Jalopnik: Indianapolis 500

Lotus to run former F1 star Jean Alesi in 2012 Indy 500

Justin Hyde — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 10:00:00 EDT

Among the smarter moves made by the nü-wave crew at Lotus has been hiring former Formula 1 star Jean Alesi as a brand ambassador/Jeremy Clarkson ballhandler. Today, Lotus announced it was giving Alesi another job: Running the Indianapolis 500. More »

The toughest driver at Indy is a woman, and she's not Danica Patrick

Justin Hyde — Tue, 24 May 2011 12:30:00 EDT

The most popular racer in this year Indianapolis 500 is a 22-year-old Swiss woman who managed to qualify despite second-degree burns on her hands. Here's how Simona De Silvestro is earning her new nickname: "The Swiss Missile." More »

Giant check takes final slot in Indy 500

Justin Hyde — Tue, 24 May 2011 12:00:00 EDT

Last weekend, racer Bruno Junqueira qualified for the Indianapolis 500 in 19th for A.J. Foyt's team. Yesterday, he sent a single tweet: "I got bump." His replacement? A large check from Michael Andretti's team. More »

Indy driver Simona de Silvestro suffers burns in fiery crash

Justin Hyde — Fri, 20 May 2011 10:00:00 EDT

Swiss driver Simona de Silvestro hopes to return to practicing for the Indianapolis 500 as early as today after a crash during practice Thursday sent her car airborne and left her with second-degree burns. More »

Indy 500 drivers spend their rain day planking

Justin Hyde — Wed, 18 May 2011 16:50:00 EDT

It's been a rainy year in Indianapolis, and with not much to do around Gasoline Alley today but pray for a Texas drought, the racing hopefuls for this year's Indianapolis 500 practiced their planking skills. More »

Donald Trump replaced by 76-year-old as Indy 500 pace car driver

Justin Hyde — Fri, 06 May 2011 11:45:00 EDT

Four-time Indianapolis 500 winner A.J. Foyt will replace four-time bankruptcy court visitor Donald Trump as driver of the Indy 500 pace car during its 100th anniversary later this month. Can we get him to wear the hair helmet? More »

Trump says he won't bow out of Indy 500

Ray Wert — Thu, 05 May 2011 11:40:00 EDT

A spokesperson for Donald Trump, in response to the movement to replace him as pace car driver for the Indy 500, said "there are no plans to bow out over this politically-motivated movement." More »

Why Donald Trump should still pace the Indy 500

Justin Hyde — Wed, 04 May 2011 10:30:00 EDT

Last month, the Indianapolis 500 announced Donald Trump would drive the pace car during its 100th anniversary later this month. Now several groups are advocating Trump should get bumped thanks to his political attacks. Here's why he still should drive. More »

Longtime Indianapolis 500 announcer Tom Carnegie dies at 91

Tom Joslin — Sat, 12 Feb 2011 09:00:00 EST

For over 60 years, Tom Carnegie was the voice of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Seen here giving a post race interview, it was Carnegie's booming voice that announced every Indianapolis 500 race from 1946-2006. More »

Dario Franchitti Drives Jim Clark's Lotus At Indy

Justin Hyde — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 09:00:00 EST

To mark next May's 100th running of the Indianapolis 500, Road & Track arranged for past winners to take laps at the Brickyard in some historic machinery. Here's Dario Franchitti unleashing the 1965 Lotus of Jim Clark: More »

Chevy Returns To IndyCar Racing In 2012

Justin Hyde — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 14:30:00 EST

Chevrolet will return to IndyCar racing in 2012 with a twin-turbo V6 to take on Honda, according to the AutoExtremist. It's the first time Chevy's raced in the Indianapolis 500 since 2005 when it offered old-fashioned V8s. More »

Indy 500 Movie May Begin Filming This Year

Sam Smith — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 15:30:00 EDT

A movie about the first Indianapolis 500, written by the man behind Hoosiers and Rudy, might begin filming this year in Indiana. Will it suck? Just pray for no Stallone. [Indy Star via Hemmings] More »

