July 2019 News
RACE NEWS & VIEWS
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Sage Karam To Race in Toronto

Jul 3 - 24-year-old American Sage Karm will drive for Carlin’
s No. 31 Chevrolet at the IndyCar Toronto race July 14.  He
has backing from self-storage company SmartStop Self
Storage, which is making its first foray into the series.  They
currently operates 131 self-storage facilities located
throughout Toronto, Canada and the United States.

Karam competed in the Indy 500 this year for Dreyer &
Reinbold Racing where he started 31st and finished 19th.

Karam won both the USF2000 and Indy Lights
championships.  He has recorded 17 starts in IndyCar since
2014, including a ninth-place finish in his first Indy 500 and
two top-five finishes, including a podium at Iowa Speedway.  

Karam hasn't race on the Toronto street circuit since 2013.
He hasn't raced on a road course since 2015.

Max Chilton will also be racing for Carlin in Canada.
Support races for the Honda Indy Toronto weekend include
USF2000, Indy Pro 2000, Indy Lights, Porsche GT3 Cup,
Nascar Canadian Series and Stadium Super trucks
Amateur Endurance Races at IMS

July 12 - The ChampCar Endurance Series will be racing
on the IMS road course this weekend in two 10-hour
races.

What is that you ask?  Their Web Site says the series
"is for people like you that have always wanted to go
road racing without all the hassles, huge rule book, or
obscene expense. All you need is a valid drivers license,
some safety gear, and a race car" that you build yourself.
There are also some companies that will rent you a race
car.

Their rule book is actually pretty huge.  It is also not so
easy or cheap to race in this series.  You need a roll cage
and fire extinguishing systems.  You need to rip out
your interior and windows and install a racing seat.  You
need extra drivers and a pit crew and lots of other stuff.

They rate your car and assign you points.  You can only
have a certain number of points.  They have a calculator
on their Web Site.  They have 4 divisions based on
engine size, as well as a 5th that doesn't get to race for
prizes.

Looking at the results of past races, it seems the most
popular models are Mazdas and BMWs from the 1990s.

There must be a driver change every 1 to 2 hours.
You may watch the racing this weekend for free.  
You can sit along the viewing hill in Turn 2.
Or, you can watch it on champcar.live

Races will run from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on both Saturday
and Sunday.
2017 1st Place Trophy
The Series Hands Out Cool Trophies!
Sage Karam
Pato O'Ward was originally going to be racing for Carlin at Toronto, however he is in Japan this weekend
racing in Super Formula, after having joined the Red Bull Junior League back in May.
Pato O'Ward
Team Mugen
Honda M-Tec HR-417E
July 14 Update: O'Ward started from last (20th)
in the Super Formula race at Fuji Speedway.  
He finished in 14th.
Karam and Daly Racing In Iowa
IndyCar Race

July 16 - The Carlin IndyCar team has been running two
cars this year.  Originally in their driver line-up were Pato
O'Ward, Max Chilton and Charlie Kimball.  Chilton
was to run in every race and Kimball and O'Ward were
going to split races with their second car - with Kimball
set to drive at St. Pete, Texas, Pocono and Laguna Seca.  

All three drivers were going to race in the Indy 500,
however only Kimball was able to qualify and make it
into the big race; where he finished 25th.

Then O'Ward announced he was going racing in Japan
and Chilton announced he was not going to race on oval
track anymore.

They hired Conor Daly to replace Chilton at the Texas
oval race.  (Conor's other 2019 IndyCar race was in the
Indy 500, driving for Andretti Motorsports where he
finished in 10th-place.)

Last week in Toronto, O'Ward was off racing in Japan, so
they replaced him with Sage Karam.
This weekend's race on the Iowa oval, Karam and Daly
will both be driving for Carlin.  

So where is O'Ward this week?  He was supposed to race
in Iowa and there is no Japan race.

In fact, the Super Formula series O'Ward is now racing
in has only one conflicting date with IndyCar for the rest
of the year - on August 18th - when IndyCar races at
Pocono.  However, O'Ward was never planning on
racing at Pocono anyway.

After that weekend, there will be no more Super Formula
races until after the IndyCar series has ended.

O'Ward was supposed to race for Carlin at St. Louis and
Portland.  I'm wondering if he will, since he didn't show
up for Iowa this week.

