IMS Triple-Header & IMSA Daytona Has Team Penske's Attention July 4th Weekend

Tee shirt graphic from the first ever triple header race weekend held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The weekend features races by three racing series and two different sanctioning bodies - NTT INDYCAR & NASCAR. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks via IMS Store screengrab (2020)

IMS Triple-Header & IMSA Daytona Has Team Penske's Attention July 4th Weekend

After an extended interruption off-season, Motorsports and Motor Culture gets a boost over the 2020 July 4th Independence Day celebration weekend - sans fans, in the stands.

ZOOM presentation where the flow is regulated - Edmund Jenks asks a question of all drivers - Dane Cameron, Juan Pablo Montoya, Helio Castroneves, & Ricky Taylor - at 14:20 on the timeline.

ZOOM tile presentation - Will Power, Brad Keslowski, & Austin Cindric

WHAT:

Team Penske Zoom Media Conference Block – NASCAR, INDYCAR & IMSA Drivers

WHY:

The Fourth of July weekend promises to be a historic time in American motorsports with competition at two of the country’s most-iconic venues, Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) and Daytona International Speedway. Team Penske is the only team with entries in each of the four series competing during the weekend, including the much-anticipated NASCAR/INDYCAR tripleheader at IMS.

WHO:

Brad Keselowski – driver of the No. 2 Discount Tire Ford Mustang - Winner of the 2018 Brickyard 400 / 2012 IMS NASCAR Xfinity Series Winner

Will Power – driver of the No. 12 Verizon Dallara/Chevrolet - Three-time GMR Grand Prix winner / 2018 Indianapolis 500 Winner

Austin Cindric – driver of the No. 22 Menards / Richmond Ford Mustang - Two-time NASCAR Xfinity Series road course winner

Dane Cameron – driver of the No. 6 Acura Team Penske ARX-05 DPi - Three-time IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Champion

Juan Pablo Montoya – driver of the No. 6 Acura Team Penske ARX-05 DPi - Current IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Champion / Two-time Indianapolis 500 winner

Helio Castroneves – driver of the No. 7 Acura Team Penske ARX-05 DPi - Three-time Indianapolis 500 winner

Ricky Taylor – driver of the No. 7 Acura Team Penske ARX-05 DPi - 2017 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Champion / 2017 Rolex 24 and 12 Hours of Sebring winner

... notes from The EDJE




TAGS: Pennzoil 150 At The Brickyard, GMR Grand Prix, Big Machine Hand Sanitizer 499, IMSA Weathertech 240, Daytona, IMS, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Penske Racing, Team Penske, The EDJE

Preview Month Of May In The Verizon IndyCar Series With Farmer, Santoroski Jr., & The EDJE

Verizon IndyCar Series championship points leader, Simon Pagenaud as he takes Turn 5 in the Toyota Grand Prix Of Long Beach. The Penske Racing driver went on to win his first race after joining this team last year. Pagenaud went on to win the next race at Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2016)

Preview Month Of May In The Verizon IndyCar Series With Farmer, Santoroski Jr., & The EDJE

Four races into a planned 16 race season with having two temporary street, one road, and one odd shaped oval courses in the books, Simon Pagenaud finds himself owning back-to-back wins and the championship points lead entering the famed "Month Of May" in the schedule.

Just this weekend, it was announced that the season of 16 races may be in jeopardy because the negotiations to bring a temporary street race event to the city of Boston have come to a halt and an end for 2016 (and possibly beyond) leaving everyone to say to themselves - Oh no, not again.

In this episode of Championship Racing Radio, Road To Indy contributor Josh Farmer has invited Frank Santoroski Jr. (Drafting The Circuits), and Edmund Jenks (... notes from The EDJE, Motorsports Journal), with the Month Of May - featuring the two race Grand Prix Of Indianapolis road course, and the hallmark 100th INDY 500 oval of oval courses at Indianapolis Motor Speedway  - augmented with losing Boston off of the schedule as a backdrop ... to discuss all things IndyCar.

After the Boston heave (ho) party, the lead speculation for a replacement race has the venerable road course at Watkins Glen becoming a Labor Day event shared with a Ferrari weekend in order to keep the Northeast market schedule option viable.

If this were not enough, a rumor has started circulating about a post season October 2016 international exhibition non-points paying race in China ... yes, no points and China.

We have the Angie's List Grand Prix Of Indianapolis coming up in just a few days - here is what Simon Pagenaud had to say about the third time this road race is to be run:

Excerpted and edited from Simon Pagenaud Conference Call TRANSCRIPT - 5/4/2016 -

THE MODERATOR: You mentioned you won the first race on the road course at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2014. What do you like about the road course, and what kind of race do you expect?

SIMON PAGENAUD: I love the road course. It's a beautiful layout. The surface is really smooth so we can really be aggressive with the setup on the IndyCar.

