IndyCar: Schmidt Peterson Motorsports 2018 season review

By Jerry BonkowskiOct 5, 2018, 9:00 AM EDT

IndyCar

Editor’s note: MotorSportsTalk continues to review how each organization in the IndyCar Series performed in 2018 and also takes a look ahead to 2019.

Thus far we have featured Juncos Racing, Meyer Shank Racing, Carlin Racing, Harding Racing, AJ Foyt Racing, Dale Coyne Racing with Vasser Sullivan, Dale Coyne Racing, Ed Carpenter Racing and Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing.

Today we feature Schmidt Peterson Motorsports (three more reviews remain after today: Team Penske on Saturday, Andretti Autosport on Sunday and Chip Ganassi Racing on Monday).

SCHMIDT PETERSON MOTORSPORTS 2018 season review:

What began as a season of promise ended as a season of disappointment and sadness for Schmidt Peterson Motorsports. James Hinchcliffe finished 10th, earning the organization’s lone win of the season at Iowa. But the Canadian native also suffered the biggest disappointment of his racing career when he failed to qualify for the Indianapolis 500.

Then,Hinchcliffe’s longtime friend and IndyCar rookie Robert Wickens got off to a strong start, only to be seriously injured in a season-ending crash at Pocono Raceway on August 19. Still, it’s a testament to Wickens’ success in his first IndyCar season before the crash that he ended the 2018 campaign in 11th place in the final standings despite missing the last four races (including Pocono).

There also was conflict as the team parted ways with Le Mans-winning team engineer Leena Gade less than six months into her tenure with Hinchcliffe’s team.

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JAMES HINCHCLIFFE

Team name: No. 5 Arrow Electronics/Lucas Oil Honda

Years in IndyCar: 8

Career wins and podium finishes: 6 and 16

Best career season finish: 8th in both 2012 and 2013

2018 final standing: 10th

2018 final stats: 1 win, 2 podiums, 0 poles

2018 best race finish: 1st (Iowa)

SEASON WRAPUP: Hinchcliffe began 2018 strongly with two top-5s and three other top-10s. But after the debacle at Indy, and even with the Iowa win, just never seemed to build any sustaining momentum, particularly after Iowa, when he ended the season with five consecutive finishes outside the top-10. What should have been a better year ultimately wasn’t, but it’s still a testament to his team and the Mayor of Hinchtown’s talent that he still earned his best overall season finish since 2013.

LOOKING AHEAD TO 2019: Hinchcliffe is a much better driver than the majority of his season finishes have shown. More than anything, he needs a real breakout campaign. The potential, personnel and equipment is there for Hinch to do just that in 2019.

QUOTE (following the season finale at Sonoma): “At the end of the day, the 2019 season started the second the checkered flag fell and we’re already all eyes forward and focused on hitting the ground running in St. Petersburg. Thanks to the SPM team for all the hard work all year. Thanks to Arrow Electronics and all our partners. It’s been an up-and-down year, but we’ve won as a team, we’ve lost as a team, and we’ll come back stronger next year.”

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ROBERT WICKENS

Team name: No. 6 Lucas Oil Honda

Years in IndyCar: 1

Career wins and podium finishes: 0 and 4

Best career finish: 11th in 2018 season standings

2018 final standing: 11th

2018 final stats: 0 wins, 4 podiums, 1 pole

2018 best race finish: 2nd at both Phoenix and Mid-Ohio

SEASON WRAPUP: Wickens set the series on fire with his outstanding ability. He may have been an IndyCar rookie, but he certainly didn’t drive like one. He was on track to win the season-opening race at St. Petersburg (after starting from the pole), but late contact with Alexander Rossi relegated Wickens to a disappointing 18th place finish. He would go on to earn four overall podium finishes and it appeared it was just a matter of time before he’d break through with a win. But his horrible crash at Pocono ended any chance of that happening.

LOOKING AHEAD TO 2019: It’s uncertain whether Wickens will be able to return for the start of the season, given he is still undergoing extensive rehabilitation and recovery from his injuries and the numerous resulting surgeries he’s undergone. No matter how long his recovery takes, one thing is very clear, though: the entire sport – from fellow drivers to opposing teams to media to fans – can’t wait to see Wickens back behind the wheel of the No. 6 SPM Honda.

QUOTE (from a tweet he posted prior to the start of the Sept. 16 season-ending race at Sonoma): “I just want to say that all your kind words and positivity have meant the world to me and my family. I’m in rehab now, trying to get back to 100 percent as quickly as possible. I don’t know what the future holds for me. It’s going to be a very long road to recovery. All I can say is I can promise you guys that I’m going to work as hard as possible, and train as hard as possible, to make sure I’m back in a race car as quickly as possible.”

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CARLOS MUNOZ

Team name: No. 6 Lucas Oil Honda for 2 races (Portland and Sonoma), also the No. 29 Andretti Autosport Honda in Indianapolis 500

Years in IndyCar: 6 (4 full-time)

Career wins and podium finishes: 1 and 7

Best career season finish: 8th in 2014

2018 final standing: 25th (competed in just 3 races)

2018 final stats: 0 wins, 0 podiums, 0 poles

2018 best race finish: 7th (Indianapolis 500)

SEASON WRAPUP: Munoz filled in the last two races of the season for the injured Robert Wickens. Given that the entire team was new to him, with new personnel and equipment, he performed as best as could be expected, finishing 12th at Portland and 16th at Sonoma.

