Monday 30 April 2018

Open Test at Indy Day 1

Combined Lap Times Open Test Day 1


On a very green track and very early days below are the first of many timing results for the month of May.

1 14 Kanaan, Tony D/C/F Test Session 2 00:39.7912 226.181 62
2 22 Pagenaud, Simon D/C/F Test Session 2 00:39.8388 225.910 108
3 98 Andretti, Marco D/H/F Test Session 2 00:39.8871 225.637 45
4 88 Chaves, Gabby D/C/F Test Session 2 00:39.8884 225.630 81
5 9 Dixon, Scott D/H/F Test Session 2 00:39.9205 225.448 86
6 18 Bourdais, Sebastien D/H/F Test Session 2 00:39.9420 225.327 107
7 21 Pigot, Spencer D/C/F Test Session 2 00:39.9421 225.326 82
8 10 Jones, Ed D/H/F Test Session 2 00:39.9743 225.145 96
9 20 Carpenter, Ed D/C/F Test Session 2 00:40.0205 224.885 63
10 3 Castroneves, Helio D/C/F Test Session 2 00:40.0582 224.673 109
11 15 Rahal, Graham D/H/F Test Session 2 00:40.1027 224.424 82
12 12 Power, Will D/C/F Test Session 2 00:40.1052 224.410 113
13 23 Kimball, Charlie D/C/F Test Session 2 00:40.1987 223.888 92
14 1 Newgarden, Josef D/C/F Test Session 2 00:40.2326 223.699 125
15 30 Sato, Takuma D/H/F Test Session 2 00:40.2667 223.510 89
16 59 Chilton, Max D/C/F Test Session 2 00:40.3138 223.249 75
17 26 Veach, Zach (R) D/H/F Test Session 2 00:40.3947 222.802 67
18 27 Rossi, Alexander D/H/F Test Session 2 00:40.4073 222.732 80
19 28 Hunter-Reay, Ryan D/H/F Test Session 1 00:40.4083 222.727 74
20 5 Hinchcliffe, James D/H/F Test Session 1 00:40.6016 221.666 95
21 60 Harvey, Jack (R) D/H/F Test Session 1 00:40.7999 220.589 89
(R) Rookie
Total Laps for Combined Sessions: 1820

Indy Open Test Day 1

Ageless Kanaan sets pace in Indianapolis oval open test.

