST. PETERSBURG, FLORIDA
MARCH 11, 2017

WILL POWER, NO. 12 VERIZON TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET, won the pole for Sunday’s Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.

“I think that went very well. I saved a good set of tires for the end there. They had one lap on them. Really happy for the guys at Verizon and the whole team. It’s good to be starting on pole.

“That was everything I had at the end. I gave it all I had because I knew it was going to be close. I haven’t put that much energy into a lap for awhile. I’m really happy.

“We will do our best tomorrow in every condition.”

Wood Brothers

Blaney Posts Fastest Qualifying Lap at Las Vegas, Will Start Third On Sunday

Blaney Posts Fastest Qualifying Lap at Las Vegas, Will Start Third On Sunday

March 11, 2017

Ryan Blaney and the Motorcraft/Quick Lane team put forth a strong effort on Friday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and wound up with the third starting position for Sunday’s Kobalt 400.

Blaney was seventh fastest in the opening practice session with a best lap at 192.356 miles per hour. Then during qualifying he was 15th in the first of three rounds with a lap at 192.280 mph, assuring that he would advance to Round Two.

After crew chief Jeremy Bullins and the Motorcraft/Quick Lane team made some adjustments for the second round, Blaney ran a lap at 194.147 mph, the fastest of the 24 drivers who advanced from the first round and the fastest speed turned by any driver in the three sessions.
Continue reading Blaney Posts Fastest Qualifying Lap at Las Vegas, Will Start Third On Sunday →

Chevrolet Racing

Chevy Racing–NASCAR–Las Vegas–Qualifying Notes

MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES
KOBALT 400
LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
QUALIFYING NOTES AND QUOTES
MARCH 10, 2017

FOUR TEAM CHEVY DRIVERS QUALIFY IN TOP 12 AT LAS VEGAS
Kyle Larson to Start Fifth in Kobalt 400 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Race

LAS VEGAS – (March 10, 2017) Kyle Larson led the way for Team Chevy in the final round of knock-out qualifying at Las Vegas Motor Speedway for Sunday’s Kobalt 400 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) race, Round 3 on the 2017 circuit. Piloting his No. 42 Target Chevrolet SS, Larson made a strong showing with a 27.956 seconds/193.161 mph to earn a fifth-place starting spot in the 39-car field. Continue reading Chevy Racing–NASCAR–Las Vegas–Qualifying Notes →

Honda Racing

Honda, Scott Dixon Set The Pace in Practice at Grand Prix of St. Petersburg

Honda, Scott Dixon Set The Pace in Practice at Grand Prix of St. Petersburg
• Dixon leads afternoon session and the day
• Marco Andretti paces morning practice
• 2017 Verizon IndyCar Series opens Sunday

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (March 10, 2017) – Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon led the field in “opening day” practice to officially start the 2017 Verizon IndyCar Series season Friday in advance of Sunday’s Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.

Dixon’s best lap of 1:02.5591 around the waterfront St. Petersburg circuit was the quickest in the afternoon practice, as Honda drivers claimed six of the top 10 positions on the day. Charlie Kimball, Tony Kanaan and Sebastien Bourdais ended Friday in third through fifth, respectively, with James Hinchcliffe seventh overall. Marco Andretti led the morning practice, and finished the day eighth overall.

Activities on the temporary street circuit continue tomorrow with final practice and qualifying. Sunday’s 110-lap season-opening race starts at 12:30 p.m. EDT, with live network television coverage on ABC.

Scott Dixon (Chip Ganassi Racing Honda): “I think it started generally well. We’ve done some good homework in the offseason for ourselves, to see how the competition stacks up. I think tomorrow will be interesting once the other competitors turn it up. We’ll see where it goes. I was generally comfortable today, in a different rhythm from what I had here previously with the car. I think we can owe that to some fundamental changes we made throughout winter. At the end of the day, it’s still just Friday – it doesn’t pay anything, doesn’t mean anything. Hopefully what we learned today, we can continue on and help improve the car come tomorrow, and more importantly for the race on Sunday.”

