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.
Sam vs. Mario at INDYCAR Grand Prix
Race fans at this weekend’s INDYCAR Grand Prix will also have the opportunity to watch six Mazda Road to Indy presented by Cooper Tires support series races. But that’s not all. On Saturday, they can see racing legend Mario Andretti face off against Verizon IndyCar Series team co-owner Sam Schmidt. Both men will drive semi-autonomous cars, which are controlled using a sip-and-puff device, voice commands and infrared cameras as part of Arrow Electronics’ SAM project. (Schmidt, who was paralyzed from the neck down in 2000, might have a slight edge, having hit speeds upwards of 150 mph in a similar vehicle last year.)
Hinchcliffe and Rossi do the Derby
INDYCAR drivers Alexander Rossi and James Hinchcliffe — along with ESPN “Hang Time” host Sam Alipour — “suited up” for some oval-track racing of a different variety: the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs on Saturday. We’ll refrain from comment regarding their sartorial choices, although we applaud their boldness for color.
Power play
At Saturday night’s Rev presented by Fifth Third Bank event at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Team Penske pilot Will Power proved his percussive prowess with local band Chamber Music. He wasn’t the only driver to show off his musical chops. Schmidt Peterson Motorsports driver Mikhail Aleshin joined the band as a guest guitarist.
Pippa on podium
Five-time Indianapolis 500 starter Pippa Mann and teammate Jackie Heinricher podiumed on their debut drive in the Pro-Am class of the IMSA Lamborghini Super Trofeo series at Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas. The duo, fielded by Wayne Taylor Racing, finished in third place despite being new to the series, car and track.
“Looks just like me!”
OYO Sports has recently released several LEGO-style figures of INDYCAR drivers, including this one of Marco Andretti. Also available: Takuma Sato, Ryan Hunter-Reay and Alexander Rossi of Andretti Autosport; Scott Dixon, Tony Kanaan and Charlie Kimball from Chip Ganassi Racing; the entire Team Penske stable (Simon Pagenaud, Josef Newgarden, Helio Castroneves and Will Power); as well as Ed Carpenter, Conor Daly, Graham Rahal and James Hinchcliffe. There’s even an Indianapolis Motor Speedway safety patrol (a/k/a “Yellow Shirt”) figure. (Whistle sold separately.)
“Fernando, let’s talk.”
Indy car veteran Tony Kanaan is worried that Formula One star and Indy 500 rookie Fernando Alonso may not realize quite what’s in store at Indy. “Nobody’s telling him everything else that comes along with the 500,” Kanaan fretted to Dave Furst and Robin Miller on WRTV-6 in Indianapolis. Fortunately for Alonso, Kanaan went on to prepare him for what to expect: the Andretti team party the night before the race, where Alonso will “say hi to 400 sponsors”; the 6 a.m. cannon blast on race morning, which will likely result in Alonso “wak(ing) up pooping your pants”; and the pre-race grid, when “the entire place is actually on the track.” And all that’s before “you’re gonna race 500 miles.”