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Carlos Munoz runs fastest Indy lap

Friday, May 17th, 2013

5.16.13 (via ESPN) – Rookie Carlos Munoz shot to the top of the speed chart in Indianapolis 500 practice Thursday with a lap at 225.163 mph, the fastest through the first six days of practice.

The Andretti Autosport driver turned the fast lap in the final 10 minutes of practice.

"I think everyone has been impressed with Carlos and his speeds so far," teammate E.J. Viso said.

Defending series champion Ryan Hunter-Reay was second in 225.006.

Munoz and Hunter-Reay joined teammate Marco Andretti (225.100), and Helio Castroneves (225.075) as the only drivers to top the 225 mark.

Three of the top four practice speeds have been recorded by Andretti Autosport drivers.

"I have a great team behind me," Munoz said. "I knew that we were going to be competitive. I really didn't expect to be this comfortable in the car as I am right now."

"Wait until qualifying," Viso interrupted, smiling.

"Yeah, we have to focus on qualifying for sure," Munoz said. "Every team is going to be a whole lot quicker."

Carlos Munoz returns Andretti Autosport to top of Indy 500 practice

Thursday, May 16th, 2013

5.16.13 (via MotorSportsTalk) – After a day where Dario Franchitti interrupted, the Andretti Autosport contingent returned to the top of the timesheets in Thursday’s practice for the Indianapolis 500. Temperatures were cooler than Wednesday, in the 70s (ambient) and 100s (track) throughout the day.

Carlos Munoz, the rookie in the No. 26 Electric Energy Straws Chevrolet, put in the month’s fastest lap of 225.163 on his 60th of 70 laps turned. Ryan Hunter-Reay was second in the No. 1 DHL Chevrolet, at 225.006. Both laps came during the final hour of the day when the track was at its busiest and tows were frequent.

Marco Andretti (Andretti), Scott Dixon (Target Ganassi), Helio Castroneves (Penske) and E.J. Viso (Andretti) made it a “power team” dominated top six on the last day of running before IndyCar increases the boost pressure from 130 kPa to 140 kPA.

Don’t Miss Out! – May 18 – 24, 2013

Thursday, May 16th, 2013

5.16.13 – Want in on the action? This is the place to find where you can see the Andretti Autosport drivers in action OFF the track. Be sure to show us your photos by sending them to our Twitter – @FollowAndretti or Facebook.
(ALL TIMES ARE EASTERN)

TUESDAY, MAY 21

Don Kay Radio Show with Carlos Munoz
McGilvery's Tavern
3009 High School Rd, Speedway
@ 7:30pm

WEDNESDAY, MAY 22

Ryan Hunter-Reay on the SMILEY Radio Show
WZPL 99.5 (Indy)
@ 8:15am

Mazda Road to Indy Autographs
with Garett Grist, Matthew Brabham,
Carlos Munoz, Zach Veach
Plaza Pavilion
@ 11am – 12pm

Q&A with Zach Veach
Coke Zero Stage
@ 12pm

Q&A with Carlos Munoz & Matthew Brabham
Coke Zero Stage
@ 1pm

IndyCar Autographs
with Ryan Hunter-Reay, E.J. Viso, Marco Andretti,
Carlos Munoz, James Hinchcliffe
Plaza Pavilion
@ 4:30 – 5:30pm

THURSDAY, MAY 23

Marco Andretti at MARSH Supermarket
6965 W. 38th St, 46254
@ 5 – 7pm

The Yellow Party
with Ryan Hunter-Reay, E.J. Viso, Marco Andretti,
Carlos Munoz, James Hinchcliffe
Crane Bay, 551 W. Merrill St, Indy
@ 6 – 8pm

Posted in Andretti Autosport, Firestone Indy Lights, IZOD Indycar Series | No Comments »

Hinch and Dr Pepper: A love story

Thursday, May 16th, 2013

5.15.13 (via MotorSportsTalk) – James Hinchcliffe has put aside any notion that he’s just a quirky personality with two wins from the first four races this year in the No. 27 GoDaddy Chevrolet for Andretti Autosport.