Its about to happen the month of May will soon be upon us. The rescheduled open test however kicked things off on Monday, April 30 (US time)  and it was the dawn of a new Indy car that tested at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, but it was the old guard leading the way.
Tony Kanaan, at 43 the elder statesman in the Verizon IndyCar Series this season, was fastest in the  open test at the 2.5-mile oval for drivers with previous Indianapolis 500 experience. The 2013 Indy 500 winner and driver of the No. 14 ABC Supply AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet posted a top lap of 226.181 mph to lead the 21-car field following six hours of on-track activity.
"Every year we come back (to Indianapolis) the first day, everybody has a huge smile on their faces," Kanaan said. "I love it, I love this place. I mean, it's magical. I wish we could do this every race.
"It was a beautiful day out there. Got a lot of laps in, a lot of learning to do."
Simon Pagenaud was second fastest in the No. 22 Menards Team Penske Chevrolet, at 225.910 mph, with Andretti Herta Autosport with Curb-Agajanian's Marco Andretti third at 225.637. While all the drivers' best laps were aided by aero tows from cars in front of them, Kanaan also racked up the fastest non-tow lap of 223.240 mph.
"Always such a pleasure to drive here," said Pagenaud, looking to add to his two INDYCAR Grand Prix wins on the IMS road course with an Indianapolis 500 victory on the iconic oval. "Having the opportunity to be one of those drivers to hit the track 240 miles an hour, it's pretty cool. We did a lot of work today. It was really a good day of testing. Great day, great conditions for testing as well."
The open test allowed drivers and teams to become acclimated with the 2018 Indy car and its universal aero kit in superspeedway trim, in advance of the 102nd Indianapolis 500 presented by PennGrade Motor Oil on Sunday, May 27.
More than 1,800 laps were turned as teams ran alone and in small groups to better understand the nuances of the new package.
"I think it was pretty smooth," Kanaan said. "You saw everybody came up to speed pretty fast, which is pretty remarkable, in my opinion. To me, it was a lot quicker down the straightaways, which was quite fun. It was like back in the day. 
"You definitely feel the speed going down the straightaway. You have to hang on into the corners. A little bit different, to be honest, but fun."
The test day also featured the return to IMS of Helio Castroneves. The three-time Indy 500 winner has shifted gears to racing full time this season for Team Penske's sports-car operation, but team owner Roger Penske promised Castroneves the opportunity to return to INDYCAR this May and bid again to join A.J. Foyt, Al Unser and Rick Mears as the only four-time champions of "The Greatest Spectacle in Racing."
Castroneves placed 10th on the test speed chart with a lap of 224.673 mph in the No. 3 Pennzoil Team Penske Chevrolet, but was giddy to be back in the surroundings that have treated him so well in his two-decade Indy car career.
"It's great to be back ... awesome," said Castroneves, who will join Kanaan as a 43-year-old on May 10.
"It's like you're playing with your old toy that (you) miss so bad," he said. "It's really great to be back in INDYCAR. Twenty years I've been doing it, so the details, I'm like, 'Hey, I remember this.'"
Four other past Indy 500 winners participated in the open test. Scott Dixon, the 2008 winner who competed late Sunday night in the city qualifier for NBC's "American Ninja Warrior" held in downtown Indianapolis, was fifth in testing in the No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda (225.448 mph); defending race winner Takuma Sato was 15th in the No. 30 Mi-Jack/Panasonic Honda for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (223.510), 2016 winner Alexander Rossi was 18th in the No. 27 NAPA AUTO PARTS Honda (222.732) and Andretti Autosport teammate Ryan Hunter-Reay 19th in the No. 28 DHL Honda (222.727).
IMS testing continues Tuesday  in the US with the rookie orientation program for newcomers Pietro Fittipaldi, Kyle Kaiser, Matheus "Matt" Leist and Robert Wickens set for 10 a.m.-1 p.m. ET. Danica Patrick makes her return to Indy car racing official during a veteran refresher session from 2-5 p.m. that also includes Jay Howard and Sage Karam. A Chevrolet and Honda manufacturer test day is scheduled from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Wednesday and will feature 11 drivers.
Newgarden tests INDYCAR windscreen prototype at IMS
Following the open test, Verizon IndyCar Series points leader Josef Newgarden ran laps in his No. 1 Hitachi Team Penske Chevrolet with INDYCAR's windscreen prototype attached. It was the second on-track test of the prototype, following one in February by Dixon on the ISM Raceway mile oval outside Phoenix.
"It was fascinating," Newgarden said. "It was totally different for an open-wheel car. You're not used to having a windscreen that big in front of you, but it was interesting to try it out. 
"The most interesting thing to me was the visor changes (on his helmet). Going from a fully smoke visor to a clear visor was better. It helped with the visibility and the clarity. 
"There's small improvements to be made, especially with the clarity with the visors and the perception to see through it," Newgarden added. "It was easy to make it work, I didn't have any major issues with it, and I think INDYCAR did a nice job."
Additional testing of the prototype is planned. INDYCAR has not issued a timetable for implementation of the windscreen on cars in competition.  

Meda ex IndyCar Media Services.

Sunday 29 April 2018

May 14th Race Control will arrive!

Race Control launch is confirmed.



Race Control the all new fan magazine for followers of the IndyCar Series is now officially confirmed to launch on May14th via ZINIO.com

It will publish bi monthly within the first year and look to increase the number of issues should you the fan want it.

The signing with ZINIO the Worlds largest on line magazine store is part of a multi year relationship  and partnership. We are very delighted to be part of the ZINIO family finally.

Links and details for ZINIO will appear in the coming days but hang on tight Indy Car fans as this is going to be a blast.



Sunday 22 April 2018

Coming Soon?

Coming in the Month of May.



There is something in the wind and the sun is rising on something that is all about the IndyCar fan. Watch this space as "Race Control" lands Monday May 14th 2018.

More details very soon but you are going to want a part of this thats for sure.




