APRIL 15, 2015

(Photo by Chris Owens/INDYCAR)
James Hinchcliffe (No. 5 Schmidt Peterson Arrow/Lucas Oil Honda) employed a 1-stop pit strategy to win the lackluster Verizon IndyCar Series Indy Grand Prix of Louisiana at NOLA Motorsports Park. The inaugural event was decimated by heavy rain the entire weekend, with the race on the 2.74-mile road course outside New Orleans cut short after 47 laps due to the 1-hour, 45-minute time limit.

(Photo by Bret Kelley/INDYCAR)
Helio Castroneves (No. 3 Team Penske Hitachi Chevrolet) finished second in the Indy Grand Prix of Louisiana at NOLA Motorsports Park. "The Hitachi car was solid, but sometimes you'd rather be lucky than good and today we were lucky," Castroneves said. "Second place feels like a win right now."

(Photo by Joe Skibinski/INDYCAR)
James Jakes (No. 7 Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Honda) finished third. Simona de Silvestro (No. 25 Andretti Autosport Honda) placed fourth to equal the second-best finish of her Indy car career.

(Photo by Alan Marler/HHP for GM/Chevrolet Racing)
Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Lowe’s Pro Services Chevrolet SS) celebrates after winning the Duck Commander 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas, on Saturday night. Johnson is now second in the NSCS standings. Kevin Harvick (No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Budweiser/Jimmy John's Chevrolet SS) finished second and Dale Earnhardt Jr. (No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Nationwide Chevrolet SS) was third. Watch a NASCAR wrap-up video here.

(FIA World Rallycross Championship presented by Monster Energy)
PG Andersson and Topi Heikkinen with the Volkswagen Polo (Team Sweden) at the media launch for the 2015 FIA World Rallycross Championship presented by Monster Energy. The event was held at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on April 13. Eight permanent World Championship teams – SDRX, Marklund Motorsport, Ford Olsbergs MSE, Team Peugeot-Hansen, Volkswagen Team Sweden, EKS, ALL-INKL.COM Muennich Motorsport and World RX Team Austria – were present in addition to permanent 2015 drivers, Timur Timerzyanov and Robin Larsson. Britain’s JRM Racing – a new development team in World RX – was also in Barcelona with two of its brand new MINI RX Countryman Supercars plus American drivers, Danny Way and Dave Mirra.

(Chevrolet/newspressUSA)
Chevrolet is selling the first 2015 COPO Camaro racing car - serial number 2015COPO001 - on Saturday, April 18, at the Barrett-Jackson Palm Beach auction, with 100 percent of the winning bid going to Achilles Freedom Team of Wounded Veterans, a non-profit organization that helps disabled athletes, including veterans, gain access to races, equipment and training dedicated to improve their physical abilities. “This sale gives the highest bidder the opportunity to buy the first of only 69 factory-assembled 2015 COPO Camaro race cars, the final year of the fifth-generation Camaro,” said Jim Campbell, U.S. vice president of Performance Vehicles and Motorsports. “Chevrolet is excited to offer this milestone Camaro to help a very worthy organization.” The 2015 COPO Camaro No. 001 is powered by a 350-cu.-in. LSX-based racing engine topped with a Whipple 2.9L supercharger, which is NHRA-rated at 555 horsepower. The engine is backed by a three-speed automatic racing transmission – a powertrain combination good for reaching a quarter mile in the mid-eight seconds. Each COPO Camaro is built by hand starting with production hardware, including the same body in white used for production models. The cars are designed to compete in the NHRA's Stock Eliminator class, so each COPO Camaro race car is fitted with an NHRA-approved roll cage and other safety equipment, along with racing chassis and suspension components – including a unique solid rear axle system in place of a regular-production Camaro’s independent rear axle. The COPO Camaro takes its name and production quota from Central Office Production Order, a process used in the 1960s for fleet managers to order unusual combinations of options. COPO serial number 001 - lot number 3003 - will go across the block at approximately 5 p.m. EDT on Friday, April 18, 2015. Watch live coverage on Velocity Channel.

(BMW USA)
BMW Team RLL will be one of the teams competing in the third race of the United SportsCar Championship (USCC) on April 18th as part of the Long Beach Grand Prix weekend. It's the shortest race of the year at only 100 minutes. In reality, the USCC teams have no business even running on the 1.968-mile, 11-turn temporary street course, as it has all the appeal of running around a shopping mall parking lot and suffers from massive CSS Syndrome (Can't See Shit), but whatever. Corvette Racing won the two opening rounds in the GTLM class (Daytona and Sebring). BMW Team RLL is second in points to Corvette Racing with their BMW Z4 GTLM machines. IMSA has announced Balance of Performance changes for the Long Beach event, with the BMW machines losing ten kilograms of weight, while allowed to race with an additional two liters of fuel. Other competitors in the GTLM class also received adjustments. The Tequila Patrón Sports Car Showcase At Long Beach will get the green flag at 7:05 p.m. ET and run to 8:45 p.m. There will be no live TV broadcast, but you can watch the event live on IMSA.com.  FOX Sports 1 will have a two-hour broadcast recap covering the race on Sunday, from 4-6 p.m. ET.

(RRDC image)
American Honda Motor Co., Inc., is supporting the RRDC Evening with Bobby Unser presented by Firestone by hosting the cocktail reception before the event. It will mark the sixth consecutive year that Honda has offered its support to the Road Racing Drivers Club's West Coast banquet, traditionally held prior to the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. "American Honda is profoundly pleased to support the Road Racing Drivers Club in its salute to racing legend Bobby Unser,” said John Mendel, Executive Vice President, Automobile Division, American Honda Motor Co., Inc. “Bobby's long career included success in a wide variety of racing disciplines, ranging from Indy cars, with three Indianapolis 500 victories among his 35 race wins and two championships, to Pikes Peak, where he amassed an incredible 13 victories. His skills as both a racer and development driver are legendary, and he took on the best in the world to win the International Race of Champions in 1975. He truly is a living legend in our sport." Unser was also the first to average over 180 and 190 mph at the Indy 500, and he tallied 49 IndyCar poles. The dinner's proceeds will help support the RRDC’s young driver initiatives, including its groundbreaking www.SAFEisFAST.com presented by Honda program and the Team USA Scholarship, which the RRDC has backed since 1997. Previous banquets have honored Dan Gurney, Parnelli Jones, Roger Penske, Jim Hall, Brian Redman and Mario Andretti, drawing fans and luminaries from all forms of motorsports. The RRDC Evening with Bobby Unser presented by Firestone will be held on Thursday, April 16, at the Hilton Hotel, 701 West Ocean Blvd, Long Beach, Calif., with cocktails at 6 p.m., and dinner at 7:15 p.m. Tickets are $200 per person in advance (or, space permitting, $225 if purchased after April 10). All are welcome, but space is limited and seats are filling fast. Please contact Jeremy Shaw at rrdc2@cox.net.