A Brief History Of The Jet-Powered Car

Mattijs Diepraam — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 12:30:00 EDT

For a short period of time in the last century, turbine-driven cars were all the rage. Manufacturers hawked them, race engineers played with them, and the public drooled over them. 8W takes a glimpse into our kerosene-fueled past. —Ed. More »

This Is The Worst Where's Waldo Contest Ever

Sam Smith — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 13:30:00 EDT

Where's Waldo Contest Ever" alt="Click here to read This Is The Worst Where's Waldo Contest Ever" src="http://cache.jalopnik.com/assets/images/12/2010/07/find_alex_tagliani.jpg"/>

Where's ~~Waldo~~ IndyCar driver Alex Tagliani? Ha! I win! He's right there! Wait, what? I don't win? How could I not win? Fail, people. A-Tag would not approve. [FailBlog] More »

Aging Paint, Timeless Whoosh

Sam Smith — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 08:30:00 EDT

The dash of the ex-Emerson Fittipaldi, Pratt-and-Whitney-engined 1971 Lotus 56B turbine Indy car at last weekend's Goodwood Festival of Speed. Tachometers with percentage rings = 100 percent win. Photo Credit: F1Fanatic More »

Mike Conway Survives Insane Indy 500 Crash

Matt Hardigree — Sun, 30 May 2010 19:54:00 EDT

The last lap of this year's Indy 500 provided the most excitement when Mike Conway's #24 car collided with an out-of-gas Ryan Hunter-Reay, sending Conway backwards into the catch fence. Here's the terrifying replay. More »

Ten Alternative Indy 500 Pace Cars

Matt Hardigree — Fri, 28 May 2010 11:00:00 EDT

The 2010 Camaro SS will pace this year's Indy 500 in a boring twist for a boring race. To spice things up we asked you to name some better options. Here are our favorite ten alternative Indy 500 pace cars. More »

Is This The 2012 Indy Car?

Sam Smith — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 16:40:00 EST

2010 was originally set to be the last year of competition for the aging Dallara IndyCar chassis. Political turmoil has postponed the changeover, however, and the IRL is currently evaluating its options. This car is part of Swift Engineering's proposal. More »

Former Indy Motor Speedway CEO Tony George Spends $600 Million, Gets Fired By Sisters

Wes Siler — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 18:00:00 EST

Controversial Indianapolis Motor Speedway board member Tony George has been ousted from the track's board, largely composed of his sisters, after spending $600 million over 13 years. That's so much his sisters were worried they'd run out of money. More »

Official 2010 Indy 500 Pace Car Is Yet Again A Camaro SS

Matt Hardigree — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 15:00:00 EST

The Camaro SS will patrol The Brickyard for the 2010 Indianapolis 500 in bright Inferno Orange with white stripes as an homage to the '69 Indy Pace Car. The best feature? A trick light-bar integrated into the rear window. More »

Eight Automotive Myths We Choose To Believe

John Krewson — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 16:30:00 EDT

Sometimes traditional beliefs run contrary to the facts. Most times it's beneficial to examine those beliefs and adjust to a new way of thinking. But sometimes ideas attain the status of myth for very good reasons. Here's eight of those. More »

Panoz Batmobile: Proof Front-Engined Race Cars Don't Suck

Peter Orosz — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 11:00:00 EDT

Front-engined cars have been absent from the highest echelons of racing since the early 1960s. But in 1997, Don Panoz took a car to Le Mans ready to rattle the mid-engined establishment. It was called the Batmobile. More »

Helio Castroneves Cries Victorious Tears

Matt Hardigree — Tue, 26 May 2009 13:30:00 EDT

From a rumored affair to actual tax evasion charges, things have been a little rough for Helio Castroneves. Top it off with your third Indy 500 win and things get, well, emotional. More »