Saturday 21 April 2018

Qualifying from Barber Motorsport Park

'What They're Saying' 



JOSEF NEWGARDEN (No. 1 Hitachi Team Penske Chevrolet, 2017 Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama winner, 2018 Verizon P1 Award winner): "Tim (Cindric, race strategist) was telling me when I came in what the lap time was. I didn't know if that was going to be enough. It was a good lap. Actually, I like this set of tires a little bit better than the others. You almost have a favorite sometimes with the Firestones, but they held up well. I think he had a slight advantage because he didn't have to do a hot lap on his, but I knew our car was quick. After I saw the time we did on this set of tires I knew we had a shot at it. Really proud of everybody, Hitachi being on the car with us, it's good to get them a first pole and just everyone else. Team Chevy has done a really good job. They have really given us the good power this weekend, good drivability. We are going to need some fuel mileage tomorrow, which I think we will have, but it's going to get mixed up with the rain. So, I think the first part of this weekend is done. We just need to focus on tomorrow now and see how we are going to get through the weather."

MATHEUS "MATT" LEIST (No. 4 ABC Supply AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet): "Tough qualifying for the team, for me, for Tony (Kanaan). We just didn't have the speed today, this whole weekend. We've got a lot to talk about, debrief and see what we can do to improve the car for the road courses."

JAMES HINCHCLIFFE (No. 5 Arrow Electronics SPM Honda): "Pretty solid qualifying for us. We didn't have a great test here a couple of weeks ago. We unrolled with a car that had some challenges. This Arrow Electronics SPM team did a great job over lunch yesterday and again overnight. This morning, Robbie (Wickens) and I went different ways on setups trying to find some things... We talked beforehand, and I actually had to lean on him, so big thanks to the Lucas Oil boys. It's so nice having a great teammate that we can bounce ideas off on and work through this new car together. A top-five start - it's great to be up front when it's raining (laughter), unfortunately that's what tomorrow looks like. Happy for the guys to be back in the Firestone Fast Six, and we'll see what tomorrow brings."

ROBERT WICKENS (No. 6 Lucas Oil SPM Honda): "I don't think qualifying went quite as well as planned. We were very quick on the blacks (primary Firestone tires) in both Round 1 and Round 2, but unfortunately we were lacking some speed on the reds (alternate Firestones tires) to make it through. Both black runs, we were P1, so that was nice, but obviously the quicker tire, if you're not competitive on those, you're not going to make it through the Firestone Fast Six and challenge for the pole. Unfortunately, we're starting 10th, but we can still play from there and see where it goes."

SCOTT DIXON (No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda): "We had quite a few red flags in the first session today so that was tough to get the car consistent and where we needed it. Once we get the PNC Bank car in the right area, we know it's fast. It's just about finding that correct balance. We're still working on the car. We're trying to get the grip we need. We just missed in qualifying and hopefully we're not looking at too much rain for the race tomorrow."

ED JONES (No. 10 NTT DATA Chip Ganassi Racing Honda): "I had an off in Turn 5 in the first session and we took new tires after that, but never got a chance to show our speed as we kept hitting traffic. In qualifying we were at a bit of a disadvantage as we had to run two sets of red tires, and the second qualifying group had a red flag which enabled them to save a set. Tires make all the difference in the world here and we did the best we could with what we had in the NTT DATA car. We continue to improve and try different things to get results. I know these things take time and sometimes I get frustrated, but I know we have the tools to win and that's the goal each weekend. "

WILL POWER (No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet): "The pole would have been nice, but I think it's going to be a pretty mixed up day tomorrow. Maybe it will be a little wet, which makes it more straightforward, I guess. But, a good start to the weekend. I've had three front row starts this year. No poles. Been close though."

TONY KANAAN (No. 14 ABC Supply AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet): "Difficult weekend. We've been trying a bunch of different things, but it's not working. And obviously it didn't help my mistake in qualifying. We're struggling here, but we have a whole night to think about it and hopefully we'll come back stronger in the race and see what we can do."  

GRAHAM RAHAL (No. 15 Mi-Jack Honda): "Ultimately it's on me; we just didn't get it done. Something that has been nagging us a little bit this whole weekend is that we're good on old tires, then we go to new ones and we just don't pick up the pace. For sure in Turn 2, I went in and got real loose on entry and then it locked the inside front somehow, so I was way, way, way offline and that probably cost me a couple of tenths. And then the same thing happened in Turn 9, it didn't rotate and just pushed straight off. I left at least two-and-a-half to three-tenths (of a second) on the table and you just can't do that in qualifying these days. Ultimately, it's on me to get the job done. I think we only needed a tenth-and-a-half (of a second) to advance and just didn't get the job done. That's how it is in the Verizon IndyCar Series today. You miss by a little bit and you pay the price. Tomorrow is going to be a wet race. We'll just have to try to outrace these guys, make no mistakes and see how it turns out."