Regardless, there are two more oval races on the IndyCar
calendar after Iowa which Carlin will need a replacement
for Chilton.  The performance of Daly and Karam this
weekend may deterimine who gets Chilton's seat for those
races.
Race

St Petersburg
COTA
Birmingham
Long Beach
IndyCar GP
Indy 500
Detroit #1
Detroit #2
Texas
Road America
Toronto
Track Type

Street
Road Course
Road Course
Street
Road Course
Oval
Street
Street
Oval
Road Course
Street
Chilton
Finishes
16
21
22
14
18
DNQ
17
15
-
16
14
O'Ward
Finishes
-
8
16
12
19
DNQ
14
11
-
17
-
Kimball
Finishes
17
-
-
-
-
25
-
-
21
-
-
Daly
Finishes
-
-
-
-
-
10*
-
-
11
-
-
Karam
Finishes
-
-
-
-
-
19*
-
-
-
-
21
* Driving for team other than Carlin
Carlin's 2019 IndyCar Record
Toronto IndyCar Race

July 14 - Simon Pagenaud won his third race of the
season and Alex Rossi tightened the championship race
with Josef Newgarden in IndyCar’s Sunday race
through the streets of Toronto.

The win on the streets around Exhibition Place is the
first for Pagenaud this year away from Indy.

Pagenaud had to save fuel in the waning laps to hold
off reigning series champion Scott Dixon. But Penske
teammate Will Power caused a caution on the final lap
and Pagenaud was able to coast to the finish in his
Chevrolet.

“I was confident all weekend, I never had a doubt,” said
Pagenaud, who started from the pole and paced nearly
every practice session. “We were only focused on
ourselves. I never really looked at who was behind. We
were just focused on getting the car where we wanted
it to be.

“Those days are the best. There are a lot of bad days in
racing, but those sweet days make up for it.”

Dixon’s runner-up finish denied Chip Ganassi Racing a
weekend sweep. Ganassi got his first NASCAR win of
the season Saturday night with Kurt Busch in Kentucky.

Dixon again indicated he will need offseason surgery on
an ailing elbow — he’s described the ligament strain as
“tennis elbow — and that it bothered him during his drive.
The reigning series champion won at Toronto last year,
beating Pagenaud.

Rossi finished third, one spot ahead of IndyCar points
leader Newgarden. The two began the race separated by
just seven points and Rossi cut the deficit to four points.

Robert Wickens drove the parade lap in a car equipped
with hand controls that allowed the Canadian to drive
for the first time since he suffered a spinal cord injury in
a crash last August.
Robert Wickens and girlfriend
Simon Pagenaud
British Grand Prix

July 14 - Lewis Hamilton took a record sixth British
Grand Prix victory in a thrilling race featuring a crash
between Max Verstappen and Sebastian Vettel.

Battles throughout the field created a dramatic race - by
far the best of the year so far - as Hamilton benefited
from a safety-car period to take a lead he never lost
after Valtteri Bottas had held back an early attack from
his Mercedes team-mate.

Behind them, Ferrari's Charles Leclerc and Red Bull's
Verstappen staged a duel for the ages in disputing third
place for the first third of the race.

Their exquisite driving would have been the talk of the
day had it not been for the collision between the
Dutchman and Leclerc's team-mate Vettel, for which
the German four-time champion was given 10-second
time penalty and two penalty points on his super licence.

Bottas converted his pole position into a lead at the first
corner, but with Hamilton sitting just over a second
behind, Bottas stopped for fresh tires on lap 16, his
decision to go for the same medium compound he had
used at the start committing him to a second stop.

Hamilton, though, stayed out, clearly intending to go for
a one-stop strategy, and when the safety car was called
after Alfa Romeo's Antonio Giovinazzi crashed at Vale,
he could make a pit stop, comfortably rejoin in the lead
and cruise to the finish.

His sixth British GP win moved him clear of Jim Clark
and Alain Prost and puts him in a commanding position
in this season's championship.

Vettel inherited third place after Ferrari initially left
Leclerc out when the safety car was deployed because
he and Verstappen had pitted for fresh tires only six laps
before.

The advantage Vettel gained by stopping under the
safety car promoted him to third, with Red Bull's
Pierre Gasly between him and Verstappen.

Gasly soon let Verstappen through and the Dutchman
homed in on Vettel, catching him on lap 37.

Verstappen passed Vettel around the outside of the fast
Stowe corner but the Red Bull ran a little wide, giving
the Ferrari driver a chance to come back at him.

