For the first time in the series history, the Verizon IndyCar Series is set to tackle the NOLA Motorsports Park road course. The 2.74-mile, 13 turn road course should prove to be an excellent event for both drivers and fans, based on the speeds shown through pre-season testing.
CFH Racing announced on Tuesday, April 7 that JR Hildebrand will drive the No. 6 Preferred Freezer Services CFH Racing Chevrolet for the Angie’s List Grand Prix of Indianapolis on May 9 and the 99th Running of the Indianapolis 500 on May 24.
As the boys and girl venture on to Fort Worth, it seems apropos for some to seek a resurrection of their hopes on the season. For others, the off weekend did little to help matters from where we left off after Martinsville.
NASCAR has a long standing tradition of strictly prohibiting any manipulation or modifications of tires. But considering the extensive time and effort required to police the teams for this particular infraction, maybe it’s time for NASCAR to consider a change in the rules and allow the use of bleeder valves.
I had a feeling, and so did many others in NASCAR, that the results of the testing on tires confiscated in California would be eye opening, and they were quite eye opening. Joey Logano and Kevin Harvick, the two hottest drivers in NASCAR, had tires that were confiscated by NASCAR officials after the race at Phoenix International Raceway.
Harvick finished eighth at Martinsville, ending his streak of eight consecutive results of second or better. He remains atop the Sprint Cup points standings, 24 ahead of Joey Logano.
It is common for this writer to say I love Martinsville Speedway. Some say it’s because my home is only 150 (give or take) miles from the speedway. Some try to get into my mind and say it’s because it was the first speedway I ever visited, but the truth of the matter is that little paper clip-shaped track is exactly how the whole phenomenon we now call NASCAR started.
While Team Penske dominated the weekend at St. Petersburg, it was Tony Kanaan that came in to split up the party, finishing third in the middle of a 1-2-4-5 Penske finish.
Entering the weekend at Martinsville Speedway, Denny Hamlin's main focus in his preseason media session was on the struggles that Joe Gibbs Racing has fought through to start the season. In the first five races of the season, Hamlin had only two top-10s. Despite those struggles, Hamlin still believed his team had a shot at the victory as the driver can make up a lot at Martinsville, simply by requiring a certain style and rhythm behind the wheel.
Kevin Harvick was going to win at Martinsville, or so I thought. Having led 154 laps, it was a logical expectation, but he wound up eighth. Jeff Gordon was going to win, then a late caution and a speeding penalty in the pits ended those dreams and left him ninth.
Bobby Gossett (No. 44 BSI Racing) might have thought lady luck was not on his side at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park on Saturday when his provisional pole time was disallowed, but she made herself known in the race.
Daniel Hemric continued his consistent road course handiwork with a sixth-place finish on Saturday afternoon at Lime Rock Park and substantially increased his cushion on the provisional Chase cutline.
Christian Eckes notched a gritty fifth-place finish on Saturday afternoon at Lime Rock Park to advance to fourth in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series (NCTS) standings.