SEBASTIEN BOURDAIS (No. 18 Team SealMaster Honda): "It was almost perfect. I got every little bit of it I had and the SealMaster Honda No. 18 was good but obviously not quite good enough - just a tenth off. It's just super, super tight. Those guys always seem to be able to step it up in the Firestone Fast Six. I essentially matched Group 2, but I couldn't dial out the last little bit of understeer. It is what it is but I'm pretty happy with that. I think you can win from anywhere if it rains and we get going. I think it will be pretty exciting. Starting from the front always helps, spray and all, so hopefully we can just get a clear run and get some good points. We've been leaving a lot on the table for one reason or another on the last two races, showing a lot of pace. So, hopefully tomorrow we can get back to some strong scorings."

ZACHARY CLAMAN DE MELO (No. 19 Paysafe Honda): "On the bright side, it was our best qualifying result this year, but it's frustrating because the No. 19 Paysafe car was really good and I think we had the potential to make it to the second round. We were faster than some guys on Firestone reds (alternate tires) with our black (Firestone primary) tires. It's unfortunate that we didn't get a chance to go out on the reds in the final minutes of the session because of the red flag cutting it short, but I think we'll be fine for the race."

JORDAN KING (No. 20 Ed Carpenter Racing Fuzzy's Vodka Chevrolet): "I feel like we had the potential to be in the top 10 and challenge to get through to the Firestone Fast Six. It's a bit annoying in that sense, but the circuit changed a lot, so the car was quite a bit different. It was difficult to get the lap time out of the car this afternoon, when this morning we seemed to show good promise. I am quite disappointed for obvious reasons, but it's just one of those things."

SPENCER PIGOT (No. 21 Ed Carpenter Racing Fuzzy's Vodka Chevrolet): "Qualifying was pretty disappointing based on how everything went yesterday. The car just didn't feel quite the same today. I'm not sure if it's the rubber that's been laid down or the heat, but both Jordan (King) and I struggled this afternoon. This is something that we really need to work on and sort out for future sessions. It's frustrating to be second one day and near the back the next, but we've got such a good group of guys here and the Fuzzy's Vodka team working really hard. We'll see what tomorrow brings, it might be a crazy race with the weather coming."

SIMON PAGENAUD (No. 22 Menards Team Penske Chevrolet): "Well, I've got to tell you it's frustrating qualifying. Sometimes I can throw a lap down and do a good lap, but sometimes I really struggle. The car is very much on the edge. I've got to take a look at what my teammates do because they are obviously really fast. The cars are good. The cars have been fast, it's just I'm struggling with consistency, finding what I need from the car. It's funny, last week in Long Beach the car was beautiful, really easy for me to drive, here is a different story. So, we just have to understand what I need from it better and go from there. Disappointing, but in the meantime, happy to see the teammates up there."

CHARLIE KIMBALL (No. 23 Tresiba Chevrolet): "It's a little frustrating not to make the top 12, but honestly, the progress we've made since St. Pete and even in Long Beach just on qualifying is nothing to scoff at. I'm really proud of this team - they keep making progress. I think we have a solid baseline to go off of moving forward. Now we just need to optimize for each race track and figure out to how to get into the top 12 and ultimately into the Firestone Fast Six."

ZACH VEACH (No. 26 Group One Thousand One Honda): "Qualifying felt a little like being inside a washing machine. This is one of the toughest days I've ever had mentally in a race car. I'm just so thankful. I think we had the speed to get into the top 12 today, I know we got a little luck with (Tony) Kanaan bringing out the red (flag). It's just good to get that monkey off the back. We left Long Beach saying we wanted to qualify a little better, and we did just that. Hopefully tomorrow when I come back a little more rested, we can make our way further up in the field. There's so much more I want to develop. My end goal is miles away from where I'm at right now. I have to say, I did enjoy that last run in qualifying. You've got someone like (Scott) Dixon in front of you, and he's not pulling you that bad, or you're running with (Sebastien) Bourdais... it's cool to be around that atmosphere. Once you get inside the top 10 in the Verizon IndyCar Series, it's pretty rarified air. I'm just so thankful and I'm going to keep working. I wasn't happy until I was winning races in Indy Lights and I'm going to feel the same in the Verizon IndyCar Series."

