The Best Off-Track Moments From The 2016 IndyCar Season

Everyone knows how the 2016 IndyCar season happened on the track, but what about all the memorable moments that weren’t about racing? We look back at our favorites.

IndyCar fans know that the racing is only half of what makes the league so great. The other half is all the things that happen outside of the track – the drivers’ adventures, the creative YouTube videos, and the other random moments that make us laugh throughout the season.

2016 was no exception. While Simon Pagenaud bulldozed through the field to win his first-ever IndyCar championship, this year once again provided plenty of opportunities for the charismatic personalities and funny wisecracks of the IndyCar paddock to shine through.

It also included another few poignant instances where we were reminded that this is a league of truly quality people that we can be proud to root for.

We’ve collected a selection of our favorites below, so that you can relive the best off-track moments from the 2016 IndyCar season.

Conor Daly and Alexander Rossi Go To Space Camp

When IndyCar arrives for the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama, it likes to send its drivers to Space Camp in nearby Huntsville. Two years ago it was James Hinchcliffe and Josef Newgarden; this year it was rookies Conor Daly and Alexander Rossi.

You can pretty much put Daly in any video and it’ll make this list; he’s the IndyCar Series’ resident comedian, along with his housemate Hinchcliffe, and finds a way to sneak a wisecrack into every situation. But the “Space Camp” video was a fun way to learn more about him and future Indianapolis 500 winner Rossi before they made their first career starts at Barber Motorsports Park.

Mikhail Aleshin and Will Power Get Musical

Two IndyCar drivers showed off their musical talents in May ahead of the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500. Schmidt Peterson Motorsports’ Mikhail Aleshin, whose off-season pursuit is actually being in a rock band in his native Russia, donned some sunglasses and a leather jacket to rock out with the band during Indianapolis’ Rev celebration.

And in a separate event, Team Penske’s Will Power revealed his skill with the drums when he was part of a massive performance of the OneRepublic hit “Love Runs Out.” So we’ve got a drummer and a guitarist – what would it take to round up a few more people and create an IndyCar band? (You could put Daly in charge of the band’s pyrotechnics.)

IndyCar Drivers Join ‘Celebrity Family Feud’

IndyCar normally teams with ABC for the May races, but in 2016 the two organizations came together to put a roster of drivers together for the network’s game show Celebrity Family Feud. Power, Daly, Hinchcliffe, Helio Castroneves and Tony Kanaan battled a quintet of Sports Illustrated supermodels and defeated them handily to win the game.

But in the true spirit of all these off-track moments, who had the top score really wasn’t the point. It was watching the drivers clown around and be completely out of their element, whether it was Hinch encouraging his colleagues to “get naked” or TK planting an unexpected kiss on Conor. Victory’s sweet, but the ongoing bromance between IndyCar’s best was even sweeter.

Castroneves, Kanaan and Newgarden on ‘American Ninja Warrior’

As if one TV game show wasn’t enough, three IndyCar stars were also recruited to compete in NBC’s American Ninja Warrior during its Indianapolis qualifying round. Castroneves, Kanaan and Josef Newgarden joined NASCAR’s Ricky Stenhouse Jr. to try and tackle the show’s impressively complex obstacle course.

While none of them were able to make it to the end, it was great to see them showing off how athletic race car drivers really are (Kanaan runs Ironman marathons, for crying out loud!) and also to see several other drivers and members of the racing community out there cheering them on. It wasn’t just a promotional gimmick; it was an actual chance to get them some deserved props for their physicality, and second only to the appearance of the Tyrannosaurus Rex.

Drivers Take To The Stands In Texas

The 2016 Firestone 600 was a bit crazy, from its initial rain delay to eventual postponement and then the penalization of Hinchcliffe after the fact. But during that first hold for inclement weather something really cool happened. Members of the IndyCar staff gathered up some of the drivers and they headed into the grandstands to sign autographs for and pose for photos with the fans who’d been patiently waiting hours for the race to start.

It was a truly heartwarming sight to see so many drivers wading into the crowd to make sure that the fans came away with something for their time and trouble. You wouldn’t necessarily see that at any other sporting event, and it reaffirmed the commitment that IndyCar has to not only putting on good races but making every event a great experience for its fans.

Remembering Bryan Clauson

It’s terrible that for the second IndyCar season in a row, we’re mourning the loss of a beloved driver. While Stefan Wilson joined KVSH Racing for the Indianapolis 500 in honor of his late brother Justin, we also said goodbye to Bryan Clauson later in 2016. Yet as with Justin’s passing the tragedy also served as a reminder of the integrity and heart of IndyCar.

We saw the drivers and teams of the league – as well as NASCAR and other motorsports organizations throughout the country – come together to remember Bryan, drive in his honor and celebrate his life the way that it deserved to be. Once again we saw how IndyCar truly is a family and that beyond racing, beyond competition, this is a group of people that understands what really matters and comes together when it matters most.

And that is by far number one on our list of IndyCar’s best off-track moments, because it’s something we’ll remember forever.

Next: Time To Revisit IndyCar's Hilarious 'Offseason'

These are just a selection of our favorite off-track moments from the 2016 IndyCar season; there are plenty more that didn’t make the cut. Do you have memorable off-track moments that you loved this year? Let us know in the comments.