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Fox Sports
12-04-2025
- Automotive
- Fox Sports
Paddock Buzz: Double Duty for Robert Wickens at Long Beach
INDYCAR Robert Wickens is pulling double duty during the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach race weekend. On Friday, Wickens made his GTD debut in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, driving the No. 36 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 for DXDT Racing in practice. Saturday's race is the first of five sprint events Wickens will be competing in, sharing the car with Tommy Milner. Wickens returned to racing in 2022, competing in the Michelin Pilot Challenge for Bryan Herta Autosport in a modified Hyundai Elantra. He uses hand controls after suffering spinal cord injuries in a crash during an NTT INDYCAR SERIES race in 2018 at Pocono Raceway, during his rookie season. Wickens and co-driver Harry Gottsacker won the TCR class title in the series in 2023. With the aid of Bosch developing a new brake-by-wire system, Wickens moved up the ranks this season and will be the only driver on the grid using hand controls in WeatherTech Championship competition. 'Kind of an emotional journey of having my debut on a race weekend that we share with INDYCAR is going special,' Wickens said. Wickens is racing Saturday but also working Sunday because he serves as a technical advisor with Andretti Global in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES. The 50th Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach airs at 4:30 p.m. ET Sunday on FOX, FOX Deportes, FOX Sports app and the INDYCAR Radio Network. 'I'm excited to see him race,' Andretti Global driver Kyle Kirkwood said. 'I'm excited to see him get into the car, run around Long Beach, a place he knows very well and is very quick around.' Kirkwood boasts about Wickens' interaction with the team because he's more than an extra set of eyes. He's a former driver and knows exactly what another driver needs to be fast. 'When you have another driver kind of looking over things and paying attention to what other people are doing, picking out certain things, sharing that with you,' Kirkwood said. 'We are very limited on how much time we have to look over stuff. He's been a huge help in that department. 'He sits inside the engineering truck with us. Mostly, he just goes over data, video, analyzes what other drivers are doing, then kind of gives us a rundown. Even if it's a driver we wouldn't be paying attention to, he's going over that, 'Look at what he's doing in this corner, you should try doing this or this.' 'Because of that, it's taken a lot of pressure off of us to have to self-learn because he's just there to help push us along without having to dig into in-depth.' A documentary is in production about Wickens that has been picked up by Mark Wahlberg's production company, and extensive filming is taking place this weekend at Long Beach, including Wickens' life beyond the cockpit as a technical advisor. McLaughlin, DeFrancesco Mend Fences Racing has a sense of humor. Whenever drivers tend to spat, they seem to be in close proximity to each other at the next race, whether on or off track. The NTT INDYCAR SERIES isn't immune. Scott McLaughlin was upset with Devlin DeFrancesco after a first-lap incident in the March 23 race at The Thermal Club. McLaughlin confronted DeFrancesco after the race in DeFrancesco's pit box, sparking a heated conversation. The two quickly buried the hatchet, with McLaughlin texting DeFrancesco that they should meet and chat once they've calmed down. Each came to Long Beach with no hard feelings. But this weekend, both drivers' pit stalls are located next to each other. By INDYCAR SERIES rule, pit stalls are selected in order from the previous race's qualifying results. Pato O'Ward earned The Thermal Club INDYCAR Grand Prix NTT P1 Award and had the first pick of pit stalls this weekend. McLaughlin qualified 25th at The Thermal Club and DeFrancesco 26th, meaning pit selections were limited. 'It's funny, I went and saw the No. 3 car crew yesterday and they're (DeFranceco's crew) putting their pit together,' McLaughlin said. 'I said, 'Hey, boys, at least I know my neighbors, but at least I'm not yelling and screaming here on Sunday.'' Rahal Feeling Early Momentum Sunday's 90-lap race is Graham Rahal's 18th NTT INDYCAR SERIES start on the 1.968-mile Long Beach street circuit. His runner-up result in 2013 is his best finish, which ties his dad Bobby Rahal (1992 and 1993) and Jimmy Vasser (2002) as Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing's best Long Beach finishes. Last year, Rahal qualified 12th but charged to fifth place by the time he made his second pit stop. Unfortunately, a fueling issue added an additional 12 seconds to the stop, which cost valuable track position. Rahal settled for a 17th-place finish. 'We were in a really good spot until an issue in the pits, but in general Long Beach is a race that we circle every year on the calendar,' Rahal said. 