http://www.yardbarker.com/formula_one/players/alex_zanardi/76362 Recent articles about Alex Zanardi en-us Alex Zanardi received a hero's welcome at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the famed racetrack where he has never turned a single lap. The beloved Italian was greeted warmly wherever he went Friday after he was feted by former team owner Chip Ganassi, who presented Zanardi with the car called ''Old Midnight'' that Zanardi was driving in 1996 when he made a legendary pass of Bryan Herta in the corkscrew at Laguna Seca. Ganassi, the gruff Pittsburgh native not known for his sentimental side, had tears in his eyes several times during the presentation on The Yard of Bricks and again as he simply sat back and listened to Zanardi speak. ''To say the words `passion' and `commitment' and `excellence' and all the things I grew up with, that meant something, I think he embodies every one of those,'' Ganassi said. ''It's not about the reality TV or anything with Zanardi. He embodies what we would like every athlete to be, every athlete we look up to. I think Al Fri, 24 May 2013 15:54:39 -0400 http://network.yardbarker.com/all_sports/article_external/zanardi_feted_by_ganassi_at_indy/13688609 http://network.yardbarker.com/all_sports/article_external/zanardi_feted_by_ganassi_at_indy/13688609 Zanardi feted by Ganassi at Indy http://www.yardbarker.com/all_sports/articles/zanardi_feted_by_ganassi_at_indy/13688609 http://www.yardbarker.com/images/yb_logo_square_grey.png (Eds: Updates with quotes, details. With AP Photos.) By JENNA FRYER AP Auto Racing Writer Tony Kanaan is feeling the pressure from new teammate Simona de Silvestro in a way that reminds him of his days battling Alex Zanardi. Kanaan finished fourth in IndyCar's season-opening race at St. Pete, where he passed de Silvestro in the closing laps to ensure he was the highest-finishing driver for KV Racing Technology. She finished sixth in her debut race with her new team, losing three positions in the final two laps because of old tires. Kanaan admitted Wednesday de Silvestro's pace and potential is pushing him on the track. ''Simona brought a lot of spark and light into the team. I enjoy working with her. I have no problem teaching her whatever I can,'' he said. ''I like to see this young girl that wants to do well, because that's her opportunity. That obviously pushes me to my limit. I'm going to admit that she's extremely fast. I said that even before she was my tea Wed, 27 Mar 2013 18:28:09 -0400 http://network.yardbarker.com/indycar/article_external/kanaan_says_de_silvestro_pushing_him_to_his_limit/13250260 http://network.yardbarker.com/indycar/article_external/kanaan_says_de_silvestro_pushing_him_to_his_limit/13250260 Kanaan says de Silvestro pushing him to his limit http://www.yardbarker.com/indycar/articles/kanaan_says_de_silvestro_pushing_him_to_his_limit/13250260 http://www.yardbarker.com/media/1/1/1121cf33322b5f15b1ef3350f5d93aa9b5f0b24b/mini/Firestone_Indy_300_850e.jpg He may have won gold and provided one of the lasting images of the games, but the end of the London Paralympics will be bittersweet for Alex Zanardi. The former Formula One driver, who lost his legs in a horrific race car crash in 2001, became a champion on the road again this week. He was competing in handcycling, a sport in which the bike is powered by the arms. But it's not the feeling of winning the 45-year-old Italian will miss the most - it's those countless hours of hard work and meticulous planning that got him there. ''I'm certainly very, very happy but this moment also brings a little bit of sadness because this weekend is going to be the end of a great adventure I've been fortunate enough to live,'' Zanardi said outside the boisterous sponsor party to celebrate his first win. While the party roared on in another room, he reflected on what it all would mean come Monday, when the games were over. ''You know, when you are in your 20s, you always believe tha Sat, 08 Sep 2012 13:58:06 -0400 http://network.yardbarker.com/all_sports/article_external/zanardi_wins_gold_at_paralympics/11659774 http://network.yardbarker.com/all_sports/article_external/zanardi_wins_gold_at_paralympics/11659774 Zanardi wins gold at Paralympics http://www.yardbarker.com/all_sports/articles/zanardi_wins_gold_at_paralympics/11659774 http://www.yardbarker.com/images/yb_logo_square_grey.png (Eds: With AP Photos.) By DANICA KIRKA Associated Press He may have won gold and provided one of the lasting images of the games, but the end of the London Paralympics will be bittersweet for Alex Zanardi. The former Formula One driver, who lost his legs in a horrific race car crash in 2001, became a champion