I just love the fact that we kick off the month of May with a road course. The fans can see the cars in that configuration. Then we switch over the Indy mode after that.

I think it's great. It's what IndyCar is all about: diversity. We're showing what we can do. Different kind of tracks, different configurations, the aerodynamics. I find that very exciting.

The track itself, it's quite flat, which I like that better than blind corners. You can really maximize your vision and your driving.
----
Q. One thing that occurred over the weekend was the Boston news, a bit unfortunate. Were you surprised by that? Is there anyplace in particular that sticks out you'd like to go for a replacement round?

SIMON PAGENAUD: Yeah, I'm very disappointed. That was going to be a great event, perfect position in the city. I managed to see the excitement of I guess half of the population in Boston because I know some of the population was not excited about it. There were a lot of people that were pulling for the race. I saw the excitement.

The racetrack itself looked like it was going to be a beautiful layout. We were going to go through a tunnel, which would have been really cool.

It is what it is. It's beyond my reach. I hope we can replace the race. For sure, I'm thinking of Watkins Glen. I've never been there, but it looks like a beautiful track. It's been repaved, as well, recently. That would be a good market and really cool track to go to.

There's plenty of tracks in America that could be exciting to go to. I'd like to go back to Fontana personally. I love that oval. But I don't know what's going to happen.

Q. Maybe you could bug John Menard to get Milwaukee back on the schedule.

SIMON PAGENAUD: There you go (laughter).
ENDS

Then, of course, the 100th INDY 500, and the potential list of new drivers added to the field ... some of which will compete in both races during the Month Of May at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Excerpted and edited from Wikipedia -

Competing in both races during the Month Of May - Angie's List Grand Prix Of Indianapolis & 100th Indianapolis 500 presented by PennGrade Motor Oil:

Matthew Brabham, son of Geoff Brabham, and grandson of Sir Jack Brabham will enter with KV Racing Technology.[4] Brabham will attempt to become the third, third-generation driver to qualify in Indy 500 history. The previous two were Billy Vukovich III and Marco Andretti. The car will carry No. 61.

Spencer Pigot will drive for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing.

J.R. Hildebrand will drive car No. 6 for Ed Carpenter Racing.

Alex Tagliani will drive for A.J. Foyt Enterprises. Tagliani will drive car No. 35 in honor of Foyt's record of 35 consecutive starts in the race as a driver.

Competing in the 100th Indianapolis 500 presented by PennGrade Motor Oil:

Sage Karam will drive for Dreyer & Reinbold Racing-Kingdom Racing in the No. 24 Gas Monkey Energy/Havoline Chevy.

Bryan Clauson will drive for Dale Coyne Racing-Jonathan Byrd's Racing in the No. 88.

Pippa Mann will drive for Dale Coyne Racing.

Buddy Lazier will drive for Lazier Partners Racing. This year marks the 20th anniversary of Lazier's Indy 500 victory.

Townsend Bell will drive car No. 29 for Andretti Autosport.

Oriol Servià will drive a third entry for Schmidt Peterson Motorsports. The Honda-powered car will feature No.77 and will be in conjunction with Marotti Racing.

Stefan Wilson will drive for KVSH Racing. Stefan is the younger brother of Justin Wilson, who was killed in a racing incident last August at the ABC Supply 500. The car will carry No. 25, a tribute to the number Justin drove in the 2015 season.

Katherine Legge will join Grace Autosport for the 2016 race [still pending]. This will be her first attempt since the 2013 Indianapolis 500. Grace Autosport is the first ever all-female racing team to compete at Indianapolis.
ENDS

Editor's Note: Do not count out Gabby Chaves and a hook-up with Dale Coyne ... the door, at the time of this publishing ... is still open!

Listen in as Josh, Ed and Frank Santoroski, Jr. of Drafting the Circuits enjoy discussing IndyCar open wheel racing, drivers, teams, and the Month Of May.

Angie's List Grand Prix Of Indianapolis Schedule >>>

100th Indianapolis 500 presented by PennGrade Motor Oil Schedule >>>

... notes from The EDJE



TAGS: Verizon IndyCar Series, 100th Indianapolis 500 presented by PennGrade Motor Oil, Angie's List Grand Prix Of Indianapolis, IMS, 100th INDY 500, Grand Prix Of Indianapolis, @AngiesList, #IndyCar, @IMS, #Indy500, #MonthofMay, #INDYRIVALS, #ALGPI, The EDJE

Inaugural Grand Prix Of INDY Road Course Event Pleases On Many Fronts

Gasoline Alley and the Pagoda at Indianapolis Motor Speedway - The inaugural Grand Prix of Indianapolis, by almost any measure, was a success. The month of May opened up with more than a few thousand people wandering the Speedway waiting for cars to get on track to shakedown. This second race added in the "Month Of May" wasn't a bad change at all. Image Credit: Helio Castroneves via Twitter

Inaugural Grand Prix Of INDY Road Course Event Pleases On Many Fronts

Last weekend, Speedway, Indiana hosted the first of two racing events that it hopes to package and fuse into an annual "Month Of May" motorsports celebration. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS), famous for the endurance test and race that grew into the INDY 500 reworked the Formula 1 road course and the Verizon IndyCar Series held its first race on the 2.434-miles 14 turn infield road course that utilizes a portion of the famed IMS oval as part of the circuit with racers driving Turns 1 and 2 of the oval as well as the a long portion of the front straight ... in the opposite (clockwise) direction.

