Chaves wins Indy 500 Rookie of the Year honors - MotorSportsTalk

It was confirmed on Monday that Gabby Chaves, the 2014 Indy Lights champion, has won Rookie of the Year honors for the 2015 Indianapolis 500.

Chaves is the fourth Colombian to win the award, after Carlos Munoz (2013), Juan Pablo Montoya (2000, also race win) and Roberto Guerrero (1984).

It means Bryan Herta Autosport now has both an Indianapolis 500 win (2011 with the late Dan Wheldon) and a rookie-of-the-year winner (Chaves) in the last five years.

Chaves described his day, where he started 26th, ran as high as eighth, and ultimately ended 16th in the No. 98 Bowers & Wilkins/Curb Honda.

“It was a very good race for us. I wish I could go out there and do it again,” he said. “One mistake cost us a lot of time. We had to drive back through the field. We drove all the way up to ninth before that last caution.

“Right before the caution, we were overtaking a car that was a lap down, lost our front wing. Very unfortunate. We didn’t change the wing just to see how long the caution would be, would stay. Unfortunately once we got back to green, it was a handful. I lost a few positions, lost a couple positions in that last stop as well.

“But we had a great car. We drove through the field twice, into the top 10 twice after two mistakes. I wish I could go out there and do it again. But I’m very happy with the job my crew did, my team. I’m super excited to keep using this momentum, keep progressing through the season.”

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An IndyCar executive said there is “absolutely” disappointment that its long-awaited video game recently was delayed beyond its target date, but the series remains optimistic about the new title.

“Well, I don’t know how quick it will be, but the whole situation is important to us,” Penske Entertainment president and CEO Mark Miles said during a news conference Monday morning to announce IndyCar’s NTT title sponsorship. “Motorsport Games has spent a lot of money, a lot of effort to create an IndyCar title. What we’ve seen of that effort, which is not completely obvious, is very reassuring.

“I think it’s going to be outstanding. That’s our shared objective, that when it is released, it’s just widely accepted. A great credit both to IndyCar racing, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, something that our fans love.”

In June 2021, IndyCar announced a new partnership with Motorsport Games to create and distribute an IndyCar video game for the PC and Xbox and PlayStation consoles in 2023.

But during an earnings call last week, Motorsport Games said the IndyCar game had been delayed to 2024 to ensure high quality.

Somewhat compounding the delay is that IndyCar’s license for iRacing expired after the end of the 2022 season because of its exclusive agreement with Motorsport Games.

That’s resulted in significant changes for IndyCar on iRacing, which had provided a high-profile way for the series to stay visible during its 2020 shutdown from the pandemic. (Players still can race an unbranded car but don’t race on current IndyCar tracks, nor can they stream).

That’s helped ratchet up the attention on having a video game outlet for IndyCar.

“I wish we had an IndyCar title 10 years ago,” said Miles, who has been working with the organization since 2013. “We’ve been close, but we’ve had these I think speed bumps.”

IndyCar is hopeful the Motorsports Game edition will be ready at the start of 2024. Miles hinted that beta versions could be unveiled to reporters ahead of the time “to begin to show the progress in a narrow way to make sure we’ve got it right, to test the progress so that we’re ready when they’re ready.”

It’s been nearly 18 years since the release of the most recent IndyCar video game for console or PC.

“(We) better get it right,” Miles said. “It’s something we’re very close to and continue to think about what it is to make sure we get it over the line in due course.”