Getty Images Former Team Penske IndyCar driver Ryan Briscoe took the P2 class win in Saturday’s Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring sports car race in the American Le Mans Series. Briscoe co-drove the winning HPD ARX-03b for Level 5 Motorsports with team principal Scott Tucker and Marino Franchitti, Dario Franchitti’s younger brother.
“We’ve been here since last Friday. We’ve gone through some challenges but everyone has worked so hard,” said Briscoe. “They were up until 3 a.m. working on the cars and then they ran flawlessly. This was a race I wanted to win so bad, and I had issues before and to win with this team that Scott put together is great. The pit stops were absolutely perfect. We didn’t put a wheel off all day. We didn’t want to have an exciting race, we knew we just had to have a good day. It was great working with Marino, and Ryan Hunter-Reay and Simon Pagenaud as teammates.”
Briscoe does not have a full-season ride in the 2013 IndyCar Series. He had raced in ALMS, with a P2 class Porsche RS Spyder, before getting the promotion to Team Penske ahead of 2008 when he replaced Sam Hornish Jr.
The aforementioned Hunter-Reay and Pagenaud co-drove with Tucker in Level 5’s second car.
Audi won the race overall, with Corvette first in the GT class category. NBC Sports Network IndyCar analyst Townsend Bell’s car, a GT class Ferrari 458, was involved in an accident but driver Bill Sweedler walked away without injury.
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This year marks the 50-year anniversary of Parnelli Jones’ win in the 1963 Indianapolis 500. Although he’s 79, ‘ol Rufus doesn’t look or sound anywhere near his actual age. NBC Sports Network reporter and IndyCar insider Robin Miller sits down with Parnelli to chat about his seven 500 starts and his place in Indianapolis, and…
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The entry list for the 90th anniversary 24 Hours of Le Mans was first revealed in February, with a 56-car grid split between four classes: LMP1, LMP2, GTE Pro and GTE Am. On Tuesday, the Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO) put out the latest update, with the driver lineups for each car all but set.…
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Michael Annett cleared to return after injury suffered at Daytona
May 21, 2013, 6:00 PM EDT
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NASCAR Nationwide Series driver Michael Annett has been cleared to return after he broke his sternum in a crash at Daytona International Speedway to open the season. Annett wrote on Twitter, “Pumped to announce I’ll be making my return to the #43 car this weekend at Charlotte. Can’t wait to get back in the seat!!!”…
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Reuters
If Honda can find the race pace and fuel mileage gains similar to what propelled it to victory in last year’s Indianapolis 500, there’s a number of its teams that could pull off a surprise. When you think Honda, you immediately think of Target Chip Ganassi Racing. The other teams in Honda’s stable include two…
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To win the Coca-Cola 600, you have to go through Kasey Kahne. Kahne has threatened to usurp the title of Charlotte Motor Speedway’s master driver from Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson with his performance in the nightcap of Memorial Day Sunday. Johnson has more wins in total at the track (six NASCAR Sprint Cup Series…
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Diffey answers Twitter questions ahead of NBC’s live Monaco coverage
May 21, 2013, 3:00 PM EDT
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As part of our preparation for NBC’s live broadcast of the Monaco Grand Prix (which you also can watch online), this Sunday at 7:30 a.m. ET, Leigh Diffey took to our Formula One on NBC Sports Twitter handle (@F1onNBCSports) to answer fan questions ahead of the race. Monaco kicks off the single greatest racing day…
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Over Indianapolis qualifying weekend, Michael Pena, star of DreamWorks Animation’s new film “Turbo,” was named as honorary starter of this Sunday’s 97th running of the Indianapolis 500. In “Turbo,” Pena portrays Tito, an entrepreneur who enters a super-fast snail in the Indy 500. The film races into theaters everywhere July 17. From DreamWorks Animation, and…
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Helio Castroneves wants a Stingray in his driveway (VIDEO)
May 21, 2013, 1:00 PM EDT
AP
As you’d expect, there are many perks that go with winning the Indianapolis 500 such as the traditional wreath, the glass of milk, and having your name and face added to the Borg-Warner Trophy. But there’s also another longstanding prize for the victor. Since the 1930s, it has been a tradition to award the winner…