Verstappen covered the inside but Vettel was committed
and could not stop in time, ramming into the back of
the Red Bull.

Amid Hamilton's record, and the drama of the crash
between Verstappen and Vettel, arguably the defining
images of the race were provided by Leclerc and
Verstappen.

They battled extraordinarily hard but entirely fairly for
lap after lap and Leclerc held Verstappen off until the
safety car-period on lap 20 ended the fight.

Verstappen clearly had much better pace, but Leclerc
defended with exquisite judgement and race craft to
hold him off.

Their battle even continued in the pits. They came in
together on lap 13 and exited the pits side by side, the
Red Bull just nosing ahead.

But Leclerc was not to be denied. He attacked
Verstappen into Turn Three, Verstappen went in too
deep to Turn Four and the Ferrari was able to sneak
back ahead.

They continued to fight again until the safety-car period
and a delayed second stop for Leclerc put him at the
back of the queue of the top three teams.

But he caught and passed Gasly and then won third place
back after the collision between Vettel and Verstappen.

"It is the race I enjoyed most in my F1 career," said
Leclerc.

It was a battle that will be remembered along with the
famous tussle between Gilles Villeneuve and Rene
Arnoux at the 1979 French Grand Prix as one of the
greatest in F1 history.
The fantastic battle between Max Verstappen and Charles
Leclerc came to an end after Sebastian Vettel rammed
into the back of Verstappen, sending him flying.
Max and Charles battle it out of the pits
Charles Leclerc finished 3rd in Austria.  Charles Victoire
Emmanuel Leclerc was a French Army general who served
under Napoleon Bonaparte during the French Revolution.
He was husband to Pauline Bonaparte, sister to Napoleon.
Iowa 300 IndyCar Race

July 21 - Josef Newgarden came to Iowa leading the
IndyCar points championship by just 4 points over
Andretti Motorsports’ Alex Rossi and 39 points over
Simon Pagenaud.  Though Newgarden qualified 3rd for
the race, he was not happy after both his Team Penske
teammates made the front row Friday afternoon.  
Pagenaud took the pole, lapping  ½ mph faster than
Newgarden.  Pagenaud also dominated the last race
which was in Toronto.  

It was a blistering hot Friday in Newton Iowa as the
IndyCar series ran practices and qualifying.  Also racing
this weekend was the ARCA series.

Before the race could get started on Saturday evening, a
powerful thunderstorm blew in which postponed the race
over 4 hours.  For the fans watching it on TV, NBCSN
telecast the WeatherTech Sportscar race from Limerock,
which had been run earlier in the day.  The long rain delay
was tougher on the fans in attendance, though many
returned for the race, which ended up starting after 11pm
local time.  

The storm did provide some benefits to IndyCar.  It
washed the track of all the rubber and oil dry, providing a
nice grippy racing surface.  The storm brought in much
cooler temperatures which gave the IndyCars around 200
lbs. more downforce too.  There had been a concern
about the race’s original start time of 6:20pm local time as
the sun would be setting and blinding to the drivers when
they drove into it’s direction on every lap.  The later start
time took care of that problem.  Some drivers also
mentioned how they preferred racing after it was
completely dark, with just the illumination from the track
lights.

By lap 3, Newgarden took the lead.  He would hold that
position until the end except for his pit stops.

Rookie Santino Ferrucci amazed fans as he passed
multiple cars in the outside lane, moving from 13th to 6th
by the 3rd lap!  The rain returned lightly on lap 56 which
caused a half-hour delay.  On the restart, James
Hinchcliffe passed Ferrucci, only to be passed back.  
Ferrucci then passed Rossi and finally Takuma Sato on
lap 101 to take over 4th.   However, he could not retain
that position and fell back to 12th by the end of the
300-lap race.

Sage Karam, running in last place, had several mishaps,
the second time, on lap 187,  when he spun, hit the wall,
and came down to make contact with Sato.  Sato had
been running in the top 4 for the first half of the race.  
He retired on lap 216 with a 20th-place finish.

Marco Andretti also had a terrible night suffering from
handling problems with his car.  By lap 205, he pitted
after IndyCar asked him to come in as he was going too
slow!

