New Kids on the Block.

Could be the ones to watch in 2017.

Big changes in the driver line ups at A.J.Foyt Racing this week and this news via the IndyCar Insider really warrants some attention. A.J. has always spotted talent and these two could very well be the next best thing on the block.

Having watched Carlos Munoz since he arrived on the scene this guy has a certain magic to him and twice has been unlucky not to pull off a 500 win. He was in tears this year after the race wondering how it got away from him. The thing I take from this is he wants it and wants it bad and A.J. just might be the one to ensure it happens and what a story that would be. I think I would certainly look for some surprises from these guys in 2017 and Munoz,a Chevy and A.J. well its good a great vibe.

So I share with you this release from the IndyCar Media team.

Carlos Munoz and Conor Daly are convinced it’s time for the next generation of young racers to be contenders in the Verizon IndyCar Series.

The 24-year-old drivers will look to assert themselves with AJ Foyt Racing in 2017 in a deal announced late November that has both signed to drive for the winningest driver in Indy car history. Munoz will drive the No. 14 entry based out of the team’s shop in suburban Houston. Daly will drive the No. 4 car based at the team’s second shop in Speedway, Indiana. Both cars will continue to be sponsored by ABC Supply Co.

“It’s a new chapter in my life. I’m really honored to be on this team,” Munoz said. “There were a lot of options and I know a lot of drivers called (team president) Larry Foyt. I think the best teammate is Conor. First, he’s American. Fans really like him and he’s a really good driver. He has experience. INDYCAR needs a change in generations and it’s starting right now. We are both young and we are both really fast drivers, so I think it’s a great combination for the team.”

A.J. and Larry Foyt promised major changes after a disappointing 2016 season with drivers Takuma Sato and Jack Hawksworth for the full year and Alex Tagliani for two races. Sato had the best finishes with a pair of fifths. He finished 17th in the points and Hawksworth placed 20th. Sato’s 2013 victory at Long Beach is Foyt Racing’s only win since 2003.

Carlos Munoz finished 10th in the 2016 championship, the highest points position for an Andretti Autosport driver. The Colombian has one career win at Belle Isle in 2015 and is a two-time Indianapolis 500 runner-up, including his series debut in 2013, when Daly also made his first start in the same race for Foyt and finished 22nd. “He was hard to beat there in his Andretti machine, when he started on the front row as a rookie,” Daly said of Munoz. “That was pretty impressive. We know he’s really good at Indy and really good on the ovals, for sure. He’s very brave. I have a lot of respect for him. We know he’s got a lot of experience, although we’re both young. We’re both the same age. It’s just two good, young drivers ready to continue our IndyCar careers.”

Daly, from Noblesville, Indiana., is coming off his first fulltime Verizon IndyCar Series season in which he had five top-six finishes, including a career-best second at Belle Isle for Dale Coyne Racing. He finished 18th in the points. Daly said he always kept in touch with Foyt after that first Indy 500 three years ago. “They gave me such an opportunity to get into the Verizon IndyCar Series,” Daly said. “They took a chance on me when Takuma couldn’t get into the country for a test, they tested me. After that, they hired me to drive in the Indy 500. They paid me to drive when I was 21 and coming out of Indy Lights. It was a really cool program to be a part of. They gave me my first taste and ever since then, I’ve had a really good relationship with them. I’m certainly a very, very different driver compared to 2013. I’m certainly much more ready to jump in and deliver. Thankfully, Dale Coyne gave me an opportunity to get my foot in the door and here we are. We make the progression to another team. Hopefully we can be here for a good amount of time. I’d like to be with this team for more than a year. You have to take it as it comes day by day, but I’m excited to at least get back to work and have a deal done sooner rather than later.”

Munoz and Daly were actually teammates once before for a karting race a decade ago. Munoz doesn’t remember the experience, but Daly recalled his teammate being quick and helpful. Both were in a similar situation as free agents in need of sponsorship this offseason. That won’t be a problem now because Foyt has a long-term deal with ABC Supply.

“As we celebrate our 35th anniversary at ABC Supply, we are very happy to be continuing our relationship with AJ Foyt Racing,” Keith Rozolis, ABC Supply Co. Inc. president and chief executive officer, said in a released statement. “They’ve been part of the ABC team since 2005 and our associates and customers look forward to watching Carlos and Conor compete and win in 2017.”

Munoz said he understands how the business side of racing led to him not being retained by Andretti. While some drivers might be upset about not getting a new contract after being the team’s highest points finisher, Munoz expressed gratitude to his former employer of six years, the first two in Indy Lights. “I’m always thankful to them,” he said. “They gave me my career back in auto racing from the first year I came here to the United States from Europe. That last year in Europe was really tough, so it was my last chance in America or retire. They gave me a great shot here in America to race in my first Indy 500 and I did well. I’m always going to be respectful to them. Just nowadays, you have to find a sponsor. We were bringing a little sponsor from Colombia, and this year was the limit for everything. But I’m not disappointed with them. On the contrary, I’ll always be grateful to them, with Michael and everybody who works at Andretti. We have to be realistic in motorsports right now. It’s really tough to find the sponsor that we need, we didn’t have the whole budget to be 100 percent on the grid next year. This was the best for us. I wish them the best.”

As the stepson of Indianapolis Motor Speedway president Doug Boles, Daly was raised with an appreciation for that track’s racing history. That inevitably meant Daly respected and admired A.J. Foyt, the first four-time Indy 500 winner. “I love A.J.,” Daly said. “I have a lot of respect for him and I do love the way he is. There’s no messing around with A.J. He’ll give it to you straight. A lot of people won’t do that these days. It’s cool to be working with him again. I really, really, really want to bring those guys a race win and some success because they deserve it after the last couple of years, it’s been rough (for them). If we just keep on building a team and building on my experience level, there’s no telling what we’ll be able to achieve this year.”

Because he’s come so close to winning the Indy 500, Munoz is excited about another run in May. “I love that race,” Munoz said. “I’ve raced in it four times and I know how big the race is. I know what it means to win that race. I’ve been really close twice, if I can be honest. I have two seconds, one fourth and another one I had a penalty when I was running fifth. I’ve had really good races there. I’m not putting my main objective on winning the Indy 500. Of course, everyone wants to win it. But I think what we needed to do first is put in good work with the engineers and with the mechanics and everybody who comes on board this year. We need to do a good job and do our best each race. But for sure one of the goals of the team is to do really good in the Indy 500.”

I really reckon this is one heck of a line up for A.J.Foyt Racing for 2017 and look forward to seeing these cars up and amongst it a lot next season as I feel these two young drivers with the talent they have and the depth the team has makes them not only one to watch but one of the strongest teams outside of the big three.

Photo and release ex IndyCar Media.

Borg Warner Trophy Time

Its that time of the year once again but this time is for the 100th.

Many of the spoils of winning an Indianapolis 500 are immediate. There’s the donning of the wreath, the drinking of the milk, the kissing of the bricks.

But the best one, the most permanent one, comes several months after taking the checkered flag.

When William Behrends sculpts your likeness for the Borg-Warner Trophy, that’s forever. That’s when winning “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” perhaps hits home more than all the aforementioned moments.

Alexander Rossi, the winner of the 100th Running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by PennGrade Motor Oil in unbelievable, empty-fuel-tank fashion some six months ago, is closing in on that moment where he’ll see his face on the famous trophy. The reveal will come Dec. 7 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum, though Rossi got a sneak peek in September when visiting Behrends’ North Carolina studio and seeing his life-size bust.

Before the sculptor creates the bas-relief image to be added to the trophy featuring the likeness of every winner in race history, he makes a bust of the winning driver to get a better handle on the person’s features and demeanor.

“Well, I think it’s cooler than looking in the mirror, for sure!” Rossi said upon seeing the bust in September. “It’s very special and it’s way more detailed, accurate and amazing than I ever thought it would be.

“I am so far from being anywhere close to an artist, but you can really appreciate what he’s done and I don’t even know where to begin in how you acquire such an amazing skill set. It’s fantastic that I had the opportunity to work with him for a short period of time and I think that it’s a very special program to be part of.”

Rossi’s likeness will be the 27th that Behrends has created for the Borg-Warner Trophy. In 2015, Juan Pablo Montoya became the first driver to visit Behrends’ studio. Rossi followed this year in what may be a new tradition for the winner – and one that ultimately adds to what goes on the Borg-Warner.

“Being able to sit with them for a couple hours and talk about their lives, about their racing, about their win, it really does translate something into the work for me,” Behrends said. “It really enriches it for me, makes it more pleasurable for me to do.”

