January 26, 2026
This past weekend was the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona for IMSA. It was the first race of the year.
I was hoping that Felipe Nasr and his Porsche Team Penske Motorsports team would win again like last year. And they did for the third year in a row! Congratulations Felipe!
He started IMSA racing in 2018 with Action Express Racing/Whelen Engineering Racings Cadillac. Prior years were in Formula 1 for 3 years and GP2 and Formula 3 before that.
I first got to know Felipe when he raced with fellow Brazilian Pipo Derani in a Cadillac for Action Express Motorsports. He took a championship and a win at Road America in 2021.
In 2024 another championship with a great win at Road America again in the Porsche Penske Motorsports car.
My being an old BASS tournament fisherman and finding out that Felipe was an avid fisherman we've talked a bit through the years.
A photo of mine was in the Action Express Racing simulator room. So now I have to get one in the Porsche Penske Motorsports room. Work in progress there! I wish Felipe a lot of luck this year and in the future.
Enjoy some photos of Felipe through the years.
Thanks,
Rich Zimmermann
November 10, 2025
Recently Marco Andretti announced his retirement from auto racing to focus on just his family.
He had a few shinning moments in his Indy Car career that were mostly at the Indy 500 where he got close a few times to winning but never got it done.
He won 2 Indy Car races in his career from 2006 to 2025 and competed in just about every form of racing. That includes Star Mazda, Indy Car Pro Series, Nascar, Formula E, International V8 Supercars, ARCA, Craftsman Truck Series, A1 Grand Prix, Infiniti Pro Series, Star Mazda, the American LeMans Series and won the Camping World SRX Championship in 2022.
His grandfather, Mario Andretti, and his father, Michael Andretti, were always coaching him and Mario could always be found in his pit area trying to help.
Marco didn't have the race craft of his father or grandfather, but he tried.
Enjoy retirement Marco with the family.
Here are a few photos of him from through the years.
Thanks,
Rich Zimmermann
August 18, 2025
Been a crazy few weeks around here with chemotherapy, another urinary tract infection and then I got COVID at Road America photographing what you see here of IMSA.
Finally feel normal again and ready to do this blog on IMSA at Road America where it didn't rain or wasn't super hot. Usually, it rains for IMSA weekend at some point but not this time.
I wanted my Team Penske and fishing friend Philipe Nasr to get the win but the BMW's of Bobby Rahal's team came away with Dries Vanthoor and Phillipp Eng getting the win. The second BMW came in second with Marco Whittman and Sheldon Van Der Linde.
The Aston Martin Valkyrie with Ross Gunn and Roman De Angelis is an amazing car to hear and see. It sits so low which of course is less drag and makes it so smooth as you watch it go but it didn't win.
Enjoy a look at all the classes running and some beautiful cars.
Thanks,
Rich Zimmermann
IMSA at Road America July 31-August 3, 2025.
The Indy Cars, Indy NXT and USF Pro 2000 at Road America on June 22, 2025 for the XPEL Grand Prix.
July 14, 2025
My last blog was on the Indy Cars at Road America for the XPL Grand Prix.
To get into one of those Indy Cars you have to move up the Indy Car ladder and it's feeder series. That would be the Indy NXT, USF Pro 2000 and of course starting out in go karts that all Indy Car drivers still train in.
The June 22nd weekend I spent only a few hours at the track thanks to the heat and chemotherapy fun. Hopefully I'm done with chemotheraphy for a while and more tests to come to figure out where I stand.
Proof that the ladder series works is Myles Rowe who won Saturday in Indy NXT at Iowa Speedway! First win for him and we will see him in an Indy Car soon I believe. Couple photos here from 2021 at Road America when Myles was talking with my Vintage Indy Registry folks.
Enjoy a look at the USF Pro 2000 cars having a go at the track at Road America.
Thanks,
Rich Zimmermann
June 30, 2025
Just a short blog on Indy Car at Road America on June 22, 2025. It was too hot for this old photographer with cancer.
I went up just for a few hours on Saturday and took a few photos. Shouldn't have as it was 130F in pit lane and it whooped me after finishing chemotherapy a week or so before.
This week I received a new neph tube for future treatments that has knocked me down a bit more. They are only good for 90 days and this is my 4th neph tube.
Alex Palou won the race of course but Scott Dixon was very close to winning it. He was running out of fuel and pitted with just a few laps to go.
Great to see Santino Ferrucci on the podium in third with Felix Rosenqvist in second.
Stay cool and enjoy a few photos of Saturday's qualifying session.
Thanks,
Rich Zimmermann
May 19, 2025
One of the best auto racers to ever drive an open wheel race car was Jacques Villeneuve who was born to race.
His father Gilles Villeneuve past away when Jacques was very young in 1982 driving for Ferrari. That took the racing bug out of Jacques for just a little while.
By 1994 he was driving a CART Forsythe/Team Kool Green Indy Car. In 1995 he was driving for Team Kool Green and won the Indy Car Series Championship and the Indy 500!
1996 he moved to F1 and won the F1 Championship in 1997 for Team Williams.
Seemed like he could win in anything and tried NASCAR, Sports Cars and more.
Born in Canada but moved to Monaco when he was 7 and was raised in a Swiss boarding school until the racing bug took over at 17.
I had the pleasure to watch him drive in the Indy Lights and then the 1994 and 1995 seasons in an Indy Car.
Enjoy a few years of some great memories of a great racer and beautiful race car.
Thanks,
Rich
December 16, 2024
Since June of 2023 our lives have here been a bit messy here with surgeries and non medical fun for my wife and me. A big Monday and Tuesday here this week but I hope and pray that we are on the right path now.
December 29th last year was really a bad day as all of us lost a great race car driver at just 56 and I think about him a lot. Gil de Ferran was a special racer and a prankster. Gil passed away last year of a heart attack on the Concours Race Track in Opa-locka. Very sad day and he was having fun with his son that day at the track.
I did not know him very well but had some fun with him at the Milwaukee Mile and Road America.
So I feel the need to look and remember our friend as it's so close to a year that he has been gone.
Gil gave Team Penske it's 100th win and consecutive CART championships in 2000 and 2001.
The Milwaukee Mile put my photo of Gil in the Media Center at the Milwaukee Mile. It's also in one of the suites in the grandstand. It's a picture of Gil sitiing in his car giving a thumbs up. The photo was from 2001 and I've cherished it for a long time in my race room here.
In 2000 Team Penske almost had Gil de Ferran and future superstar Greg Moore who we lost in 1999 as teammates. Who knows what could have happened with Greg Moore and Gil together. Gil would have mentored Greg for sure but without Greg we got Helio Castroneves and Gil mentored Helio very well into the Spiderman!
Enjoy some photos of Gil through the years.
Thanks,
Rich Zimmermann