ALEXANDER ROSSI (No. 27 Kerauno / MilitaryToMotorsports.com Honda, Verizon IndyCar Series points leader): "We've been on the outside of the five, bottom of the top six, all weekend so we tried to be aggressive with it to see if we could get through. We missed it by a bit. We didn't get a lap together, quite honestly. I know the car had enough performance capability to transfer, but I just didn't put it together. I think it would've been fifth or sixth, so it's not like we are too far off in eighth. Things will get interesting tomorrow with the weather, and we'll fight to get the Kerauno / Military to Motorsports car to the podium."

RYAN HUNTER-REAY (No. 28 DHL Honda): "It's really been tough today to stay on top of the track conditions - they've been changing a lot. It feels more like an oval out there where the wind changes just a little bit and you have to adjust your driving style to it. It's a lot of fun adjusting to that. We kind of got burnt there a little bit. Group 2 had a red (flag) that allowed them to save a new set of red tires to use at the end in the Firestone Fast Six. We got out-qualified by two guys that were on new red tires - but hats off to (Josef) Newgarden, he did it on used tires. I think we got about everything we could have out of the No. 28 DHL Honda. Big props to the team for giving me what I needed today, we kept making the car better and better and hopefully we can do that for the race. It's going to be interesting, it's going to be wet tomorrow. Hopefully we can get this thing in and have an exciting rain race."

TAKUMA SATO (No. 30 Mi-Jack / Panasonic Honda): "I think we made some good progress since the last practice, but it seems like everybody made some gains as it was a quite competitive qualifying. We got only the first run in, the warm up run and just needed to be a little quicker, but the session was stopped by a red flag. No one knows how it will be in the wet. No one has run a wet setup or run the wet tire.  Only a few cars ran a wet tire in the Barber test.  We didn't so we will see how it is in the race."

RENE BINDER (No. 32 Binderholz tiptop timber Chevrolet): "Qualifying was short. Only one run. We basically had only one lap on the red (Firestone alternate) tires, so that was difficult for me. I think there was still more in the car, I would say one second more. I took the first lap conservative because yesterday I crashed on the reds. I think there was a lot more in it, so I am looking forward to getting back in the Binderholz Chevrolet tomorrow."

MAX CHILTON (No. 59 Gallagher Chevrolet): We're 100 percent making progress. The gap in that session to pole was half a second, which is the closest it's been all weekend. We're catching up, but it's just a little frustrating that we went red and it didn't pay off for us. It's difficult around here, because it's so close that you have to really perfect your lap, and unfortunately, I made a slight mistake at Turn 13. Barber is one of those tracks where you really have to push to get a good lap and I think I just slightly overdid it.  Regardless, today's qualifying efforts from myself and Charlie (Kimball) are the best Carlin Verizon IndyCar Series results so far this season, so that's something we can build on."

GABBY CHAVES (No. 88 Harding Group Chevrolet): "We made a great step overnight to prepare for today, but we just had some bad luck in qualifying. We were unable to get the lap in that we needed to because of the traffic and the ill-timed red flag. I think we've made the right steps to improve, the silver lining is that we go racing tomorrow."

MARCO ANDRETTI (No. 98 Kerauno / Curb Honda): "The Kerauno boys did a great job rebounding from practice. I think we can win this race from seventh, especially if it's wet. This was the first qualifying session that nothing drastic happened for us; it was the first normal session of the year. I think we wouldn't have qualified out of the top 10 all year, pace-wise, and I think we've shown that in the races. We're a little closer to the front and that's good - we need to stay here. I expect to be here, even if a lot of people don't (expect it), I do."

Quotes from IndyCar Media Service and photo from David Turner Collection

Monday 16 April 2018

Is Rossi the Man to beat in 2018?

Rossi caps dominant Long Beach weekend with impressive victory.