Chip Ganassi Racing did not get their cars set up well for
the race, but their drivers had different fates.  Felix
Rosenqvist spent the day at the back and finished 4th
from the bottom of cars running at the end.  Scott Dixon
was running in 17th at the mid-way point of the race.  
On lap 243, he pitted and by  lap 256, he was in the lead
after Newgarden pitted.  Dixon would finish in 2nd, to
everyone’s surprise.

While Newgarden’s Penske teammates ran at the front all
night,  Will Power made a mistake at the end of the race
when he pitted and received a stop-and-go penalty.  This
dropped him from 4th place behind Pagenaud, down to
15th.

James Hinchcliffe ran toward the front all night and
finished 3rd.

Ed Carpenter was having a good night until he wrecked
near the end.  His teammate Spencer Pigot brought it
home behind Pagenaud for a 5th-place finish.

Tony Kanaan finally caught a break and finished in 10th
for AJ Foyt Racing.
Sage Karam spun into the grass
at the beginning of the race.
Josef Newgarden
Huge Trophy
Iowa was a fast and exciting race!

Iowa Race Results
Carlin Gives Enerson a Ride for Mid-Ohio

July 25 - The two-car Carlin IndyCar team is giving
another young driver another chance at IndyCar this
month.

As the series moves to Mid-Ohio this weekend, Max
Chilton will be back behind car #59.  But RC Enerson,
22, whose last IndyCar race was in 2016, will pilot the
#31 Chevrolet.

Enerson made 24 starts in Indy Lights over two seasons,
all with Schmidt Peterson Motorsports. He finished
fourth in the point standings in his only full season
(2015).  He won the Mid-Ohio race that year too.

“RC really impressed us at Spring Training at COTA at
the beginning of the season, and we were very hopeful
that something could come together at some point that
would put him back in the car,” team principal Trevor
Carlin said. “RC has spent a lot of time with our team
this season, and he has quite a bit of experience at
Mid-Ohio, including an IndyCar start a few years back,
so he should be able to jump back in and make the
transition a smooth one.”
RC Enerson
Alex Rossi Chooses 2020 Team

July 27 - Coming from a European road course career,
Alexander Rossi burst on the IndyCar scene in 2016
when he won the Indianapolis 500.  Now 27, Rossi has
won seven races and six poles in his four seasons with
Andretti Autosport.  He has has had success on U.S. oval
tracks, street circuits and road courses.  He is second in
the standings after finishing second to Scott Dixon in 2018.

With his contract with Andretti coming to an end this year,
much speculation has been made about what IndyCar team
might snap up this quick and talented driver.

At Mid-Ohio today, Andretti Autosport announced Rossi
will be re-signing with them.
The multiyear deal includes co-sponsorship from NAPA
AUTO PARTS and AutoNation.

"It feels good to continue with Andretti Autosport," Rossi
said. "Over the past four years we've built a very strong
team with great chemistry, and I believe that we have the
tools necessary to win races and championships. I'm
looking forward to not just calling this my team but my
home in the IndyCar Series. Michael (Andretti), J-F
(Thormann), Doug (Bresnahan) and the entire team have
been working very hard to put all the pieces of this deal
together, and it's definitely a relief to have the future
settled and be able to focus on the championship fight
ahead of us."

Andretti Autosport also announced that their team will
remain with Honda, which it has been with since the 2014
season.
Dixon Wins His 6th Mid-Ohio Race

July 28 - Scott Dixon held off rookie teammate Felix
Rosenqvist to win the the Mid-Ohio race.  Dixon edged
Rosenqvist by 0.0934 of a second for the third-closest
finish on a road or street course in history.  The win for
Dixon was his second of the season and his 6th at
Mid-Ohio. The finish for Rosenqvist was his first podium
of the season.  

Andretti Autosport driver Ryan Hunter-Reay finished
third.

The race tightened the championship as leader Josef
Newgarden tangled with Hunter-Reay on the final lap and
spun off course to finish 14th instead of 4th.  Newgarden
started third and led 11 of the race’s 90 laps. He had a pit
stop fueling issue earlier that also cost him time.  Will
Power then moved into 4th and Alex Rossi move up a
position to finish fifth.  That closed Rossi’s gap to
Newgarden to 16 points. Simon Pagenaud, who was
sixth, is now 47 points back and Dixon is 62 behind with
four races remaining.  The win keeps Dixon’s chances at
another championship alive as there are 4 races left and
the last one is double points.