Race fans in the US or Indy area are invited to attend the Borg-Warner Trophy unveiling with Rossi’s bas-relief image added. The event begins at 5 p.m. ET Dec. 7 and is included with paid admission to the IMS Museum. The ceremony will also be streamed live on IMS.com.

Information and photo supplied from IndyCar Series Media

News from New Zealand

                                         
                                                      Hayden Paddon WRC Factory Driver Hyundai

While on this site I write of many things relating to IndyCar and the IndyCar series I present this to you today as news from New Zealand if you are reading it in another part of the world and the great privilege that I have to share in this great academy and feel its worthy of your interest as a fan or a person that enjoys Motorsport.

Elite Motorsport Academy fosters rising stars.

Eight rising stars of New Zealand motorsport will have the opportunity to further their motorsport aspirations as part of the class of 2017 at the New Zealand Elite Motorsport Academy.

Applications for next year’s Elite Motorsport Academy programme have opened and while applications don’t close until 17 March next year, the trustees of the MotorSport New Zealand Scholarship Trust, which manages the Academy, urge applicants to submit their application early so their racing exploits over the summer months can be monitored and assessed.

The Elite Motorsport Academy first ran in 2004 with race drivers Nelson Hartley, Christina Orr, Andy Knight and Tim Edgell among the selected participants that year. 

“Since then, many Kiwi motorsport stars who regularly make news headlines around New Zealand and the world, such as Shane Van Gisbergen, Hayden Paddon, Brendon Hartley, Mitch Evans and Richie Stanaway, have graduated from the only training academy of its kind in New Zealand,” says Wayne Christie, President of MotorSport New Zealand and a trustee of the Scholarship Trust. “We know from other motorsport governing bodies around the world, that our Elite Motorsport Academy is held in high regard, so New Zealand competitors can be assured of a truly world-class programme which will make a significant difference to their ability to further their motorsport aspirations.”

Trustee David Turner puts out the call to all race and rally drivers (and co-drivers), karters and other four-wheel motorsport competitors to prepare their Academy application.

“The Elite Motorsport Academy offers you the chance to have some of the best service providers in the country assist you in your professional development as a motorsport competitor. The Academy isn’t about teaching you to drive a race car – you have proven your talents prior to your selection. We aim to add to your toolbox of skills around the mental training, fitness, sponsorship and marketing, nutrition and media skills needed to succeed in this sport. 

“While there is a natural focus on the Academy camp in Dunedin in July where you will learn an incredible amount from tutors at the Academy of Sport South Island and the University of Otago’s School of Physical Education’s Human Performance Centre, the programme provides a tailored twelve-month follow-up package for the Academy graduates to ensure you retain and further develop the training regimes and educational opportunities demonstrated during the camp.”

Turner says earlier graduates will testify to the large stepping stone that the Academy will create for graduates determined to make a career in motorsport. “You will also enjoy the long-standing friendships that are formed as being part of the Academy.”

Turner suggests competitors who have applied in the past may wish to consider applying again. “It’s important that you do not feel like you cannot apply again, because you can and should.”

Applications are now open with more information and the application form available on the Academy page of MotorSport New Zealand’s website, www.motorsport.org.nz.

“We urge prospective applicants to take the time to look at the Academy information on the website and see what it has to offer,” Turner says. “Speak to others who have attended and listen to all they got from it – how can it benefit you as well? One only has look back at the earlier graduates and see the levels many of them have attained in our domestic motorsport series and around the world.

“This is a great chance to be one of the select few that can be classed as Elite Motorsport Academy graduates and I urge you all to apply and see what it can do for you in 2017.”

ENDS/

Attached images are free to use for editorial purposes. They show 2005 Elite Motorsport Academy graduate Brendon Hartley, now defending world champion in the FIA World Endurance Championship, and Hayden Paddon, who graduated the Elite Motorsport Academy in 2006 and now holds fourth in the 2016 FIA World Rally Championship drivers’ standings.

For further information, please contact:

David Turner, Trustee, MotorSport New Zealand Scholarship Trust

M: 021 244 1504

E: perspectivegroupltd@gmail.com

http://www.motorsport.org.nz/academy/elite-academy

                                                         Brendon Hartley WEC Factory Driver Porsche.

Statements and photos from Motorsport NZ.