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Three new sponsors have joined the fold for the Indianapolis 500 in the past few days. On Monday, Angie’s List, an Indianapolis-based connection service provider, confirmed it would partner with Katherine Legge’s effort in the No. 81 Schmidt Peterson Pelfrey Motorsports Honda. Legge made the race after her deal came together on Pole Day Saturday.…
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McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh said it was crucial for the team to agree a new engine deal with a car manufacturer. The team announced last week it will reunite with former engine supplier Honda in 2015. “McLaren needs to be supported and teamed in a full works effort with a major automotive manufacturer,” said…
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BMW says there is no substance to comments made by Bernie Ecclestone suggesting they could be about to return to Formula One. “I think they could come in… it makes sense for them to return,” said Ecclestone yesterday. But BMW motorsport director Jens Marquardt told Autosport: “I don’t know with whom Bernie spoke.” He said…
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Bernie Ecclestone says the Williams team are still blocking efforts to allow Formula One teams to use old chassis from other manufacturers. Williams sees the introduction of so-called “customer cars” as a threat to them as they could be beaten to a larger share of the prize money by other teams using year-old chassis from…
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The Monaco Grand Prix has traditionally been a “one-stop” race but Pirelli expect drivers will have to make more than one visit to the pits on Sunday. Pirelli motorsport director Paul Hembery said “strategy will become even more important than usual” at Monaco because of the difficulty of overtaking on the narrow, two-mile track. All…
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Charlie Kimball has the potential to surprise at this year’s Indy 500
May 20, 2013, 6:00 PM EDT
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The Indianapolis 500 is so much more than just a race for the IndyCar community and the state of Indiana at large. According to Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing’s Charlie Kimball, the month of May is its own season. “There’s winter, spring, May, fall, and Colts season,” Kimball said Monday in Milwaukee for Indy 500…
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Indianapolis 500 polesitter Ed Carpenter is better than you think
May 20, 2013, 4:00 PM EDT
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Throughout his career, Ed Carpenter probably has been derided more than any other male driver in IndyCar racing. And that’s a damn shame. Carpenter’s a throwback in the modern IndyCar series. He’s a pure bred oval racer, born and raised on the dirt tracks of Indianapolis. A true Hoosier, he’s a Butler graduate with a…
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The weekend roundup: In other news beyond F1, Indy, NASCAR
May 20, 2013, 3:00 PM EDT
This weekend may have been the busiest for series not called Formula One, IndyCar and NASCAR. F1 and the two domestic North American sports car championships, GRAND-AM and the American Le Mans Series, were all off. But here’s what else was going on around the motorsports world this weekend: The Australian V8 Supercars made their…
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It’s been six years since an American has claimed victory at the Indianapolis 500. Back in 2006, Team Penske’s Sam Hornish Jr. beat Marco Andretti to the checkered flag by .0635 of a second in the second-closest finish in Indy history. Since then, two Brits (Dario Franchitti – 2007, 2010, 2012; the late Dan Wheldon…
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AP
It’s hard not to feel for Michel Jourdain Jr. this Monday. Jourdain was the only driver who failed to qualify for this year’s Indianapolis 500, as he battled an ill-handling car all week for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. Jourdain is one of the nicest, most genuine people in the IndyCar community, and he has been…
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Bernie Ecclestone believes BMW could make a return to F1 in the near future as Honda are doing. Ecclestone told City AM newspaper he would be “surprised” if BMW did not revive their Formula One effort. “I think they could come in,” he added. “The amount of money they spent was not significant in the…
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Pastor Maldonado has high hopes about his return to Monaco for this weekend’s grand prix. Maldonado has a strong record on the demanding Monte-Carlo street track from his junior career. He has not scored there in his two previous F1 visits, though he came close in 2011 before a controversial collision with Lewis Hamilton. “I…