LOOKING AHEAD TO 2019: It remains to be seen whether Munoz will return to SPM. Much hinges on the recovery of Robert Wickens, as well as whether SPM decides to keep Munoz or goes with another driver. If Wickens is unable to return for the start of the season, Munoz is an option to once again fill-in for Wickens, essentially picking up where he left off after Sonoma. In a sense, the team has the luxury of at least four months to decide if it will need to have a replacement driver once again for Wickens. At the same time, those four months could go a long way toward determining Wickens’ ability to return to racing and when. While Munoz would continue to be a good fill-in for Wickens, if an opportunity arises with another team, especially if it’s a full-time ride, he’d likely have to take it.

QUOTE (following 2018 season finale at Sonoma): “Really thankful to everyone at Schmidt Peterson Motorsports – the mechanics, the engineers, everyone on the team have been so great to me. Wishing a quick recovery to Robert (Wickens) and hopefully, he’ll be back at it in no time.”

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Jett Lawrence wins Pro Motocross opener, remains perfect at Fox Raceway; Hunter wins in 250s

By Dan BeaverMay 27, 2023, 10:35 PM EDT

Align Media

PALA, California – In his 450 bike debut, Jett Lawrence scored a perfect round at Fox Raceway in Pala, California to win Pro Motocross Round 1. He posted the fastest time in both qualification sessions, won the holeshot in both motos, and scored a pair of wins to take the overall victory and the early points’ lead.

No one seriously questioned Lawrence’s opportunity to make noise in the 450 class. Few would have been surprised to see him podium in his Pro Motocross National, but Lawrence outperformed all expectations by dominating Moto 1. He entered the weekend with zero points and his eye on 20th in the standings so he would receive an automatic invitation to the inaugural SuperMotocross World Championship (SMX).

He well surpassed expectations.

“It’s awesome,” Lawrence told NBC Sports’ Jason Thomas. “I can finally smile. I’ve been trying to stay serious and not get too excited with emotions coming up – and now I can finally let loose. The second one was a little harder, I couldn’t hear him but I’d look back and I’d still see the red bike. It was like a chess match.”

By the end of the race, Lawrence made up 30 percent of the points he needed to claim 20th and served notice that he will be one of the favorites to win the championship. He closed the gap even further in Moto 2, but the two races had entirely different storylines.

While Lawrence was able to run away from the field in the first race and win with a 10-second advantage, Honda teammate and defending Monster Energy Supercross champion Chase Sexton pressured him for the entire 30 minutes plus two laps that made up Moto 2.

Lawrence is the 16th rider to win in his first Pro Motocross race, the 10th to do so in an opener and second youngest, (behind Rick Johnson, 17 when he won at Hangtown in 1982).

Sexton was within two seconds of Lawrence for the entire moto. He rode a patient race with the realistic expectation that the 450 rookie Lawrence might make a mistake. Lawrence bounced from rut to rut in this race, but would not be forced into losing his focus.

“Toward the finish line area I had some decent lines, I thought maybe, if I could get close enough, I could make a move,” Sexton said. “I tried my hardest; I got close. I made a bit of an attempt with maybe 10 minutes to go and messed up. Jett was obviously riding really good. We were pushing the pace and it was a fun moto. It felt a little like last year.”

Respect after a hard fought day 🤝#ProMotocross #SuperMotocross #FoxRaceway pic.twitter.com/pXnSsQ5g2j

— Pro Motocross (@ProMotocross) May 28, 2023

With his 1-1 finish and the overall victory, Lawrence remains perfect at Fox Raceway after sweeping Victory Lane in five rounds his 250 career.

Dylan Ferrandis returned to the track after suffering a concussion in the Supercross season in Round 4 in Houston. He attempted to return for the Daytona Supercross race, but another hard crash on Media Day set him on the sideline.

“Earlier this week I was pretty far from a podium position, so got together with the team and we made it happen,” Ferrandis said. “It was very hard. [Aaron Plessinger] was pushing me and I had to dig very deep.”

RESULTS: How they finished in the 450 Overall at Fox Raceway

In a pre-race news conference, he indicated that the best course of action was to get up to speed before he fully sent his bike into the turns. But adrenalin is a wonderful factor and once he got into the pace of the race, he held off charges from Cooper Webb in Moto 1 and Plessinger in Moto 2. Ferrandis’ 3-3 finishes in the two races earned 40 points and puts him back in the conversation to be among the top 20 in the combined SuperMotocross standings.

Plessinger and Webb each ended the day with 34 points. Plessinger won the tiebreaker for fifth overall in the standings. But it was an adventurous afternoon for Plessinger who had to overcome a pair of falls in the first Moto to finish fifth.

Round 1 of the Pro Motocross season marked the return of Webb after he suffered a Supercross series ending concussion in a heat race at Nashville.