Still, that doesn’t mean the colorful Canadian isn’t quick to illuminate a press room with humor describing one of his sponsors.

Before the formal press conference started on Tuesday – Hinchcliffe led the day’s Indianapolis 500 practice thanks to a tow – he had a Dr Pepper in hand to quench the day’s thirst.

What happened next doubled as an impromptu comedic tour de force and devout dedication to this product, one of the team sponsors.

“I just generally love Dr Pepper. No seriously, I actually love this stuff,” said Hinchcliffe. “It’s like the best liquid on the planet. I mean, water’s good and all, but Dr Pepper is like, 23 flavors. You can’t beat that. It’s a fact.

Trackside Update – Practice at IMS

Tuesday, May 14th, 2013

5.14.13 – Day four of open practice for the 97th Running of the Indianapolis 500 showed well for Andretti Autosport, which saw all five of its drivers set a lap in the top eight. James Hinchcliffe was fastest, followed by Marco Andretti third, Ryan Hunter-Reay fifth, E.J. Viso sixth and Carlos Muñoz eighth.

During the afternoon, James and Marco switched rides where the mayor of Hinchtown ran a lap at 224.210mph, and Marco set a fast lap of 221.972 — good for 11th quick. "It's good to be up there," said Hinchcliffe, whose best lap in the No. 27 GoDaddy car was at 221. 781mph, "but at the end of the day, those numbers don't mean a lot right now." Hinch noted that the team still has work to do to make sure the GoDaddy car is strong in race trim.

Just slightly behind the Mayor of Hinchtown on the speed charts was Marco Andretti, who brought his No. 25 RC Cola Chevy up to third fastest on the day with a lap of 223.570mph. “I think today went well," said Andretti after getting out of the car. "I’m quite pleased with how things are going for us so far. Working with the car in the heat of the day can be challenging, but we made a lot of progress to get where we are." Keeping an eye on the weekend, it was evident that a front row starting spot is on his mind. "Everyone is getting faster out there, so I have to stay on my toes to stay ahead of the curve. Everyday I’m excited to get in the car and get to work — Pole Day is coming up and we need to be ready.” During yesterday’s practice, the third-generation driver managed to post the fastest speed of the month thus far after zipping around the 2.5-mile course at 225.100mph.

Rounding out the top five on Tuesday was 2012 IZOD IndyCar Series Champion Ryan Hunter-Reay, who set a fast time of 223.332mph in his No. 1 DHL machine. "It’s certainly getting interesting now with the heat and the wind. Conditions are changing every day so it’s keeping the team on our toes, and we’re just trying a lot of different settings now." The wind picked up on Tuesday to compliment a 15-degree increase in temperature. RHR was pleased with a strong result today, but looks to improve upon that as the week progresses. "We have five cars so we have a lot of options and, I think, as we work through the week we’ll work ourselves into a good car. But it’s a work in progress."

E.J. Viso ran the most laps out of anyone today, making 134 trips around the circuit in his No. 5 Team Venezuela PDVSA CITGO Chevy, and wound up eighth overall with a speed of 223.138mph. "It was a very good, productive day. We went through some tests…in which we found some good answers. Today was a little bit hotter than the other days, and the weather predictions say that race day is going to be even a bit hotter than today. So I think the running that we did today was pretty productive to gather some data." This will be E.J.'s sixth 500, his first with Andretti Autosport. The Venezuelan's best finish at Indianapolis was 18th in last year's event.

Carlos Muñoz continued to show well today for Andretti, posting a fast lap of 223.110mph, eighth fastest overall, and fastest among rookies. "It was another good day of practicing a few different race simulations," said Carlos, "I'm feeling more and more comfortable with the No. 26 Unistraw Chevy, and I think our team is doing a good job, but we need to take it day-by-day. Each time I go out on-track I'm gaining more confidence, especially on the race runs with my teammates and other drivers." Carlos finished second in last year's Firestone Indy Lights Freedom 100, and has won the last two events at Barber Motorsports Park and on the streets of Long Beach.