Chevrolet Racing

Chevy Racing–INDYCAR–St. Petersburg

CHEVROLET RACING IN THE VERIZON INDYCAR SERIES
FIRESTONE GRAND PRIX OF ST. PETERSBURG
STREETS OF ST. PETERSBURG, FLORIDA
MARCH 10, 2017

Will Power Leads the Way for Chevrolet as IndyCar Season Gets Underway

ST. PETERSBURG, FLA – Will Power, No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet, led the way for Chevrolet after the first two official practice sessions of the 2017 Verizon IndyCar Season.

Power, who won the pole for the 2016 Streets of St. Petersburg and has won the race twice, turned in a best lap of one minute, 02.8416 seconds/103.116 mph to land second in the final order of the 21 cars set to run in Sunday’s season-opening race.

Teams and drivers will have one more practice session, 45 minutes on Saturday morning, to prepare for Firestone Fast Six qualifying set for 2:55 p.m.

Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg: 12:30 p.m., Sunday, March 12 – 110 laps/198 miles on 1.8-mile, 14-turn street circuit

Chevrolet Racing

Chevy Racing–NASCAR–Las Vegas–Chris Buescher

MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES
KOBALT 400
LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
MARCH 10, 2017

CHRIS BUESCHER, NO. 37 NATURAL LIGHT CHEVROLET SS, met with members of the media at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and discussed his new partnership with Natural Light and Barstool Sports, his transition with the new team at JTG Daugherty Racing, the new stage format and many other topics. Full Transcript:

TALK ABOUT HOW THE TRANSITION TO YOUR NEW TEAM THIS YEAR HAS GONE FOR YOU:
“Yeah, the transition has been good. Everybody over at JTG Daugherty has been awesome. Daytona, we had a car that drafted really well and did not have the single car speed that we would have liked, but at the end of the day it did what it needed to in the race. And then just caught up in one of the accident’s there, so we didn’t get the finish to show it, but AJ (Allmendinger, teammate) ran extremely well. And then Atlanta, was a race where we learned a bunch of stuff. We got a couple of little things we are going to dial in just from a feel stand point. Just trying to get used to it, something a little bit different. We got that all taken care of or the best we know how for right now and come out to Vegas here and see how it all applies. Excited to be out here for our West Coast swing. This is a fast race track here and we will see how everything comes together. I think it’s been pretty good so far.” Continue reading Chevy Racing–NASCAR–Las Vegas–Chris Buescher →

Chevrolet Racing

Chevrolet Opens Season with Strong Lineup of Teams/Drivers

Chevrolet Opens Season with Strong Lineup of Teams/Drivers

· Simon Pagenaud begins defense of Verizon IndyCar Series championship
ᴏ Team Penske driver will carry No. 1 on Chevrolet race car
· St. Petersburg 1.8-mile, 14-turn street course challenges drivers
ᴏ Team Penkse has won four of the past five races at Florida venue
· Familiar names in new places as the 16-race season unfolds
ᴏ AJ Foyt Enterprises returns to the Chevy fold with two entries
· Chevrolet seeks to win Manufacturer Championship for sixth year in a row Continue reading Chevrolet Opens Season with Strong Lineup of Teams/Drivers →

John Force Racing

Change in the air at John Force Racing: John Force, Robert Hight swap Funny Car teams

Change in the air at John Force Racing:
John Force, Robert Hight swap Funny Car teams
BROWNSBURG, Ind. (March 9) – Change is in the air at John Force Racing.

Heading into next weekend’s NHRA Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway, team owner John Force and JFR president Robert Hight announce crew chief and team changes involving two Funny Car teams.

The teams of Force and Hight will essentially swap: crew chief Jimmy Prock will move to Hight’s Auto Club of Southern California Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car team, with crew chief Mike Neff switching to Force’s PEAK Coolant and Motor Oil Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car. Continue reading Change in the air at John Force Racing: John Force, Robert Hight swap Funny Car teams →

F4

F4 U.S. CHAMPIONSHIP RECIEVES ITS 20TH ENTRY FOR 2017

F4 U.S. CHAMPIONSHIP RECIEVES ITS 20TH ENTRY FOR 2017

Global Racing Group signs Justin Sirgany as its second driver

INDIANAPOLIS (March 9, 2017) – The 2017 Formula 4 United States Championship Powered by Honda line-up continues to flourish with its 20th entry coming from Justin Sirgany. The 14-year-old Jamaican filled the second seat for Global Racing Group. The team announced Jacob Loomis of Corinth, Texas, as its first confirmed driver in February.

