For the past couple of weeks, it has been a foregone conclusion that Fernando Alonso would be running this year’s Indianapolis 500 with Andretti Autosport. It’s my understanding that the sponsors had been lined up and that a deal was imminent. It was assumed by everyone that Andretti and Alonso had received the blessing from Honda’s global headquarters in Tokyo, and that they had finally moved past Alonso’s public trashing of the Japanese manufacturer a couple of seasons ago in Formula One.
The Never-Ending Quest to be First
Posted in IndyCar on February 5, 2020 by OilpressureCART’s Answer to the Super Bowl?
Posted in IndyCar on February 3, 2020 by Oilpressure
As we headed into this past Super Bowl weekend, my thoughts wandered into a slightly different direction – back when CART tried to have their own Super weekend that sort of combined the Super Bowl with the NFL Pro Bowl. Does anyone remember the Hawaiian Super Prix?
Tony Kanaan’s Last Lap
Posted in IndyCar on January 31, 2020 by Oilpressure
In the interest of full-disclosure, I wrote most of today’s post yesterday during lunch. Then yesterday afternoon, we got word that John Andretti had lost his battle with cancer at the age of 56. I was torn between scrapping what was a timely and meaningful post or neglecting to pay proper respect to John Andretti. I will try to avoid doing both.
My Pick For a Breakout Season in 2020
Posted in IndyCar on January 29, 2020 by Oilpressure
With all of the upheaval that went on at the team formerly known as Schmidt Peterson Motorsports and now known as Arrow McLaren SP; one key aspect of these changes has flown way further under the radar than one would expect. When Sam Schmidt announced that his new alliance with McLaren would include a switch from Honda to Chevy, it affected much more than James Hinchcliffe’s personal contract with Honda, and specifically Honda of Canada. It also sent Meyer Shank Racing (MSR) scrambling to find a new technical partner, because they had no interest in leaving Honda.
Will Ferrucci’s Success Continue This Season?
Posted in IndyCar on January 27, 2020 by Oilpressure
Before getting into today’s racing-related topic, I’d like to pass along my condolences to the fans, friends and family of NBA star Kobe Bryant and his thirteen year-old daughter Gianna; who lost their lives in a helicopter crash just outside of Los Angeles yesterday. I’m not much of an NBA fan, but I recognize his importance in the sporting world. Please keep his widow Vanessa, his remaining three children and his parents in your thoughts; as well as the families of the other victims on board. This is just a horribly tragic story.
Charlie Kimball Returns on a Full-time Basis
Posted in IndyCar on January 24, 2020 by Oilpressure
On Wednesday we learned that one of the few remaining seats for the upcoming NTT IndyCar Series has been taken. Charlie Kimball will drive the No. 4 car on a full-time basis for AJ Foyt Enterprises. His longtime sponsor, Novo Nordisk, will be the primary sponsor on the car on six races in 2020; St. Petersburg, Long Beach, the GP at Indianapolis, Texas, Gateway and Laguna Seca. The diabetic pharmaceutical giant will be an associate sponsor on the car for the remaining eleven races.
The Best Options for James Hinchcliffe
Posted in IndyCar on January 22, 2020 by Oilpressure
Last week, fans of James Hinchcliffe got some welcomed news when it was announced that he had secured funding for the Month of May and perhaps some other races. Genesys, a telecommunications firm based in California with a strong presence in Indianapolis, has agreed to support the popular Canadian driver for both races at IMS and hopefully at the Honda Indy Toronto later this summer, if not a couple of more races.
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