'It's an important race every year, and I'm hopeful we have can a really strong performance.' Rahal is thrilled to flash early-season consistency but ponders if his No. 15 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda could have charged higher into the top 10 in both the March 2 season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg presented by RP Funding and The Thermal Club INDYCAR Grand Prix on March 23. He finished 12th and 11th, respectively and sits 12th in points entering Long Beach. 'A couple of bounces here or there, and we got two top-10 finishes, and those are legitimate bounces,' Rahal said. 'We just need to put our heads down and have a really strong weekend from qualifying, as well as race really strong Sunday. We have a lot of things we conceptually want to try over the weekend, so we're excited.' Unfinished Beach Business for Rosenqvist Felix Rosenqvist earned the first NTT P1 Award at Long Beach for Meyer Shank Racing in last year's Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. The previous best qualifying effort for MSR was third by Helio Castroneves in 2021. Unfortunately, Rosenqvist faded to ninth at the checkered flag, which leaves the Swedish driver with unfinished business. 'Getting pole at Long Beach last year was pretty exciting for myself and the whole team,' Rosenqvist said. 'It's definitely something that we are aiming to do again this year. The MSR cars have a pretty strong street course package. It's a track that suits me well, and I'm hungry for a good finish.' Prior to last year, Rosenqvist finished 10th, 13th, 11th and seventh, respectively, at Long Beach. Driver's Eye Experience Debuts This Weekend Racing Force Group reached an agreement with FOX Sports for the use of the Driver's Eye technology in selected events of the 2025 season, including the 109th Running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge on May 25. Integration of Driver's Eye in NTT INDYCAR SERIES coverage on FOX begins with this weekend's Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. The Driver's Eye developed by Zeronoise, the electronics division of Racing Force, is the world's smallest micro-camera for live broadcasting. The FIA-homologated system is installed inside the helmet to give TV viewers the totally immersive experience of the driver's exact point of view during the race. The micro-camera has a size of only 0.35 by 0.35 inches and a weight of .003 of a pound. MSR Partners with St. Thomas University Meyer Shank Racing and St. Thomas University (STU), a Catholic university in Miami, created a partnership offering hand-on experience to STU students to learn more about the engineering, design and business administration roles of the race team. This weekend, STU Big Data Analytics students will work with MSR's NTT INDYCAR SERIES and IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship engineering staff, interpreting and learning about the team's data analytics and what goes into the engineering side on a race weekend. The culinary students will work to create a race-specific sports drink. Three flavors will be created. JHR Adds Three Sponsors Juncos Hollinger Racing had a busy week of sponsorship news. MannKind Corporation, a company that develops products to help people manage medical conditions such as diabetes, joined JHR and will be featured on the No. 76 Chevrolet driven by diabetic driver Conor Daly. MannKind will also be a primary sponsor at the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix and at World Wide Technology Raceway and will continue to serve as an associate sponsor of Daly throughout the rest of the 2025 NTT INDYCAR SERIES schedule. JHR also added Liquid I.V. to the organization as an official partner for the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach and the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix. Finally, TrueAGI, an artificial general intelligence company, has renewed its technical partnership with the team for the 2025 season. Odds and Ends All 27 cars feature a LA Strong decal this weekend for overall awareness and support of the wildfires that scorched Southern California in early January. Colton Herta and his sponsor Gainbridge teamed with Pasadena Humane to raise awareness for pet adoption and support animals impacted by the Los Angeles wildfires. Fans can purchase a limited-edition dog bandana at with 100 percent of the proceeds going toward Pasadena Humane. Herta is matching the donations, and his No. 26 Gainbridge Honda features paw prints on the top of the sidepods this weekend. Oliver Wheldon, son of two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Dan Wheldon, will race for VRD Racing in the 2025 USF Juniors Presented by Continental Tire Championship with the support of Andretti Global. Wheldon moves up to USF Juniors after a championship-winning 2024 Skip Barber Formula Racing Series championship that earned him a $100,000 scholarship. His brother, Sebastian, won the 2023 title. Oliver had nine wins and 11 podiums. Rahal topped Alex Palou of Chip Ganassi Racing in the final round of the Thunder Thursday Pit Stop Challenge at Long Beach. Spark