Engine Of The Day: Buick 215 aka Rover V8

Murilee Martin — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 10:30:00 EDT

If you're looking for an engine with way more than its share of weird plot twists in its story, you've come to the right place! More »

Mickey Thompson: The Fast Life And Tragic Death Of A Racing Legend

Murilee Martin — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 18:15:00 EDT

If you're one of those weirdo intellectual gearheads who reads books, we're not going to give you the swirly-and-stolen-lunch-money treatment you probably deserve. No, we're going to indulge your shameful habit! More »

Helio Castroneves Indicted On Tax Evasion; Charges Against More Drivers To Come?

Andrew Stoy — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 10:00:00 EDT

Brazilian race car driver and Dancing With The Stars winner Helio Castroneves is staring down charges he evaded taxes on more than $5 million in income over a four-year period. The 33-year-old two-time Indy 500 winner is expected to turn himself in to authorities today, along with his sister Kati and his lawyer, Alan Miller, both accused of helping Castroneves. Good call on the part of authorities, because although he's got fancy footwork, we kind of doubt the Team Penske driver was the tax code mastermind behind the scheme. Regardless, because of the Alan Miller connection, Castroneves' indictment could have repercussions well beyond those currently accused. More »

Scott Dixon Takes Pole For 2008 Indy 500

Mark Arnold — Sun, 11 May 2008 13:27:47 EDT

[ABC/ESPN] More »

Danica Patrick Runs Into Crewman At Indy, We're Checking To See If That's A First For A Woman

Travis Hudson — Fri, 09 May 2008 18:00:00 EDT

Danica Patrick, the current headline maker of the IndyCar Series has made yet another headline, this time it's not so much of the rah-rah-go-women type. In a practice round for the upcoming Indianapolis 500, she managed to run into Charles Buckman, the chief mechanic for Mario Moraes' Dale Coyne Racing team. Buckman suffered scalp and facial cuts as well as a concussion. We're not going to make stereotypical comments about women drivers, but we can't imagine what is going to happen when the Goodyear ad people find out, they're going to have a field day. [ESPN] (Images via AP; Video via ESPN) More »

Pictures of Entire 1952 Indianapolis 500 Starting Grid Found

Ben Wojdyla — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 10:40:00 EDT

As much as we like open wheel racing and modern car designs, there's something far more awesome about vintage racing cars. This is undoubtedly the opinion of one Jim Rogacki, an engineer from Buffalo, who, while digging around for vintage car parts, managed to run into an amateur Indianapolis 500 historian. After shooting the breeze for a while, Jim convinced the man to let him scan his fantastic collection of photos for all 33 cars in the 1952 starting grid. We swiped a couple, but go take a look at the very neat complete collection and the story behind it over at Jalopy Journal. More »

Wife Busts Tony Kanaan's Balls After Qualifying Behind Danica Patrick

Ben Wojdyla — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 16:40:00 EDT

She's everywhere these days - Danica Patrick is the Valentina Vladimirovna Tereshkova of open wheel racing and everyone wants a piece of the moment. Well, maybe except teammate Tony Kanaan and his wife. A quick item at Automobile relays a phone call from Kanaan's pregnant wife after he qualified third and behind Patrick at the last Mid-Ohio IRL race. When she heard about the result, she had a question for him: More »

Workhorse Engine of the Day: Offenhauser!

Murilee Martin — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 15:30:00 EST

After seeing a bunch of these mighty 4-bangers at Laguna Seca a few months back, we have to agree with commenter Discontinuity that the Offenhauser definitely belongs in this series. Based on a Miller marine engine, the first Offenhauser engine was built in 1933. For the next few decades, the twin-cam/4-valve Offenhauser utterly dominated the Indy 500, and it was still a strong racing competitor well into the 1970s. We're just disappointed that no Detroit automaker ever saw fit to offer an Offy Option on any of their cars. [Wikipedia] More »