on the road again this week. He was competing in handcycling, a sport in which the bike is powered by the arms. But it's not the feeling of winning the 45-year-old Italian will miss the most - it's those countless hours of hard work and meticulous planning that got him there. ''I'm certainly very, very happy but this moment also brings a little bit of sadness because this weekend is going to be the end of a great adventure I've been fortunate enough to live,'' Zanardi said outside the boisterous sponsor party to celebrate his first win. While the party roared on in another room, he reflected on what it all would mean come Monday, when the games were over. ''Yo Sat, 08 Sep 2012 12:51:44 -0400 http://network.yardbarker.com/all_sports/article_external/paralympics_bring_bittersweet_end_for_zanardi/11659477 http://network.yardbarker.com/all_sports/article_external/paralympics_bring_bittersweet_end_for_zanardi/11659477 Paralympics bring bittersweet end for Zanardi http://www.yardbarker.com/all_sports/articles/paralympics_bring_bittersweet_end_for_zanardi/11659477 http://www.yardbarker.com/images/yb_logo_square_grey.png Former Formula One driver Alex Zanardi of Italy has won the gold medal in the 16-kilometer (10-mile) handcycling time trial at the 2012 London Paralympics. Wed, 05 Sep 2012 11:55:09 -0400 http://network.yardbarker.com/all_sports/article_external/zanardi_wins_gold_in_16k_handcycling/11634019 http://network.yardbarker.com/all_sports/article_external/zanardi_wins_gold_in_16k_handcycling/11634019 Zanardi wins gold in 16K handcycling http://www.yardbarker.com/all_sports/articles/zanardi_wins_gold_in_16k_handcycling/11634019 http://www.yardbarker.com/images/yb_logo_square_grey.png Former Formula One driver Alex Zanardi of Italy has won the gold medal in the 16-kilometer (10-mile) handcycling time trial at the 2012 London Paralympics. The two-time CART champion who lost both legs in 2001 race car crash in Germany posted a time of 24 minutes, 50.22 seconds. German Norbert Mossandl took silver with a time of 25 minutes, 17.40 seconds. Beijing gold medal winner Oscar Sanchez of the United States, a former U.S. Marine who injured his spinal cord in a hit-and-run motorcycle accident in 2001, finished in third in 25 minutes, 35.36 seconds. Powered by the arms, a hand cycle has two coasting rear wheels and one steerable front wheel. Wed, 05 Sep 2012 07:27:00 -0400 http://network.yardbarker.com/all_sports/article_external/zanardi_wins_gold_in_16k_handcycling/11634139 http://network.yardbarker.com/all_sports/article_external/zanardi_wins_gold_in_16k_handcycling/11634139 Zanardi wins gold in 16K handcycling http://www.yardbarker.com/all_sports/articles/zanardi_wins_gold_in_16k_handcycling/11634139 http://www.yardbarker.com/images/yb_logo_square_grey.png On June 3, IndyCar racing will return to Belle Isle for the first time since 2008 and just the third time since 2001. This year marks the 30th anniversary of the first Detroit Grand Prix, but open-wheel racing in Detroit goes back to the 1920s. From 1928-1932, and again from 1949-1957, Indy Cars raced on the 1-mile dirt track at the State Fairgrounds. As a horse track, the Fairgrounds was the place where Seabiscuit began to break out of obscurity, but the auto races were won by bigger names - stars like Indy 500 champions Wilbur Shaw, Mauri Rose and Bill Vukovich. After Jimmy Bryan's win in 1957, though, high-level auto racing vanished from the city of Detroit for the next 25 years. Michigan International Speedway opened in 1968 and became the focus of the state's racing activities until the 1980s. In 1982, though, the Motor City became host to the Detroit Grand Prix - the first Formula One race held in the state. Unlike the current Belle Isle track, the race was held downtown, with the Renaissance Mon, 14 May 2012 10:39:54 -0400 http://network.yardbarker.com/all_sports/article_external/indycar_racing_returns_to_detroit/10787717 http://network.yardbarker.com/all_sports/article_external/indycar_racing_returns_to_detroit/10787717 IndyCar racing returns to Detroit http://www.yardbarker.com/all_sports/articles/indycar_racing_returns_to_detroit/10787717 http://www.yardbarker.com/images/yb_logo_square_grey.png 38 years later, the mother of all street races is still going strong.One of the more important stops on the IZOD IndyCar Series calendar, the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach marries SoCal sun and turbo-charged speed together to create an atmosphere unlike any other. The list of winners here isn't so much a group of stars but an entire galaxy, boasting legends like Mario and Michael Andretti, Al Unser, Jr., Gilles Villeneuve and Alex Zanardi, as well as current heroes like Dario Franchitti, Will Power and Sebastien Bourdais.Last year, Mike Conway roared to the front in the late stages and pulled away to score his inaugural series victory. We'll have to wait until Sunday (3:30 pm ET, NBC Sports Network) to see if he can defend his title with his new team at A.J. Foyt Racing, but you don't have to wait to take a spin around this venerable street circuit.Credit for the video goes to INDYCAR and Immersion Media.[youtube]tWVKTbre1ro[/youtube] Tue, 10 Apr 2012 15:29:00 -0400 http://network.yardbarker.com/all_sports/article_external/video_take_a_spin_around_the_beach/10526456 http://network.yardbarker.com/all_sports/article_external/video_take_a_spin_around_the_beach/10526456 Video: Take a spin around the Beach http://www.yardbarker.com/all_sports/articles/video_take_a_spin_around_the_beach/10526456 http://www.yardbarker.com/images/yb_logo_square_grey.png The American LeMans Series heads to California for the 2012 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. This is the 38th year that drivers will head to the streets of Long Beach in a weekend long festival that has grown to enormous proportions. With the Pacific Ocean on one side and downtown Long Beach on the other, this race circuit is one of the most picturesque in racing and annually draws the top international and U.S. drivers to compete. Previous winners in the long history of the race reads like a who's who, and includes Italy's Alex Zanardi, Colombia's Juan Montoya, Brazil's Helio Castroneves, Canada's Paul Tracy, France's Sebastien Bourdais and the United States' Mario Andretti, Al Unser Jr. and Michael Andretti. Last year, Mike Conway took the checkered flag ahead of Ryan Briscoe and Dario Franchitti. Tune in for coverage of this exciting race as the American LeMans Series continues on FOX Sports. All times in GMT 08:00 April 15 2012 American Le Mans Series from Long Beach, CA Tue, 03 Apr 2012 19:08:00 -0400 http://network.yardbarker.com/all_sports/article_external/toyota_grand_prix_of_long_beach/10514006 http://network.yardbarker.com/all_sports/article_external/toyota_grand_prix_of_long_beach/10514006 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach http://www.yardbarker.com/all_sports/articles/toyota_grand_prix_of_long_beach/10514006 http://www.yardbarker.com/images/yb_logo_square_grey.png Alex Zanardi is an inspiration. The former open-wheel driver, who lost his legs in a vicious crash in 2001, won the handcycle division at the New York City Marathon on Sunday with a time of 1:13.58. From Yahoo! Eurosport: Since retiring from international racing at the end of 2009, Zanardi has worked hard on hand cycling - and has competed in many international events as well as setting his sights on representing Italy in the 2012 Paralympics. As well as his victory in New York, he has previously won the Venice Marathon in 2009 and the Rome City Marathon last year. Zanardi won two CART open-wheel championships while driving for Chip Ganassi and while driving in the American Memorial CART race at EuroSpeedway Lausitz in Germany. Exiting the pits, Zanardi was hit by Alex Tagliani and the front nose of his car was ripped off. The always positive Zanardi wanted to continue his racing career, so he got custom prosthetics and drove touring and sports cars until he retired. After retir... Mon, 07 Nov 2011 23:33:10 -0500 http://network.yardbarker.com/all_sports/article_external/alex_zanardi_wins_handcycle_division_at_nyc_marathon/7938703 http://network.yardbarker.com/all_sports/article_external/alex_zanardi_wins_handcycle_division_at_nyc_marathon/7938703 Alex Zanardi wins Handcycle Division at NYC Marathon http://www.yardbarker.com/all_sports/articles/alex_zanardi_wins_handcycle_division_at_nyc_marathon/7938703 http://www.yardbarker.com/images/yb_logo_square_grey.png Four years after his first attempt to win the Handcycle class at the New York Marathon, two-time CART champion Alex Zanardi finally claimed victory on Sunday. Sun, 06 Nov 2011 21:10:10 -0500 http://network.yardbarker.com/formula_one/article_external/indycar_zanardi_wins_class_at_new_york_marathon/7913362 http://network.yardbarker.com/formula_one/article_external/indycar_zanardi_wins_class_at_new_york_marathon/7913362 INDYCAR: Zanardi Wins Class At New York Marathon http://www.yardbarker.com/formula_one/articles/indycar_zanardi_wins_class_at_new_york_marathon/7913362 http://www.yardbarker.com/media/5/b/5bc75955c0f26d0bf1316ccb3c73dffe8a6474af/mini/GettyImageProxy.ashx_requestUrl_http_3a_2f_2fcache.gettyimages.com_2fxc_2f1239888.jpg_3fv_3d1_26c_3dEWSAsset_26k_3d2_26d_3d17A4AD9FDB9CF193B07CCDF00DC06F57F295BDA50930DDDFE30A760B0D811297.jpg