“This was a last minute decision,” Webb said. “I sat out last summer and I didn’t want to do that again. Once I got cleared from the doctor, it was game on.”

The battle between Lawrence and Sexton gave Honda a 1-2 finish in this race for the second straight year, but perhaps most importantly, it provided a glimpse of what can be expected during the opening rounds.

I think there is more to come from Chase,” Lawrence said. “He had that crash in practice so it rung his head a bit, but I know it’s going to be a war in the outdoor season. I know there’s going to be times when I’m behind Chase and can’t get around him. It’s going to be an awesome season and I can’t wait to race my teammate.”

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Jett wasn’t the only Lawrence to win Fox Raceway Motocross. Hunter’s win in the 250 class marked the first time in history that brothers won a Motocross National on the same day.

The reigning 250 East Supercross champion scored the overall victory with a third in Moto 1 and a victory in Moto 2. A poor start in the first race forced Lawrence to mount a charge from behind. Riding with discomfort, Lawrence was out of his rhythm early. A spirited battle with Jo Shimoda and Justin Cooper for third through fifth forced him to push through the pain of an injury suffered at the start of the week.

“The start was crucial,” Lawrence said. “I had a massive crash Monday and could barely ride press day for three laps, I was in so much pain. This one goes out to Dr. [Rey Gubernick]. He has magic hands.”

Lawrence’s strong start to Moto 2 put him in a better zone and he pulled an eight-second advantage over the second-place rider.

Haiden Deegan got a taste of the Motocross series last year, but that was all it was: a nibble.

Deegan failed to crack the top 10 in either of two starts and had some questions for himself before the race began. Deegan did not believe there were high expectations placed on him for this race, which is precisely how he described his first Supercross attempt. In that inaugural SX race, he finished fourth and was as surprised as anyone in the field.

Again: The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Deegan surprised himself again by finishing second in only his third Motocross National. He finished sixth in Moto 1 and second in Moto 2, giving him a second-place finish overall.

“I’m actually a little surprised,” Deegan said. “A lot of people said I wouldn’t even be close to this. I guess we’re proving people wrong and that’s what we’ve got to do Second place in my first full season. I’m hyped.”

Deegan is closing in on his first 250 win.

Click here for 250 overall results

*RJ Hampshire had to overcome a pair of falls in Moto 2 to score the final podium position in the overall standings. – Align Media*

RJ Hampshire made a statement in Moto 1. An entirely new discipline allowed Hampshire to grab an early advantage. But then a poor start to Moto 2 provided an entirely different challenge. Two falls on Lap 1 dropped Hampshire to 39th in the running order.

“I didn’t have a great start and got mayhem in that second corner and went down,” Hampshire said. “Picked [myself] up in last and made some really good passes and then going uphill on the [backstretch], someone got out of whack – took me out and I was dead last again. I didn’t really know if I had a shot at the podium, but I was digging really deep.”

It took half of the race to get back into the points in 20th, but Hampshire kept digging. Passing riders one at a time, he climbed to 11th in Moto 2 and salvaged enough points to give him the third position overall.

Maximus Vohland made a statement of his own by holding off a determined Lawrence on the last two laps. Lawrence was able to pressure Vohland when they were slowed by a lapped rider who fell in front of the battle.

Tom Vialle was in a position to take the final overall podium spot with a solid third-place finish in the second moto. He did everything he could, but Hampshire’s determined charge from the back of the pack was capped off with a two-position advance on the final lap to slide onto the final step of the box.

2023 Supercross Race Recaps

Salt Lake City: Chase Sexton ends the season with win
Denver: Chase Sexton wins, takes points’ lead with Eli Tomac injury
Nashville: Chase Sexton keeps hope alive; Cooper Webb out
New Jersey: Justin Barcia wins muddy race; first in two years
Atlanta: Chase Sexton is back in the championship picture
Glendale: Eli Tomac wins 51st, breaks tie with James Stewart
Seattle: Eli Tomac wins and ties Webb for first
Detroit: Chase Sexton inherits win after Aaron Plessinger falls
Indianapolis: Ken Roczen gets first win in more than a year
Daytona: Eli Tomac extends Daytona record with seventh win
Arlington: Cooper Webb wins for second time, closes to two of Tomac
Oakland: Eli Tomac ties Ricky Carmichael with 48 wins
Tampa: Cooper Webb gets first 2023 win
Houston: Eli Tomac bounces back from A2 crash to win third race of 2023
Anaheim 2: Triple Crown produces new winners Chase Sexton, Levi Kitchen
San Diego: Eli Tomac, Jett Lawrence double down
Anaheim 1: Eli Tomac wins opener for the first time

More SuperMotocross coverage

Record Supercross attendance reported in 2023
450 Champion Chase Sexton takes back what he gave away
250 West Supercross champion Jett Lawrence ends dream career
250 East Supercross champion Hunter Lawrence overcomes doubt and injury
Cooper Webb returns to action at Pala
Caden Braswell joins Troy Lee Design
SuperMotocross Power Rankings after Supercross finale

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