While both his teammates have won races this year,
Power has struggled.  He was ecstatic when he won the
pole for the race.  It was his third pole of the season.  He
came in 4th in the race.  Rossi, Dixon and Power were
the only drivers to run this caution-free race with just 2 pit
stops.

Spencer Pigot finished 7th, but was disappointed because
he felt he had a car this weekend that was capable of
more.  He blamed his qualifying where he ended up 13th.  
“He’s right,” Team owner Ed Carpenter said. “He had
the fastest lap of the race today and he was up near the
top for every session but qualifying. It’s hard to win races
and be in the top five in this series when you start mid-
pack. It’s just a matter of fact.”
Scott Dixon Edges Felix Rosenqvist at the Finish Line
Mid-Ohio Update: Enerson started the race 22nd and finished 17th.
Iowa Update: Karam crashed and finished last.  Daly finished in 13th place.
Toronto Update: Karam finished 2nd to last.
German GP at Hockenheim

July 28 - Rain delayed the start of the Formula 1 German
Grand Prix.

As usual, Lewis Hamilton was on pole and led the start
of the race, even though he was very ill from the flu.

Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc switched to slick tires and
then slid off the track and into the barriers on lap 27 at
Turn 16.  A lap later, on the same tires and at the same
corner, Hamilton slid off.  He then tumbled down the
order as he spent nearly a minute in the pits.  Five laps
after returning to the race, Hamilton spun and returned to
the pits.  He rejoined the race in last place. His teammate,
Valtteri Bottas, then crashed at Turn 1, ending his day.

Sebastian Vettel did not qualify and started the race from
last place.  He worked his way up to finish 2nd!

With so many front-runners dropping out, it was Daniil
Kvyat and Lance Stroll who made the most of it, to finish
third and fourth.  It was a double celebration for Kvyat -
not only did he get on the podium, his daughter was born
last night.

Racing in the rain and the dry caused confusion in strategy
and choosing the correct tire at the right time for many
teams.

Max Vestappen had a poor start and did a 360 during the
race, but came out on top, winning what might be the last
German GP at Hockenheim.

The last three F1 races have been surprising and more
interesting than all the races previous this year.
Valtteri Bottas Wrecked
German F1 GP Podium
Charles Leclerc Wrecked
IndyCar drivers Alexander Rossi and Connor Daly mentored young drivers on Wednesday.
Connor Daly and Gabby Chaves also competed in racing karts over the weekend.
Battle at the Brickyard

July 4-9 - The third edition of the USAC Karting Battle at
the Brickyard was completed over the Independence Day
weekend inside the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. IMS
welcomed a record 454 competing entries in the 17 cate-
gories that took to the 1-mile course. The layout used
portions of the track’s road course. The weather was
extreme throughout the weekend, as the heat index inched
close to triple digits while a heavy thunderstorm rolled
through on Saturday afternoon.

Action began on Friday, July 5 with three rounds of prac-
tice before qualifying set the fields for the heat races
scheduled for Saturday morning. All the eight-lap heat
races were completed, in addition to five of the 10-lap
Prefinals, before the heavy rains came. Lightning in the
area halted the action before the rain arrive, and then a
‘lake’ that formed in turns 9-10 section of the USAC
course due to the heavy amounts of rain moved eight of
the 13 Prefinals to Saturday morning. The distance of
these Prefinals was shortened to five laps, with the revised
Sunday schedule still providing the 14-lap main events to
go full distance.

Winning a main event on Sunday meant the Indy tradition
of wearing the winner’s wreath, drinking milk.

With the Brickyard 400 being moved to Independence Day
weekend next year, this event will be rescheduled.
Briggs 206 Medium   - Gary Lawson
Briggs 206 Large       - Gary Lawson
Briggs 206 Masters    - Steven Kilsdonk
Briggs 206 Junior       - Sam Corry

Honda 125 Masters    - Stephen Flatt
Honda 125 Senior      - Jared Howerton

Margay Ignite Junior   - Reid Sweeney
Margay Ignite Senior   - Colin Warren
Margay Ignite Masters - Keith Sharf

KA100 Junior             - Alex Stanfield

Yamaha Masters         - Michael Welsh
Yamaha Senior           - Brandon Adkins
Yamaha Junior            - Adam Maxwell

KZ Senior                   - Race Liberante
KZ Masters                 - Lance Lane

IAME X30 Senior        - Nicholas Terlecki
IAME Masters             - Brian Fisher
Main Event Winners