Team owner Michael Andretti had nothing but good things to say about the Colombian. "He’s been doing a great job; he’s on pace and one of our quickest cars every day. He’s put in a lot of good miles, and it’s been a lot of good experience." He also is pleased with the team's overall performance after four days, but knows everyone needs to keep looking to improve, "I think they’re going pretty good, but we still have a lot of work to do. I don’t think any of them are exactly where we want them to be, but I’m not sure a lot of people can say that yet, so overall we’re pretty happy."

Pole Day is Saturday, May 18, and the first car will go on track at 11 a.m. NBC Sports Network will broadcast all the action from 11a.m. – 2:30 p.m. ET, and will pick back up from 4:30-6:30p.m. ET. Of course, the 97th Running of the Indianapolis 500 will be Sunday, May 26th, with coverage from ABC starting at 11 a.m. Eastern. As always, you can follow our Twitter feed (@FollowAndretti) for everything Andretti Autosport - from track speeds to behind the scenes stories and photos.

Posted in Andretti Autosport, IZOD Indycar Series | No Comments »

Andretti pops 225mph lap, leads third day on track

Monday, May 13th, 2013

5.13.13 (via IndyCar.com) – Conor Daly passed the three-phase Indianapolis 500 Rookie Orientation Program. Pippa Mann passed a refresher program. Marco Andretti and Helio Castroneves surpassed 225 mph.

On the busiest day of practice yet for the 97th Running of the Indianapolis 500, 32 driver/car combinations co-mingled on the 2.5-mile oval during the six-hour session under sun and temperatures hovering in the low 60s.

It was a grand day to get down to business for some teams and drivers, and for others to get started on their race preparations. The latter included the Dale Coyne Racing entries for Mann, Justin Wilson and Ana Beatriz, Townsend Bell in the second Panther Racing car and Daly in the second A.J. Foyt Racing entry.

Andretti, driving the No. 25 RCA Cola car for Andretti Autosport, posted the quickest lap of the month at 225.100 mph (39.9823 seconds). Castroneves was .0043 of a second behind in the No. 3 Shell V-Power/Pennzoil Ultra Team Penske car.

Eight cars had lap speeds in excess of 223 mph (quick lap of May 12), and the top 26 were separated by a second. In total, 1,733 laps were turned without incident.

Reigning IZOD IndyCar Series champion Ryan Hunter-Reay (224.386 mph) was third, 2012 championship runner-up Will Power (223.784) was fourth and JR Hildebrand (223.624) was fifth. Series points leader Takuma Sato was sixth (223.363).

The warmest day of the month is forecast or May 14, which will entice another busy day of on-track activity (noon-6 p.m. ET).

Munoz Hits 223 MPH On Windy Day 2 At Indy

Monday, May 13th, 2013

5.12.13 (via SPEEDtv.com) – Winds and cool temperatures dominated Sunday's running at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, limiting most teams from completing anything of substance on their long work lists.

After six hours of open practice, which included all five of the Andretti Autosport cars running in a concentrated draft of their own during the final two hours, rookie Carlos Munoz used a monster tow behind four team cars to set the best lap of the day at 223.023 mph.

"It's nice to be at the top," said the 21-year-old Colombian who's leading the Firestone Indy Lights championship. "We have to be realistic; it was in a tow. Maybe I had a little bit better tow than my teammates. I still have to learn a lot. My teammates help me a lot and tell me what [I'm] doing right and what I'm doing wrong."

Munoz also had a scare in the five-car Andretti draft pack when he believed teammate Marco Andretti opened the door entering Turn 1. Munoz's avoiding action, which involved putting his left side tires on the grass, both impressed and scared those who witnessed it.

"I think it was a little bit of misunderstanding," he said with a grin as he recounted his 220 mph off-road trip. "[Andretti] lifted a little bit; the inside was open so I went there. I was a little bit lucky because I was two tires on the grass… I was lucky to continue. Each lap I was feeling more and more comfortable behind the guys."

Venezuela’s E.J. Viso seeks first IndyCar win

Sunday, May 12th, 2013

5.10.13 (via Motorsport.com) – There’s focus, and then there’s EJ Viso’s focus. The Venezuelan, who qualified on the front row in second place at the Sao Paulo Indy 300 last week, plans to build his momentum and prepare himself for the Indianapolis 500 after finishing the demanding street track in sixth place. The key to this is focus. And to build momentum.