Racing on the road course in May went from being downright sacrilegious to highly anticipated. The track has received near universal praise from everyone who has walked, golf carted, or driven it. The typical response from drivers is that it will adequately highlight the abilities of the DW12 from an acceleration, braking, and cornering perspective. Image Credit: WFOpenWheel Network

When the race broadcast and venue is watched on phones, tablets, computers, and television screens one is struck by the unfamiliar familiarity. The Dallara DW12 cars belong here at this track but they look oddly different heading down the front straight with the famed Pagoda on the car's right hand side.

For those fans that have followed American open wheel racing over this last 10 years or so, this track layout plays on broadcast a little like the Portland International Raceway in Portland, Oregon. The G.I. Joe's Grand Prix of Portland was a Champ Car World Series race that was last held through 2007 and this venue still holds the record for the closest road course finish in Indy car racing history.

The pace and feel of a race on the road course at INDY felt a lot like watching a race on the Portland track only much larger to scale (the race held a Cleveland's Burke Lakefront Airport also qualifies ... but not as tight). The long front straight flowing into a contentious right-hander, followed immediately by a left with some speed at the end and, of course, some dodgey esses to contend with.

Simon Pagenaud wins third race in less than a year at the inaugural Verizon IndyCar Series Grand Prix of Indianapolis and pulls to P3 ... within 6 points of VICS championship points leader Will Power. A member of the European press mentioned that the road course reminded him of Magny Cours. Simon agreed. Image Credit: Simon Pagenaud via Facebook

This excerpted and edited from Road & Track/Hearst Digital Media -

GP of Indy quiets the doubters
IndyCar's month in the motherland starts strong.
By Marshall Pruett May 11, 2014

According to the experts on the Internet, IndyCar’s inaugural Grand Prix of Indianapolis was destined to fail from the beginning. What some called an exercise in trampling more than 100 years of tradition at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway—where Indy cars had only run on the 2.5-mile oval since 1911—the GP of Indy, run on a revised road course, was an unqualified success.

Fans, the Indy traditionalists maintained, would reject the event, but something north of 30,000 people turned out in beautiful weather to watch Simon Pagenaud put in a picture-perfect drive to claim the win. It marked the Frenchman’s third Verizon IndyCar Series win in less than a year, and proved that even in the huge shadow cast by IndyCar giants Roger Penske and Chip Ganassi, a modest operation like Pagenaud’s Honda-powered Schmidt Peterson Motorsports outfit can play the role of giant killer at any time.

Grand Prix Of Indianapolis race start from above (Image Credit: INDYSTAR via Twitter) ...

And Grand Prix Of Indianapolis race start 6-wide from below (Image Credit: Marshall Pruett/RACER via Twitter) ...

Pagenaud’s memorable finish was overshadowed by a frightening start to the GP as pole-sitter Sebastian Saavedra stalled when the lights went green and was clobbered twice from behind—by Colombian countryman Carlos Munoz and then by Russian rookie Mikhail Aleshin. All three emerged unscathed, but that couldn’t be said for a number of bystanders, including the Mayor of Indianapolis, who was hit in the shoulder by a flying chunk of carbon fiber.

More contact later in the race led popular Canadian driver James Hinchcliffe to pull off track and retire after he was struck in the helmet by a front wing endplate from a car he was trailing. Approaching 180mph on the long infield straight headed towards Turn 7, the hit was hard enough to cause a concussion, leading Hinch to sit out Sunday’s Opening Day for Indy 500 practice, if not longer.

Safety improvements are expected for next year’s race, including F1-style debris fencing on pit lane.

Racing aside, it was a welcome change to see IMS take a bold step to build new fans with a road course that some felt was little more than sacrilege. Thankfully, after seeing the positive reaction from curious fans and first-timers, IMS has a new tradition that should stand the test of time.
[Reference Here]

Track view from a position in the stands around Turns 5 & 6. Image Credit: Brandi Iaria via Twitter

The track plays well on television and if the powers that be (Drivers and Race Control) figure out how to frikken START and RE-START the dang race, some folks would be in the points and not have to spend so much time and money on car repairs.

