INDYCAR's "Fast Six" is a report derived from all things found online about Verizon IndyCar Series racing, its drivers and people. We seek and find pics and quips as INDYCAR drivers live their extraordinary lives and put the evidence on Twitter, Instagram and more. Check back regularly when we post the latest.
@alo_oficial, start your engine!
Racing’s social media exploded last week when Formula One champion Fernando Alonso announced plans to enter the 101st Running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by PennGrade Motor Oil as an Andretti Autosport driver with backing from his McLaren F1 team. In celebration of that, we perused his Instagram and found this cool shot of Alonso in Aramis:
We also checked out INDYCAR driver accounts to gauge their reactions. Looks like they’re welcoming Alonso to the world’s greatest oval.
Hinchcliffe racing for first at Tim’s in Indy
Canadian driver James Hinchcliffe is more than a little excited that one of Canada’s most popular coffee and baked goods shop chains is opening a store in his current hometown of Indianapolis. The Schmidt Peterson Motorsports driver went to Twitter to pronounce his joy when the new store’s location was announced.
Doing the ‘double,’ Indy style
Everybody in racing knows that the term “doing the double” refers to drivers who try to run the Indianapolis 500 on the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend, rehydrate and follow that by running NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600 in Charlotte that same night. On May 6, super-fit Chip Ganassi Racing driver Tony Kanaan is planning to run the OneAmerica 500 Festival Mini-Marathon in the morning and then rest up to attend Rev, the 3,000-person charity bash that kicks off the month of May at Indianapolis Motor Speedway that night.
He’s already tweeting about the Mini.
Hoops fans with helmets
You wouldn’t know it at an INDYCAR race, but it’s time for the NBA playoffs and that’s given the drivers another sport to tweet about. No surprise that California native and Ed Carpenter Racing driver JR Hildebrand is cheering for the Golden State Warriors.
Blast from the past
Speaking of the NBA, Mario Andretti reminds us of that time he played Atari’s video game in 1981 with the great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and soccer legend Pele.
Daily dose of cute
For this week’s dose, we give you Andretti Autosport’s Marco Andretti as a mother kangaroo: