Firestone 600 entry list
Ryan Briscoe, who drove the No. 5 Arrow/Lucas Oil Honda for Schmidt Peterson Motorsports in place of the injured James Hinchcliffe in the Indianapolis 500 on May 24, returns to the team for the June 6 Firestone 600 at Texas Motor Speedway.
Briscoe has had considerable success on the 1.455-mile, high-banked oval. In eight starts, he has seven top-10 finishes -- including a victory from the pole in 2010 and four other finishes in the top five.
In his lone Verizon IndyCar Series start this season, Briscoe advanced a field-high 19 positions to finish 12th in the 99th Indianapolis 500. He was pressed into service after Hinchcliffe suffered an upper thigh injury in a practice crash May 18 that required surgery. He was released from the hospital eight days later and is expected to make a full recovery.
Last weekend, Briscoe participated with Corvette Racing co-drivers Jan Magnussen and Antonio Garcia in practice for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. He'll compete in the race June 14. The trio won the Rolex 24 At Daytona and the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring this year. A victory at Le Mans would make them the first drivers in 15 years to win all three endurance races in the same year.
Also returning for the Firestone 600 is Tristan Vautier in the No. 19 Dale Coyne Racing Honda. The 2013 Sunoco Rookie of the Year recipient is coming off a fourth-place finish -- his best in 22 Verizon IndyCar Series starts -- in Race 2 of the Chevrolet Dual in Detroit presented by Quicken Loans on May 31. In 2013, while driving for Schmidt Peterson Motorsports, Vautier advanced six positions relative to his starting spot to finish 18th at Texas Motor Speedway.
The No. 18 Dale Coyne Racing Honda will be driven by Pippa Mann, who drove the team's third Indianapolis 500 entry to a 22nd-place finish. It will be her ninth Verizon IndyCar Series start and second at Texas Motor Speedway. She finished 24th (mechanical) in a Dale Coyne Racing entry in June 2013.
Pro Football Hall of Famer Haley to wave green flag
Charles Haley, a 2015 Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee who won a record five Super Bowl titles with the Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers, will serve as the honorary starter for the Firestone 600.
Haley will be inducted Aug. 9 into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.
Five Indy 500 veterans join Indy Legends Pro-Am lineup
Former Indianapolis 500 starters Eric Bachelart, Donnie Beechler, PJ Chesson, Dennis Firestone and Dick Simon have been added to the 33-driver lineup for the June 13 Indy Legends Charity Pro-Am as part of the Brickyard Vintage Racing Invitational June 11-14 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Competitors will drive 1963-1972 vintage 355 cubic inch Corvettes, Camaros and Mustangs for the 40-minute race on the road course. Professionals will be paired with amateur drivers, splitting stints at the wheel at their discretion.
Get tickets at www.ims.com/tickets, by calling 800-822-4639 or in person at the IMS Administration Building at 4790 West 16th St., Indianapolis.
Of note
The Firestone 600 will mark the 27th Indy car race at Texas Motor Speedway dating to the venue’s opening in 1997. … A pre-race concert features Reckless Kelly and a post-race concert highlights Bleu Edmonson. ... The crystal Firestone 600 trophy bears the names of three-time Indianapolis 500 winner Johnny Rutherford, who lives in Fort Worth, and Houston's A.J. Foyt, the first four-time winner of the Indy 500. The arches on the top of the trophy represent the Alamo, and the six arches represent the six flags that have flown over the state of Texas. ... Rutherford is the pace car driver for Verizon IndyCar Series oval events.