                                                            Rossi at Indy 2016

Sunday April 15th and the 2018 IndyCar Season is very much in full flight 
Back to back weekends of racing from the short oval of Phoenix to the Streets of Long beach and then this weekend the road course at Barber thats going to test the teams before the magic month of May. Just briefly speaking of that and the very good chance of a Bump Day with an expected 35 or more entries makes for a great time ahead at the Brickyard thats for sure.
Alexander Rossi sought redemption for the one he felt got away a year ago at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. The Andretti Autosport driver made up for it in dominant fashion, completing a nearly flawless weekend with a flawless drive to win today's race.
Driving the No. 27 NAPA AUTO PARTS Honda, Rossi led all but 14 of the 85 laps on the renowned 1.986-mile, 11-turn temporary street course that's hosted Indy car races for the last 35 years. The 26-year-old Californian crossed the finish line 1.2413 seconds ahead of Will Power at Rossi's "second home race," grabbing the championship lead in the process.
It was the third Verizon IndyCar Series win for Rossi, in his third season, and win No. 58 in the Indy car history of Andretti Autosport. Rossi is the third different driver to win in as many races this season and felt it made amends for last year, when he was running strong in the top three until a mechanical issue ended his race early.
"I can't really put into words how good the car was all weekend," Rossi said. "I think we proved that and I'm just so glad we were able to capitalise and nothing crazy happened.
"This one I'll definitely remember for a very long time for a lot of different reasons."
Rossi led three of the four practice sessions over the weekend and claimed the Verizon P1 Award in qualifying on Saturday. In the race, he zoomed to a lead of more than nine seconds by Lap 34 and only surrendered first place during cycles of pit stops as he stuck to a two-stop strategy. Rossi became the first pole sitter to win at Long Beach since Sebastien Bourdais in 2007.
Rossi has totaled 126 points in the first three races, 22 more than second-place Josef Newgarden, the reigning series champion who won the April 7 race at ISM Raceway and finished seventh today in the No. 1 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet.
"This one, even though it's not my true home race, it really feels like one," said Rossi, whose Nevada City, California, home is closer to Sonoma Raceway, site of the season finale. "The crowds here and just the whole atmosphere is so welcoming and inviting that it's no surprise that this race has been on the calendar for so long. It's a pleasure to be able to come here and race, first of all, and to be able to win here is pretty special."
Power started and finished second in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet, leading six laps. It was the 63rd career podium finish for the 37-year-old Australian, ranking him 16th on the all-time Indy car list.
"That was absolutely driving just as hard as I could go," Power said, "and I am sure he was driving as hard as he could go. I am sure he was using push-to-pass and the Hondas are just a little bit better out of the hairpin. On the restarts, I couldn't get close. I think we had better top-end (speed) but their drive out of the hairpins was really good."
Ed Jones of Chip Ganassi Racing finished a solid third in the No. 10 NTT DATA Honda, tying the career best that the second-year driver from Dubai accomplished at last year's Indianapolis 500. 
"It was tough out there today," Jones said. "We had been struggling with the NTT DATA car on cold tires. Once we got heat in the tires, it was better. I'm really pleased with the result, though. It's just my third race with the team and I was able to equal my best result in the Verizon IndyCar Series."
Rookie Zach Veach placed a career-best fourth in the No. 26 Group One Thousand One Honda. Coupled with Rossi's win and Marco Andretti's charge from 20th on the starting grid to place sixth, it gave Andretti Autosport three of the first six finishers.
Graham Rahal, in the No. 15 Total Honda for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, overcame a drive-through penalty for running into the back of Simon Pagenaud in Turn 1 on the opening lap to place fifth. Rahal sits third in the championship, 33 points behind Rossi, making for an all-American top three in the standings.
The race in front of a large and enthusiastic crowd in the Southern California port city was slowed by four full-course cautions. The last came on Lap 72 when Ed Carpenter Racing rookie Jordan King ran into the back of Dale Coyne Racing with Vasser-Sullivan's Bourdais, winner of the season opener at St. Petersburg, Florida, in the Turn 11 hairpin.
Following a restart, Rossi kept Power at bay over the final 10 laps despite being at a disadvantage in push-to-pass time, which allows drivers to activate a boost of turbocharger pressure for additional horsepower.
"I needed to get close enough to him to make him use his," Power said, "but I just stayed at that one-second gap, just kind of couldn't make time on him enough to use (Rossi's push-to-pass) up. But yeah, it was like qualifying every lap for both of us there at the end. At the end of the day, Rossi was just too fast all day."
The Verizon IndyCar Series returns to action again this Sunday April 22nd with the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama at the scenic Barber Motorsports Park road course in Birmingham, Alabama.  Then al, eyes focus on the big month of May at the Speedway.


                                  Scenes from 2017 at Indy will we see them again this May

Media quotes from IndyCar Media and Photos from David Turner Collection