By Mike Harris | Senior Writer
RacinToday.com
INDIANAPOLIS – There was a time when Helio Castroneves thought the Indianapolis Motor Speedway was an easy place to figure out.
The colorful Brazilian driver came to Indy for the first time in 2001 and surprised everyone, including himself, by winning the race.
A year later, he returned to Victory Lane, the [...]

By John Sturbin | Senior Writer
RacinToday.com
Pre-race story lines for the Sunday’s 97th running of the Indianapolis 500 fittingly will be dominated by the possibility of either IZOD IndyCar Series superstars Helio Castroneves or Dario Franchitti becoming the event’s fourth four-time winner.
Both popular drivers are bidding to join A.J. Foyt Jr., Al Unser and Rick Mears [...]

Ed Carpenter, the lone team owner/driver in the IZOD IndyCar Series recorded a blistering four-lap average speed of 228.762 mph (best lap of 229.347 mph; 39.2418 seconds) in the No. 20 Fuzzy’s Ultra Premium Vodka car to win the pole for the 2013 Indianapolis 500.
The one-car team bested the best of Team Penske and Andretti [...]

By John Sturbin | Senior Writer
RacinToday.com
E.J. Viso flirted with the magic 230 mph barrier during “Fast Friday” practice at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, further stamping any-and-all of Andretti Autosport’s Chevrolet-powered roster as the drivers to beat during Saturday’s Pole Day qualifications for the 97th Indianapolis 500.
Viso recorded a lap of 39.2093-seconds at 229.537 mph in the [...]

By John Sturbin | Senior Writer
RacinToday.com
Rookie Carlos Munoz’s comfort level at Indianapolis Motor Speedway increased by 2.14 mph Thursday, when the Andretti Autosport driver re-emerged atop the speed chart heading into “Fast Friday” at the 2.5-mile oval.
Munoz, the Firestone Indy Lights point-leader, recorded the fastest lap of the Month of May at 225.163 mph (39.9711-seconds) [...]

RacinToday.com
Three-time/reigning Indianapolis 500 winner Dario Franchitti put Honda’s turbocharged V6 atop the speed chart for the first time during the Month of May Wednesday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, as teams continued preparations for the 97th Indianapolis 500.
Franchitti recorded the fastest lap of the day at 224.235 mph (40.1363-seconds) with 27 minutes left in the six-hour [...]

By John Sturbin | Senior Writer
RacinToday.com
Ambient temperatures that inched into the 80s Tuesday were a welcomed respite for IZOD IndyCar Series teams testing at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. But the results at the top of the time sheet remained the same as Andretti Autosport continued to dominate preparations for the 97th Indianapolis 500 on May [...]

By John Sturbin | Senior Writer
RacinToday.com
Native son Ed Carpenter topped the speed chart on Opening Day at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where his second-year IZOD IndyCar Series team is looking to bolster its history in the 97th running of the Indianapolis 500 on May 26.
Carpenter, winner of the most recent IndyCar Series race on a superspeedway, [...]

By John Sturbin | Senior Writer
RacinToday.com
Kurt Busch completed the Indianapolis 500 Rookie Orientation Program during a test Thursday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where the 2004 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion reached a top speed of 218.210 mph in a car without fenders.
“Pinch me, I am like a kid in a candy store,” Busch said after [...]

Three-time winners Dario Franchitti and Helio Castroneves and four IZOD IndyCar Series champions are among drivers named to 33 entries filed for the 97th running of the Indianapolis 500, scheduled for Sunday, May 26, at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Franchitti and Scott Dixon of Target Chip Ganassi Racing and Castroneves of Team Penske are former winners assigned [...]