Compass has become the Official Fan Engagement, CRM, and AI partner of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, deploying its patented AI (Augmented Intelligence), Internet of Things and fan engagement technologies. As part of the Ultimate Small Business INDYCAR Experience Sweepstakes, The Maker Society will have its logo prominently displayed on the No. 10 DHL Honda driven by Alex Palou this weekend at Long Beach. The Maker Society was founded by a group of students from California State University Long Beach as a small club dedicated to 3D printing and design. The club has evolved into a business providing prototype and design services while also creating STEM curriculum and educational tools for students across North America. Saturday will feature practice at 11:30 a.m. ET on FS1 and qualifying to set the lineup for Sunday's Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach at 2:30 p.m. ET on FS2. recommended
Fox Sports
11-04-2025
- Automotive
- Fox Sports
Wickens returns to elite racing with use of hand controls 7 years after he was paralyzed in a crash
Associated Press LONG BEACH, Calif. (AP) — Nearly seven years after he was paralyzed in an IndyCar crash, Robert Wickens will return to elite competition on Saturday when he drives a Corvette in the IMSA sports car race on the downtown streets of Long Beach. Wickens has raced since the crash at Pocono left him paralyzed from the chest down but considers the IMSA event a true completion of his comeback. 'My goal from the outset of this was to get back to the highest levels of motorsport again. I've always seen that (IMSA) is the highest level of sports car racing here in North America,' Wickens said. 'It would be a dream if I could call it a 10-year career here racing against the best drivers in the world and one of the best series in the world.' Wickens will drive for DXDT Racing with teammate and longtime Corvette driver Tommy Milner. The Corvette is equipped with a hand-controlled throttle and braking system developed by Bosch and Pratt Miller. The brake controls mount to the steering wheel but are independent of the steering wheel so that Milner can seamlessly transition from hand controls to pedals when he's the driver. 'The steering wheel that Tommy will be driving or any other teammate that I drive with in this Corvette, it's the exact same steering wheel that they always know. What's great about it is, in theory, it can mount to virtually any steering column as long as you have the right bolt pattern,' Wickens said. 'What we're learning here today can transfer into any race car. And then, hopefully, down the road, what we're developing with the electronic braking system from Bosch, opportunities are endless. Maybe this can evolve into road safety and into everyday road vehicles and accessibility in road vehicles. 'But short term, we need to perfect this system here.' Wickens has most recently been a driver for Bryan Herta Autosport in the Michelin Pilot Challenge, which is a lower division of IMSA and in 2023 he won a class title. He's tested a Formula E car, did a demonstration for Honda in Canada, where he's from, and now will make his debut in IMSA's GT Daytona class. 'Honestly, taking the green flag in Long Beach is going to be an enormous step forward in my career and my journey back to the highest levels,' Wickens said. 'You could say, 'We did it. We're racing against the best cars and the best drivers in the whole sports car industry.'' The car Wickens and Milner are competing in is eligible for the GTD championship. 'I want to win championships for myself, for General Motors, for DXDT,' he said. 'There's still some work to be done. I think you could say it's definitely a massive box to check, probably the biggest box that we could check off so far in my return.' He'd like to race full-time in the series next season. He and Milner are just getting to know each other, as well as the nuances of the car with the system Wickens must use versus how Milner will drive it. 'In Robbie's case he has to do all of his driving with his hands. This system is basically set up so that he can do all that with the steering wheel itself,' Milner said. 'There's a brake ring and there are throttle paddles that take the place of what I would normally use in the pedal box. The system is quite impressive with how it functions and how it works. With just one push of a button, the system switches from the able-bodied driver controls to the hand controls, which obviously is important for sports car racing where we have driver changes. 'Fundamentally, everything happens on the wheel. And it's a system that took me initially a little while to sort of understand in my own brain, how it is supposed to work, how to find lap time out of it and things like that.' Milner has also been inspired by Wickens' journey since his life-changing crash in his rookie season of IndyCar racing. Aside from working with developers to create the technology needed to get him back to racing, he also works for Andretti Global as a driver coach in a multifaceted role in which he studies data analysis, driver guidance, and offers direct support at races. 'For him to go through what he went through and with his drive and determination to get back in a race car again and be competitive and win races, that's something that can be an inspiration for anybody,' Milner said. 'Anybody who's gone through some sort of hardship like he has, it's what you make of your life and that situation. You can tell that it does change parts of his life. But the one thing that he doesn't want it to change realistically is him driving race cars and driving them as fast as he does.' ___ AP auto racing: recommended in this topic