"My performance this past race in Sao Paulo was superb", the confident driver told Motorsport.com.

The Brazilian race, the closest IndyCar race to his home country, was one of his turning points this season. He started the season at St. Petersburg by advancing 15 positions from the start to finish seventh in the opener.

Making him even more focused on getting his first victory in the series, Viso's teammates James Hinchcliffe and Ryan Hunter-Reay have each won a race this season. And, teammate Marco Andretti is second in the IZOD IndyCar Series championship standings going into the 500, indicating great performance consistency on his part.

"So far our performances have been amazing, and making it to the front row for the race was great. Finishing sixth was a good result. I just don’t think it was the result we had the potential to achieve", said the Venezuelan.

Fan of the Week – Stephanie Van Tieghem

Saturday, May 11th, 2013

Congratulations to Stephanie Van Tieghem who is this week’s Andretti Autosport Fan of the Week! Stephanie lists IZOD IndyCar Series driver Marco Andretti as her favorite Andretti Autosport driver.

Stephanie grew up around racing in Charlotte, N.C., and took several class field trips to Charlotte Motor Speedway as a kid. She became an IndyCar fan in 2008, when watching her first race on TV. “I was immediately hooked. I fell in love with IndyCar then and haven't looked back,” said Tieghem. “I go to at least one IndyCar race a year.”

Her favorite racing memory was when she made her first appearance at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Carb Day in 2011. The memory of “being in the track and hearing an Indy car for the first time ever in-person still gives me chills.”

This May, Stephanie predicts Marco to bring home the coveted Borg-Warner Trophy at the Indianapolis 500, and like all of us here at Andretti Autosport, she is cheering for one of our drivers to bring home the IZOD IndyCar Series Championship at the end of the season!

The 97th running of the Indianapolis 500 starts today, Saturday May 11^th. Be sure to follow us on Twitter, @FollowAndretti for all things Andretti Autosport during the month of May!

Thank you to everyone who submitted a form to become the Andretti Autosport Fan of the Week. Please check back next week as we select another winner!

As always, thanks for your amazing support.

Posted in Andretti Autosport | No Comments »

Brabham Keeps the Family Tradition Running

Friday, May 10th, 2013

5.9.13 (via INDYCAR Nation) – Matthew Brabham, or, as he’s often referred to, “Matty Brabs”, has a pretty interesting racing family tree. His father, Geoff Brabham, is a Le Mans and International Race of Champions winner who also made 10 Indy 500 starts. His uncle David has likewise won Le Mans, and his uncle Gary also raced extensively in open wheel and sports cars. His grandfather, Sir Jack Brabham, is a three-time Formula One champion, a key catalyst in the rear-engine revolution at Indianapolis, and an all-around racing legend.

That might sound like a pretty big legacy to live up to, but so far, Matthew is doing plenty to keep that excellent racing tradition alive. He won the USF2000 Championship as a rookie in 2012, and signed with Andretti Autosport for the 2013 Pro Mazda Series season. He’s won three of four races so far this year, and seems poised to continue his speedy climb up the Mazda Road to Indy.

Brabham called into INDYCAR Nation from Mid-Ohio Sports Car course, where he’s currently testing as part of his Pro Mazda season. For our Q&A, the 19 year-old racing scion covered his development on Mazda Road to Indy, life in the Andretti Autosport organization, and coming from a famous racing background.

Thanks for making time for INDYCAR Nation, Matt. Congrats on the great start to your Pro Mazda season. Obviously, it’s started off really well, but how’s that transition working from USF2000 to Pro Mazda?

Matthew Brabham: It’s been a quite reasonable transition—the biggest thing is just the change in power, and getting used to it. It’s definitely tough when you first get into it, and the power makes it more fun, but I guess it makes it more challenging as well. I’m sure it’s different for everybody as they transition between different cars, but for me it’s just power. I've been able to get over that hurdle, and obviously it’s been going great so far. I couldn't ask for more—it’s been a fantastic start to the season.