Takuma Sato, nicknamed "Taku", is a Japanese professional racing driver. He competes part-time in the IndyCar Series, driving the No. 11 Honda for Chip Ganassi Racing. Sato is a two-time winner of the Indianapolis 500, having won the event in 2017 and 2020. He was the first Asian driver to win the Indianapolis 500, and the twentieth driver to win the race more than once. Before winning the Indianapolis 500, Sato became the first Japanese-born driver to win an IndyCar Series race when he won the 2013 Grand Prix of Long Beach.
The Grand Prix of Long Beach is an IndyCar Series race held on a street circuit in downtown Long Beach, California. Christopher Pook is the founder of the event. It was the premier race on the CART/Champ Car World Series calendar from 1996 to 2008, and the 2008 race was the final Champ Car series race prior to the formal unification and end of the open-wheel "split" between CART and IRL. Since 2009, the race has been part of the unified IndyCar Series. The race is typically held in April. It is one of the longest continuously running events in IndyCar racing and is considered one of the most prestigious events on the circuit.
Ryan Christopher Hunter-Reay is a professional American racing driver best known as a winner of both the Indianapolis 500 (2014) and the IndyCar Series championship in 2012. He currently competes full-time in the IndyCar Series for Ed Carpenter Racing. In each accomplishment, Hunter-Reay became the first American to win since Sam Hornish Jr. in 2006. Hunter-Reay also won in the defunct Champ Car World Series twice and the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. In addition to his experience in Indy car racing, Hunter-Reay has competed in the Race of Champions, A1 Grand Prix, and various forms of sports car racing.
Andretti Autosport, currently rebranding to Andretti Global, is an American motorsports organization with teams competing in the IndyCar Series, Indy NXT, Formula E, Extreme E, and joint entries in IMSA and the Australian Supercars Championship. The team was founded as Forsythe/Green Racing by Gerald Forsythe and Barry Green in 1993, and was known for most of its formative years as Team Green under the control of Green and his brother Kim, competing in the CART Indy Car World Series. 1991 CART champion Michael Andretti purchased a stake in the team in 2002, renaming it to Andretti Green Racing and switching to the Indy Racing League for the 2003 season. From 2009 through 2023, the team was known as Andretti Autosport, with Andretti in full control of the team. Following a restructuring during the 2023 season, the team rebranded to Andretti Global in deference to the teams new parent company, formed in 2022 by Andretti and businessman Dan Towriss to pursue a Formula One entry.
The 2009 IndyCar Series was the 14th season of the IndyCar Series. The 17-race season began on April 5, and its premier event, the 93rd Indianapolis 500 was held May 24. All races were broadcast on ABC or Versus in high-definition. It represented the 98th recognized season of top-level American open wheel racing.
The 2011 IZOD IndyCar Series was the 16th season of the IndyCar Series and the 100th recognized season of American open-wheel motor racing. The season was sanctioned by IndyCar and was part of the Mazda Road to Indy. The season began in March and concluded in October, consisting of seventeen events.
The 2010 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach was the fourth round of the 2010 IndyCar Series season, and took place on April 18, 2010. The race was contested over 85 laps of the 1.968-mile (3.167 km) street course in Long Beach, California, and was telecast by Versus in the United States. The race also marked the 25th consecutive year of Toyota's sponsorship of the Grand Prix of Long Beach, one of the longest-running active sponsorships of a motor race in North America.
The 96th Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, on Sunday May 27, 2012. It was the premier event of the 2012 IZOD IndyCar Series season. For the first time since 1996 all entries featured turbocharged engines, and all entries were brand new model-year chassis, as part of the ICONIC Project. This was the first time since 2003, and only the fourth time since 1985, that all cars were a new model-year chassis.
The 2012 Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg was the first race of the 2012 IndyCar Series season. It was held on March 25, 2012 in St. Petersburg, Florida on the city's temporary street course, and was won by Hélio Castroneves.
The 2013 IZOD IndyCar Series was the 18th season of the IndyCar Series and the 102nd season of American open wheel racing. Its premier event was the 97th Indianapolis 500 held on Sunday, May 26. The 2013 season was the second to feature the Dallara DW12 chassis. Ryan Hunter-Reay entered the season as the defending drivers' champion. Chevrolet entered as the defending Manufacturers' Cup champion.
The 97th Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Sunday May 26, 2013. It was the premier event of the 2013 IZOD IndyCar Series season. Tony Kanaan, a native of Brazil, was victorious on a record-setting day. Kanaan became the fourth Brazilian driver to win the Indianapolis 500 joined by Emerson Fittipaldi, Helio Castroneves, and Gil de Ferran.
The Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg is an IndyCar Series race held in St. Petersburg, Florida. In most years since 2009, the race has served as the season opener. The race is held annually in the spring, with the exception of 2020, when it was postponed until October due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 2013 Indy Grand Prix of Alabama was the second race of the 2013 IndyCar Series season. The race was run on April 7, 2013 in Birmingham, Alabama, United States at Barber Motorsports Park.
The 2013 Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg was the first race of the 2013 IndyCar Series season, with the race taking place on March 24 in St. Petersburg, Florida, on the city's temporary street course. The race was won by James Hinchcliffe, his first ever victory in the IndyCar Series, coming at his 33rd attempt.
The 2013 Milwaukee IndyFest was an IndyCar Series race held on June 15, 2013 at the Milwaukee Mile in West Allis, Wisconsin. The race was the ninth in the 2013 IndyCar Series season, and was won by Ryan Hunter-Reay of Andretti Autosport.
The 2013 Pocono IndyCar 400 fueled by Sunoco, the twentieth running of the event, was an IndyCar Series race held on July 7, 2013, at the Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. The race was the eleventh in the 2013 IndyCar Series season. The event made a return to the IndyCar schedule after a 23-year hiatus. Marco Andretti of Andretti Autosport won the pole position, while Chip Ganassi Racing driver Scott Dixon won the race.
The 2013 Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio, the 35th running of the event, was an IndyCar Series race held at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on August 4, 2013. It was the 14th race in the 2013 IndyCar Series season. The pole position was held by Ryan Hunter-Reay of Andretti Autosport, while Chip Ganassi Racing's Charlie Kimball won the race.
The 2013 GoPro Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma was an IndyCar Series race held on August 25, 2013 at Sonoma Raceway in Sonoma, California. The race was the fifteenth of the 2013 IndyCar Series season, and was won by Will Power of Team Penske.
The 2013 Grand Prix of Baltimore, the third running of the event, was an IndyCar Series race held on September 1, 2013 on the streets of Baltimore, Maryland. The race was the sixteenth of the 2013 IndyCar Series season, and was the final running of the Grand Prix of Baltimore. Scott Dixon started on the pole position, while Simon Pagenaud of Sam Schmidt Motorsports won the race.
The 2017 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach was the second round of the 2017 IndyCar Series and the 43rd annual running of the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. The race was contested over 85 laps on a temporary street circuit in Long Beach, California on April 9, 2017. Hélio Castroneves won the pole, while James Hinchcliffe won the race.
