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Peacock will stream Indycar practice and qualifying sessions this season
When the 2021 Indycar season starts on April 18th, you’ll be able to watch some of the action through Peacock Premium.
IndyCar delays hybrid racers to 2023
IndyCar has pushed back the use of hybrid engines in racers until 2023 due to the pandemic.
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Pitchfork explores what’s next.
IndyCar will switch to 900-horsepower hybrid race cars in 2022
IndyCar just announced plans to get a little greener. Beginning in 2022, its race cars will be hybrids. They'll use a combination of internal combustion engines from Honda and Chevrolet and a hybrid system to produce somewhere in the ballpark of 900 horsepower. In comparison, current IndyCars race at between 500 and 700 horsepower.
Indycar driver tests smart shirt to track the perils of racing
Japanese mobile giant NTT DoCoMo's Data arm has revealed that it quietly tested its futuristic smart clothing during Indycar races last year. The firm teamed up with driver Tony Kanaan to create a version of its Hitoe garment that's suitable for use in the sport. As before, the shirt is capable of monitoring its wearer's heart rate and muscle activity, learning valuable insights on how the competition affects the body. For instance, Kanaan's heart rate was found to spike when he brought the car to a stop, and while driving, had the same physical stresses as someone who was sprinting.
IndyCar racers use LEDs to show their positions in real-time
It's sometimes hard to keep track of positions in an IndyCar race, especially if you're in the stands and don't have the luxury of a broadcaster or data stream to point things out. Never fear, though: as of this weekend, the league's cars are carrying LED panels that display the driver's race position in real-time by working in conjunction with timing lines embedded in the tracks. They're also smart enough to switch to pit stop times, so you'll know if that tire swap is running too long.
Gear up to go racing with Tracktivity
If you are an auto racing fan or an enthusiast who likes to me more involved that just watching races, you should check out Tracktivity. This free universal app runs on iOS 7.1 or later and will help you be better informed and keep up to speed on the auto racing activities in your area. Tracktivity has information on thousands of race tracks in the United States, Australia, and New Zealand including major NASCAR and IndyCar facilities like the Daytona International Speedway, Bristol Motor Speedway, and Phoenix International Raceway. You will also find all the local tracks including go-karting facilities, quarter mile dirt tracks and the small tracks that run a variety of races on weekends. The app provides details on the type of track, oval, road course, karting track, etc. plus what type of surface they race on, when the track is open, the web site URL if the track has one, and the types of races they hold. You can also check to see if the track is available for rental or for other racing enthusiasts like yourself to get out and take a few laps either as part of an organized event or perhaps a local racing or driving school. Additionally you can find out if they have spectator seating, parking for cars or RVs, if garage space can be rented, what fuel is sold at the track, and even if they have a garage area to repair your car if something happens while running. If you are just interested in watching others race, you can do a search to find racing events that might be taking place anywhere near your location. The event listing provides the date and time of the event, what activities are taking place, contact information to obtain the specific details about registering to participate or admission costs plus the costs associated with participating. Tracktivity has formed partnerships with a number of the tracks, mostly smaller ones but also some of the major venues like Bristol Motor Speedway. Through the app's Race Control section, the tracks will send out notifications with information on the latest track news, invitations, offers, and promotions at the track, last minute schedule changes and even results once the event is completed. And if you are in an unfamiliar area and not sure where the track is located, users can get navigational assistance directly from the app with turn by turn directions using Apple Maps. Tracktivity developers claim the app contains information on more than two thousand tracks currently with more to come and in more countries. During my use of Tracktivity, I found a lot more tracks without partnerships than those listed as partners so getting updates from your favorite track isn't a sure thing. However, I did find a large amount of information contained in Tracktivity that I believe will be useful to racing fans and enthusiasts including listings for tracks I didn't even know existed within a few miles of where I live. So as the year progresses and racing season gets underway, you should add Tracktivity to your device and take advantage of all the information it contains.
IndyCars will soon stream racecar telemetry straight to your home
Cosworth, the well-known auto performance group, is making a public return to the IndyCar car racing series (OK, it's always been around in the shadows). The company just unveiled its Cosworth Live on Air system, which puts portable WiMAX in each car, potentially offering spectators trackside and at home live feeds of interesting data. Most -- if not all -- of this info is already available to race scrutineers via the Cosworth equipment built into all the cars, but the Cosworth Live on Air system should see that data presented to fans in new and never-before-seen ways.
Indy 500 documentary comes to 3net this fall
Even with ESPN 3D firmly into its second year (and recently reupping sponsorship from Sony) there's still not that much content to go around so we're very interested in a new Indy 500 documentary coming to 3net. Indycar Entertainment plans to premiere On The Inside Line: The Indy 500 this fall on the Discovery / IMAX / Sony backed network, bringing the behind the scenes happenings leading up to the race for drivers Helio Castroneves, Tony Kanaan, Simona de Silvestro and Will Power. If you don't want to slip on some specs it will be viewable later on in HD on Discovery Channel, but while we wait for (frequent) live 3D race coverage this will be as good as it gets.
Entire 2008 IndyCar season broadcast in HD on ESPN & ABC
Fans of open wheel racing rejoice, ESPN and ABC have announced they will broadcast all 16 events of 2008 in high definition. Just like ESPN's "most advanced" NASCAR coverage, all the cameras covering the event will be HD, including in-car. The 16 races will consist of seven each aired on ESPN2 and ABC, two on ESPN, as well as 16 Indy Pro Series races that will air on ESPN2-HD. Last year's Indianapolis 500 was the first IndyCar event in HD and now its far from the last. ESPNews, ESPN U, X Games and now IndyCar have gotten the 720p treatment, we just want to know what they will do next.