To some, however, this is why they tune in. A venue and a race pleasing on many fronts.

... notes from The EDJE

To Plank, Or Not To Plank? ... That Is The IndyCar Question!

Planking has just hit the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. This pose, which got its start in Australia became the perfect activity for a down weather day at the famed race track ready to celebrate its 100th year. Arie Luyendyk Jr. posted up this example calling it "The highest plank at IMS" ... taken at the spotter's perch. Image Credit ariejr

To Plank, Or Not To Plank? ... That Is The IndyCar Question!

Planking is a social media phenomenon that got its start in England around 2009 and most recently is catching fire in Australia. The rules for planking are simple - planking takes its name from how players mimic a wooden board by lying rigid, preferably in a public place or on an unusual spot, such as a washing machine, a sign or a railing. The person planking lays down on the place to be planked, then stretches out stiff pointing ones fingers and toes, face down with no expression. The point is to post a wacky planking photo online.

At the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, today, the practice was called of due to inclement weather. A lot of drivers and team support personnel were keyed up with nothing to do so Alex Lloyd decided to lay down a challenge with the following "tweets".

alex_lloyd Alex Lloyd

After seeing @scottdixon9's tweet on PLANKING, I decided to give it a go myself. http://t.co/4VCUPIu

alex_lloyd Alex Lloyd

50 bucks to any driver than 'planks' during driver intros.

Then former Vision Racing PR person Pat Caporali started keeping tabs on who was joining in on the planking mayhem!

Examples:

Scott Dixon's second ... and best attempt. Image Credit: scottdixon9


Bookended Aussies from Penske Racing - Will Power and Ryan Briscoe. Image Credit: PenskeRacing


Leading rookie, James Hinchcliff in the Newman/Haas garage. Image Credit: hinchtown


KV Racing Technologies' Tony Kanaan gives it a good stiffing. Image Credit: PCaporali


James Hinchcliff poseing plankstyle on a pole. Image Credit: Jalopnik via hinchtown


Rafa Matos planking across the buiness end of his AFS Dallara. Image Credit: PCaporali

All four drivers on the KV Racing Technologies team. L to R - EJ Viso, Takuma Sato, Tomas Scheckter, and Tony Kanaan. Image Credit: PCaporali


The "Yard Of Bricks" planking photo featuring Sam Schmidt Motorsports' Wade Cunningham. Image Credit: Jalopnik via wadecunningham

This excerpted and edited from CNN -

'Planking' death puts spotlight on bizarre Web craze
By Mark Milian, CNN - May 18, 2011 1:21 p.m. EDT

Apparently lying face down is all it takes to create an Internet phenomenon.

An obscure activity called "planking" is garnering international exposure after an Australian man fell to his death last week while attempting to take part in the online fad.
----
Acton Beale, the 20-year-old Aussie who fell seven stories while planking on a high-rise balcony, upped the ante to fatal consequences, police said.
----
All the recent attention has sparked a flood of fresh planking photos, as well as YouTube clips of television-news anchors face down on their desks.

Diplo, a popular electronic-music DJ, wrote on Twitter: "planking right now." A spokesperson for Honey Bunches of Oats (yes, the cereal) promoted safe planking in a message on its blog Monday.

"It's the most fun you can have being still," Sam Smith, from Australia, wrote on Facebook.
----
Among the gems: a woman lying on a bar, a man planking across the humps of two live camels' backs, a group face-down on an escalator, a woman on Kmart shopping carts, and a guy prone across the shelves of a convenience-store refrigerator.

The concept has been around for at least a decade, according to an English duo which takes credit for its invention and was profiled in a 2009 column in the Toronto Star. Then, it was called the Lying Down Game. (Not exactly a catchy name.)
----
Plankers say the activity is generally harmless fun -- though that idea was challenged last week. Some even refer to it, tongue-in-cheek, as a type of alternative sport.

"Planking is an extreme sport which requires years of constant training to perfect the complex technique," wrote Jake Mason on the Planking Facebook page.

The game hasn't won over everyone, and those opposed are especially vocal. A bunch of anti-planking pages have sprung up on Facebook.
----
Steve Molk, a radio personality in Brisbane, Australia, declares that planking has "jumped the shark."

Hopefully that won't give anyone ideas about planking an actual shark.
[Reference Here]

Gotta add Tomas Scheckter's "Yard Of Bricks" plank. Just imagine what Tomas Schecter and the rest of the male IndyCar field would look like if they take up the suggestion made by teammate Tony Kanaan below. Image Credit: PCaporali

One last "tweet" by Tony Kanaan puts this exercise in boredom relief in perspective:

TonyKanaan Tony Kanaan

Under control bro RT @tomasscheckter Tomorrow is every driver has to take viagra and plank naked.

... notes from The EDJE