The second season of the F4 U.S. Championship has seen significant growth over its inaugural year. Sirgany marks the 13th rookie entry as SCCA Pro Racing officials expect 30 or more cars for the season opener at Homestead-Miami Speedway in Homestead, Florida, April 8-9. Continue reading F4 U.S. CHAMPIONSHIP RECIEVES ITS 20TH ENTRY FOR 2017 →

Chevrolet Racing

Chevy Racing–NASCAR–Las Vegas Advance

TEAM CHEVY ADVANCE
KOBALT 400
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA
MARCH 12, 2017

BOWTIE BULLETS
CHEVROLET WINNER’S CIRCLE:
Chevrolet SS driver, Jimmie Johnson, is not only a seven-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion, but he is the most successful driver at Las Vegas Motor Speedway with four wins to his credit.

SPEEDING BOWTIE BULLET:
Kasey Kahne, pilot of the No. 5 Farmers Insurance Chevrolet SS, holds the record for most poles at Las Vegas Motor Speedway with three top starting spots at the 1.5-mile venue on his racing resume. Continue reading Chevy Racing–NASCAR–Las Vegas Advance →

Wood Brothers

Blaney, Motorcraft/Quick Lane Team Feeling Upbeat About Vegas

Blaney, Motorcraft/Quick Lane Team Feeling Upbeat About Vegas

March 8, 2017

Ford Motor Company’s NASCAR teams head into this weekend’s races at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on a roll, having won the first two Cup races of the season and scoring eight other top-10 finishes.

Ryan Blaney and the Motorcraft/Quick Lane team are among those headed West with momentum after having fast Ford Fusions in the first two races of the season.

Blaney finished second at Daytona and was poised for another strong run at Atlanta Motor Speedway before early tire troubles left him mired deep in the field for much of the race. Continue reading Blaney, Motorcraft/Quick Lane Team Feeling Upbeat About Vegas →

Richard Childress Racing

Richard Childress Racing–Las Vegas Preview

Richard Childress Racing’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series History at Las Vegas Motor Speedway … In 57 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series starts at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Richard Childress Racing Chevrolets have earned 10 top-five and 20 top-10 finishes with eight different drivers – Clint Bowyer, Jeff Burton, Austin Dillon, Dale Earnhardt, Kevin Harvick, Ryan Newman, Paul Menard and Mike Skinner. Continue reading Richard Childress Racing–Las Vegas Preview →

Kasey Kahne Racing

Kasey Kahne Racing – Results Recap 3/8/17

Kasey Kahne Racing – Results Recap

Quick stop in Texas the headed out west

Just a quick update this week. The Outlaws had two races scheduled in Texas over the weekend: a new track in Kilgore on Friday and then over to Willis on Saturday. Friday was a good night for KKR with both cars qualifying in the top-10. Brad and the No. 49 NAPA AUTO PARTS team finished fourth in the feature and Daryn and the No. 9 Great Clips team came home in 10th. The track took rubber early which made it extremely difficult to pass.

Saturday in Willis was rained out, and rescheduled for April 13.

Honda Racing

RealTime Racing Acura NSX GT3 Team Set For Season Debut

RealTime Racing Acura NSX GT3 Team Set For Season Debut
• Ryan Eversley, Peter Kox to compete in new Acura NSX GT3 machines
• RealTime Racing has three wins and 13 podiums on Florida street circuit
• Acura NSX GT3 to make its first street-course start in PWC competition.

TORRANCE, Calif, (March 7, 2017) – The Acura Pirelli World Challenge program with RealTime Racing enters a new era this weekend as the team rolls out the brand-new Acura NSX GT3 for the 2017 season opener in St. Petersburg, Florida.

The new Acura NSX supercar will make its first full-season appearance in the PWC, running with 14-time PWC champion RealTime Racing, which again partners with Honda Performance Development for the 20-race GT class championship. The series, which features some of the world’s most exotic race cars including McLaren, Mercedes and Aston Martin, kicks off its season on the streets of St. Petersburg with races on March 11 and 12. Continue reading RealTime Racing Acura NSX GT3 Team Set For Season Debut →

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