Washington Post
11-04-2025
- Automotive
- Washington Post
Wickens returns to elite racing with use of hand controls 7 years after he was paralyzed in a crash
LONG BEACH, Calif. — Nearly seven years after he was paralyzed in an IndyCar crash, Robert Wickens will return to elite competition on Saturday when he drives a Corvette in the IMSA sports car race on the downtown streets of Long Beach. Wickens has raced since the crash at Pocono left him paralyzed from the chest down but considers the IMSA event a true completion of his comeback. 'My goal from the outset of this was to get back to the highest levels of motorsport again. I've always seen that (IMSA) is the highest level of sports car racing here in North America,' Wickens said. 'It would be a dream if I could call it a 10-year career here racing against the best drivers in the world and one of the best series in the world.' Wickens will drive for DXDT Racing with teammate and longtime Corvette driver Tommy Milner. The Corvette is equipped with a hand-controlled throttle and braking system developed by Bosch and Pratt Miller. The brake controls mount to the steering wheel but are independent of the steering wheel so that Milner can seamlessly transition from hand controls to pedals when he's the driver. 'The steering wheel that Tommy will be driving or any other teammate that I drive with in this Corvette, it's the exact same steering wheel that they always know. What's great about it is, in theory, it can mount to virtually any steering column as long as you have the right bolt pattern,' Wickens said. 'What we're learning here today can transfer into any race car. And then, hopefully, down the road, what we're developing with the electronic braking system from Bosch, opportunities are endless. Maybe this can evolve into road safety and into everyday road vehicles and accessibility in road vehicles. 'But short term, we need to perfect this system here.' Wickens has most recently been a driver for Bryan Herta Autosport in the Michelin Pilot Challenge, which is a lower division of IMSA and in 2023 he won a class title. He's tested a Formula E car, did a demonstration for Honda in Canada, where he's from, and now will make his debut in IMSA's GT Daytona class. 'Honestly, taking the green flag in Long Beach is going to be an enormous step forward in my career and my journey back to the highest levels,' Wickens said. 'You could say, 'We did it. We're racing against the best cars and the best drivers in the whole sports car industry.'' The car Wickens and Milner are competing in is eligible for the GTD championship. 'I want to win championships for myself, for General Motors, for DXDT,' he said. 'There's still some work to be done. I think you could say it's definitely a massive box to check, probably the biggest box that we could check off so far in my return.' He'd like to race full-time in the series next season. He and Milner are just getting to know each other, as well as the nuances of the car with the system Wickens must use versus how Milner will drive it. 'In Robbie's case he has to do all of his driving with his hands. This system is basically set up so that he can do all that with the steering wheel itself,' Milner said. 'There's a brake ring and there are throttle paddles that take the place of what I would normally use in the pedal box. The system is quite impressive with how it functions and how it works. With just one push of a button, the system switches from the able-bodied driver controls to the hand controls, which obviously is important for sports car racing where we have driver changes. 'Fundamentally, everything happens on the wheel. And it's a system that took me initially a little while to sort of understand in my own brain, how it is supposed to work, how to find lap time out of it and things like that.' Milner has also been inspired by Wickens' journey since his life-changing crash in his rookie season of IndyCar racing. Aside from working with developers to create the technology needed to get him back to racing, he also works for Andretti Global as a driver coach in a multifaceted role in which he studies data analysis, driver guidance, and offers direct support at races. 'For him to go through what he went through and with his drive and determination to get back in a race car again and be competitive and win races, that's something that can be an inspiration for anybody,' Milner said. 'Anybody who's gone through some sort of hardship like he has, it's what you make of your life and that situation. You can tell that it does change parts of his life. But the one thing that he doesn't want it to change realistically is him driving race cars and driving them as fast as he does.' ___ AP auto racing:
