A handful of quick news and notes items from the Verizon IndyCar Series heading into the weekend:
- Hinch and more at Road America test. INDYCAR has confirmed the other drivers and teams testing on Monday at Road America besides James Hinchcliffe of Schmidt Peterson Motorsports. Andretti Autosport will have Marco Andretti and Ryan Hunter-Reay, KVSH Racing with Sebastien Bourdais and Dale Coyne Racing with Tristan Vautier. Andretti and RHR will also test at Mid-Ohio on October 5.
- Hinch’s delayed starters ring. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway will put a ring on it... James Hinchcliffe, that is. “Hinch,” who did qualify for this year’s Indianapolis 500 but was not able to start after his accident in practice that left him seriously injured, will be presented with his 2015 Indianapolis 500 Starters Ring on Wednesday at the SPM team headquarters.
- Awaiting management, schedule news. The target was end of September for the 2016 schedule to be released and per Hulman & Co. CEO Mark Miles, who has quietly, at least temporarily, assumed the duties left by former INDYCAR president of competition and operations Derrick Walker, it still is. Per the Indianapolis Star, Miles is still awaiting a couple signed contracts to dot the i’s and cross the t’s (Pocono, Phoenix, Mexico City and now potentially Gateway is an option). Miles also told The Star’s Curt Cavin to expect at least one additional hire from an operational side.
- IndyCar on the silver screen. “Indianapolis,” a short film from part-time Verizon IndyCar Series photographer and full-time visual arts teacher at White Bear Lake Area High School in Minnesota, Shawn “Gritzy” Gritzmacher, will be screened Saturday at the Jalopnik Film Festival in Los Angeles. A trailer to the cool stop-motion video is linked here.
- Damien Power’s video series debuts. We’re hoping it’s as irreverent as the trailer looks, but Will Power’s brother Damien’s video series debuts on Saturday. Here’s the preview piece we posted after Sonoma.
- Pro Mazda/USF2000 air time set. Watch highlights of the fourth quarter of the Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires and Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda seasons at midnight ET, the night of Oct. 1/Oct. 2, on NBCSN. So it’ll be Friday, Oct. 2 for those on ET time and Thursday, Oct. 1 for those in earlier time zones.