Yahoo
11-04-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Wickens returns to elite racing with use of hand controls 7 years after he was paralyzed in a crash
Driver Change assist Josh Gibbs pulls Robert Wickens, who was paralyzed from the chest down after a 2018 IndyCar crash, from the car as Tommy Milner gets in the Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3R as they practice driving changes, Friday, April 11, 2025, in Long Beach Calif., for Saturday's IMSA auto race. (AP Photo/Jenna Fryer) LONG BEACH, Calif. (AP) — Nearly seven years after he was paralyzed in an IndyCar crash, Robert Wickens will return to elite competition on Saturday when he drives a Corvette in the IMSA sports car race on the downtown streets of Long Beach. Wickens has raced since the crash at Pocono left him paralyzed from the chest down but considers the IMSA event a true completion of his comeback. Advertisement 'My goal from the outset of this was to get back to the highest levels of motorsport again. I've always seen that (IMSA) is the highest level of sports car racing here in North America,' Wickens said. 'It would be a dream if I could call it a 10-year career here racing against the best drivers in the world and one of the best series in the world.' Wickens will drive for DXDT Racing with teammate and longtime Corvette driver Tommy Milner. The Corvette is equipped with a hand-controlled throttle and braking system developed by Bosch and Pratt Miller. The brake controls mount to the steering wheel but are independent of the steering wheel so that Milner can seamlessly transition from hand controls to pedals when he's the driver. 'The steering wheel that Tommy will be driving or any other teammate that I drive with in this Corvette, it's the exact same steering wheel that they always know. What's great about it is, in theory, it can mount to virtually any steering column as long as you have the right bolt pattern,' Wickens said. 'What we're learning here today can transfer into any race car. And then, hopefully, down the road, what we're developing with the electronic braking system from Bosch, opportunities are endless. Maybe this can evolve into road safety and into everyday road vehicles and accessibility in road vehicles. 'But short term, we need to perfect this system here.' Advertisement Wickens has most recently been a driver for Bryan Herta Autosport in the Michelin Pilot Challenge, which is a lower division of IMSA and in 2023 he won a class title. He's tested a Formula E car, did a demonstration for Honda in Canada, where he's from, and now will make his debut in IMSA's GT Daytona class. 'Honestly, taking the green flag in Long Beach is going to be an enormous step forward in my career and my journey back to the highest levels,' Wickens said. 'You could say, 'We did it. We're racing against the best cars and the best drivers in the whole sports car industry.'' The car Wickens and Milner are competing in is eligible for the GTD championship. 'I want to win championships for myself, for General Motors, for DXDT,' he said. 'There's still some work to be done. I think you could say it's definitely a massive box to check, probably the biggest box that we could check off so far in my return.' Advertisement He'd like to race full-time in the series next season. He and Milner are just getting to know each other, as well as the nuances of the car with the system Wickens must use versus how Milner will drive it. 'In Robbie's case he has to do all of his driving with his hands. This system is basically set up so that he can do all that with the steering wheel itself,' Milner said. 'There's a brake ring and there are throttle paddles that take the place of what I would normally use in the pedal box. The system is quite impressive with how it functions and how it works. With just one push of a button, the system switches from the able-bodied driver controls to the hand controls, which obviously is important for sports car racing where we have driver changes. 'Fundamentally, everything happens on the wheel. And it's a system that took me initially a little while to sort of understand in my own brain, how it is supposed to work, how to find lap time out of it and things like that.' Advertisement Milner has also been inspired by Wickens' journey since his life-changing crash in his rookie season of IndyCar racing. Aside from working with developers to create the technology needed to get him back to racing, he also works for Andretti Global as a driver coach in a multifaceted role in which he studies data analysis, driver guidance, and offers direct support at races. 'For him to go through what he went through and with his drive and determination to get back in a race car again and be competitive and win races, that's something that can be an inspiration for anybody,' Milner said. 'Anybody who's gone through some sort of hardship like he has, it's what you make of your life and that situation. You can tell that it does change parts of his life. But the one thing that he doesn't want it to change realistically is him driving race cars and driving them as fast as he does.' ___ AP auto racing:
Associated Press
11-04-2025
- Automotive
- Associated Press
Wickens returns to elite racing with use of hand controls 7 years after he was paralyzed in a crash
LONG BEACH, Calif. (AP) — Nearly seven years after he was paralyzed in an IndyCar crash, Robert Wickens will return to elite competition on Saturday when he drives a Corvette in the IMSA sports car race on the downtown streets of Long Beach. Wickens has raced since the crash at Pocono left him paralyzed from the chest down but considers the IMSA event a true completion of his comeback. 'My goal from the outset of this was to get back to the highest levels of motorsport again. I've always seen that (IMSA) is the highest level of sports car racing here in North America,' Wickens said. 'It would be a dream if I could call it a 10-year career here racing against the best drivers in the world and one of the best series in the world.' Wickens will drive for DXDT Racing with teammate and longtime Corvette driver Tommy Milner. The Corvette is equipped with a hand-controlled throttle and braking system developed by Bosch and Pratt Miller. The brake controls mount to the steering wheel but are independent of the steering wheel so that Milner can seamlessly transition from hand controls to pedals when he's the driver. 'The steering wheel that Tommy will be driving or any other teammate that I drive with in this Corvette, it's the exact same steering wheel that they always know. What's great about it is, in theory, it can mount to virtually any steering column as long as you have the right bolt pattern,' Wickens said. 'What we're learning here today can transfer into any race car. And then, hopefully, down the road, what we're developing with the electronic braking system from Bosch, opportunities are endless. Maybe this can evolve into road safety and into everyday road vehicles and accessibility in road vehicles. 'But short term, we need to perfect this system here.' Wickens has most recently been a driver for Bryan Herta Autosport in the Michelin Pilot Challenge, which is a lower division of IMSA and in 2023 he won a class title. He's tested a Formula E car, did a demonstration for Honda in Canada, where he's from, and now will make his debut in IMSA's GT Daytona class. 'Honestly, taking the green flag in Long Beach is going to be an enormous step forward in my career and my journey back to the highest levels,' Wickens said. 'You could say, 'We did it. We're racing against the best cars and the best drivers in the whole sports car industry.'' The car Wickens and Milner are competing in is eligible for the GTD championship. 'I want to win championships for myself, for General Motors, for DXDT,' he said. 'There's still some work to be done. I think you could say it's definitely a massive box to check, probably the biggest box that we could check off so far in my return.' He'd like to race full-time in the series next season. He and Milner are just getting to know each other, as well as the nuances of the car with the system Wickens must use versus how Milner will drive it. 'In Robbie's case he has to do all of his driving with his hands. This system is basically set up so that he can do all that with the steering wheel itself,' Milner said. 'There's a brake ring and there are throttle paddles that take the place of what I would normally use in the pedal box. The system is quite impressive with how it functions and how it works. With just one push of a button, the system switches from the able-bodied driver controls to the hand controls, which obviously is important for sports car racing where we have driver changes. 'Fundamentally, everything happens on the wheel. And it's a system that took me initially a little while to sort of understand in my own brain, how it is supposed to work, how to find lap time out of it and things like that.' Milner has also been inspired by Wickens' journey since his life-changing crash in his rookie season of IndyCar racing. Aside from working with developers to create the technology needed to get him back to racing, he also works for Andretti Global as a driver coach in a multifaceted role in which he studies data analysis, driver guidance, and offers direct support at races. 'For him to go through what he went through and with his drive and determination to get back in a race car again and be competitive and win races, that's something that can be an inspiration for anybody,' Milner said. 'Anybody who's gone through some sort of hardship like he has, it's what you make of your life and that situation. You can tell that it does change parts of his life. But the one thing that he doesn't want it to change realistically is him driving race cars and driving them as fast as he does.' ___ AP auto racing:
