Category: NTT Indy

CHEVROLET RACING IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES
XPEL 375
TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY, FORT WORTH, TEXAS
RACE RECAP – PATO O’WARD WINS FOR CHEVY
MAY 2, 2021

Chevrolet finishes 1-2 in second race of Texas doubleheader
Pato O’Ward earns first victory; Josef Newgarden is runner-up

FORT WORTH, Texas (May 2, 2021) – Pato O’Ward, four days shy of his 22nd birthday, claimed his first NTT INDYCAR SERIES victory in the XPEL 375 at Texas Motor Speedway.

O’Ward, driving the No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet, overtook two-time Series champion Josef Newgarden with 24 laps left in the 248-lap race on the 1.455-mile asymmetrical oval and went on to a 1.2443-second victory. Newgarden, driving the No. 2 XPEL Team Penske Chevrolet, was runner-up for the second time in four races this season.

The victory was the 90th for Chevrolet in 153 races since returning to NTT INDYCAR SERIES manufacturer competition in 2012.

Simon Pagenaud placed sixth in the No. 22 Menards Team Penske Chevrolet, while teammate Scott McLaughlin finished eighth and Rinus VeeKay placed ninth in the No. 21 Sonax/Autogeek Chevrolet for Ed Carpenter Racing. An on-track incident early on involving three Chevrolet drivers sliced the running field by six cars. No one was injured.

A day earlier in the 212-lap Genesys 300, McLaughlin registered a second-place finish in the No. 3 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet in his NTT INDYCAR SERIES oval racing debut. O’Ward finished third.

O’Ward moved to second in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship standings, while Newgarden gained two positions to fourth heading into two events this month at the
Indianapolis Motor Speedway. First up is the GMR Grand Prix on May 15 on the road course. NBC will telecast the race at 2:30 p.m. ET. On May 30 is the 105th Running of the Indianapolis 500.

TEAM CHEVY RACE 2 FINISHERS:

1. Pato O’Ward, No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP
2. Josef Newgarden, No. 2 XPEL Team Penske
3. Simon Pagenaud, No. 22 Menards Team Penske
4. Scott McLaughlin, No. 3 PPG Team Penske
5. Rinus VeeKay, No. 21 Sonax/Autogeek
6. Ed Carpenter, No. 20 U.S. Air Force
7. Will Power, No. 12 Verizon 5G Team Penske
8. Felix Rosenqvist, No. 7 Vuse Arrow McLaren SP
9. Sebastien Bourdais, No. 14 ROKiT/AJ Foyt Racing
10. Dalton Kellett, No. 4 K-Line Insulators/AJ Foyt Racing
11. Conor Daly, No. 59 Gallagher Carlin

DRIVER QUOTES:
PATO O’WARD, NO. 5 ARROW MCLAREN SP CHEVROLET, WINNER:

WHAT WERE YOUR EMOTIONS AS YOU CROSSED THE FINISH LINE FOR YOUR FIRST INDYCAR CHECKERED FLAG?
“Finally man! That was a long race, but we had so much pace in this Arrow McLaren No. 5. I have to thank Vuse, Team Chevy, Mission Foods and everybody on this team who have been doing such a good job. And we bounced back from last weekend and we got a podium yesterday, we had pace and we got the job done today. I couldn’t be happier for another group of guys.”

DID YOU THINK YOUR FIRST INDYCAR WIN WOULD COME AT AN OVAL?
“Honestly no, but hey, I will take it. Its Texas, it’s very close to my heart and I have lived here for many years. Many Mexicans are out there in the grandstands, so thank you very much. So happy, finally!”

YOU SAID WHEN THE SEASON STARTED YOU WANTED TO CAUSE HEADACHES FOR THE GUYS THAT WIN ALL THE TIME. IS THIS WHAT YOU MEANT PATO?
“This is exactly what I meant, yes. All emotions in one. A little big of relief. We got the first win out of the way. This lets us focus on the rest of the championship. I get my formula one test at the end of the year. We feel like we have a good shot a championship. I love INDYCAR racing.”

JOSEF NEWGARDEN, NO. 2 XPEL TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET, FINISHED 2ND: WHAT WERE YOU LACKING AT THE END?

“You know, I don’t know what it was. It just seemed like his Chevy was a little better than my Chevy for some reason. But at the end of the day a Chevy won the race, so I am pretty happy about that. Always have great support from Chevy, and fuel mileage. Fuel mileage was very important and reliability, and Chevrolet is always top notch for those qualities. Happy with that and to get Xpel a good second place finish, and I don’t know that we can be disappointed but we were in the catbird seat for sure. Just did not have the speed at the end, I don’t know what it was. At the middle of the race I made a comment to the guys that we were lacking speed for some reason. I don’t know what it is, but we will figure it out. We did a great job and I was really proud of the team and they stuck to it. We learned some stuff from Scott (McLaughlin) on his car, did a great job in the pits and second place is a good day for us.”

SCOTT MMCLAUGHLIN, NO. 3 PPG TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET, FINISHED 8TH:
“It was an up and down day, we started P7 and got boxed around at the start. Just getting used to everything again and these veterans are very good at getting their car pace very quickly. For me it just took me a little time to get comfortable with the track conditions, but the PPG Chevy was really strong. I felt like we probably weren’t as strong as yesterday as far as car pace and looking after my tires. We were really good with fuel saving and being able to keep the pace up when fuel saving. Very hard to pass and a very one line track where you had to make your time up when there was traffic or lap traffic on restarts. Unfortunately my two restarts were terrible and I lost some positions, but its all learning. On the last one I finally got it together and passed a couple of people. Overall if you told me this weekend I would finish second and eighth, I would have laughed at you. So its nice to come away with two top 10s and finish every lap so far in the INDYCAR season to get a really strong leap forward as we head to the month of May at Indianapolis which is going to be one of the best weeks and months of my life.”

WILL POWER, NO. 12 VERIZON 5G TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET, FINISHED 13TH:“Man, a tough two days at Texas. We got caught out by the yellow there and before that we had a pretty good shot at the top five. Then unfortunately I went three wide and got pushed onto the marbles and its just seriously a one groove track……yeah. It started on the restart where I should have gone to the inside and not the outside, just a bad decision. Still in the game and it’s not as big of a points deficit as we have had before, so yep, just motor on. Its becoming the year I thought it would be with a lot of different winners, pretty mixed up. If we can just keep hammering away here, we can have a big chance.”

SIMON PAGENAUD, NO. 22 TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET, FINISHED 6TH: “Got a P6 in Texas. Good race. Had a car good enough to win. The Menards Chevy was behaving well today. We had some great restarts and awesome pit stops. My crew was on fire on pit lane. So happy with P6 today. We are building toward the championship and races like today will help that. Congratulations to Pato and the who McLaren Schmidt team for their win today.”

RINUS VEEKAY, NO. 21 SONAX ED CARPENTER RACING CHEVROLET, FINISHED 9TH: “Pretty good race. Quite happy with a P9. A lot happened. Quite a flawless race. It was haWrd to get from P12 to the front. But we capitalized, got all the points and came home with another top-10. So we are happy. Now on to Indy GP.”

CONOR DALY, NO. 59 GALLAGHER CARLIN CHEVROLET, DNS -ACCIDENT BEFORE GREEN:
WHAT HAPPEND: “I’m not really sure. I think in general in IndyCar we have too many start crashes. It’ looked fine… everyone accelerated. I had the best view; I was last. Then everyone is nose to tail. Can’t throw blame. I’ve never been upside down in an IndyCar before. On our bingo card of terrible things to have happen to us, I don’t know what’s coming next. Hinch found a hole, then the 4 car caught whoever else was crashing. Then two giant cars came. It turns out you can be upside down quite easily. We will hope to be on to better things in our hometown of Indianapolis soon.”

SEBASTIEN BOURDAIS, NO. 14 ROKIT AJ FOYT RACING CHEVROLET, DNS-ACCIDENT BEFORE GREEN:
WHAT DID YOU SEE? “Obviously I didn’t see anything. Clearly someone was checking up at the front of me, we should be going. It’s not an excuse. When someone checks up in front. It’s a real shame two days in a row we get drilled and taken out of the race. It’s a very expensive day for A.J. Foyt Racing and the No. 14 ROKIT Chevrolet. It’s a shame when you get wrecked, right? Even more when you have something to fight with. The guys worked til midnight to repair the car after Josef took us out, then we can’t even run now. I’m not very impressed right now. “

About Chevrolet
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands, available in 75 countries with nearly 4 million cars and trucks sold in 2019. Chevrolet models include electric and fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found www.chevrolet.com.

• New Zealander claims fifth victory, first to go back-to-back at No Limits, Texas
• Fellow New Zealander Scott McLaughlin second in oval debut

FORT WORTH, Texas (May 1, 2021) – There was a time Scott Dixon wasn’t a big fan of racing at Texas Motor Speedway but you would never know it now as the six-time and reigning NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion earned his second consecutive and fifth overall victory at No Limits, Texas by taking the checkered flag in the Genesys 300.

The New Zealander’s No. 9 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda crossed the finish line 0.2646-of-a-second ahead of fellow Kiwi Scott McLaughlin, the three-time Australian Supercars champion and NTT INDYCAR SERIES rookie who was making his oval track debut in the No. 3 Team Penske Chevrolet. San Antonio resident Patricio “Pato” O’Ward finished third in his No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet.

“It was a bit of a crazy night for us,” Dixon said. “Definitely very tense there at the end. It was kind of cool to be racing a countryman for the last few laps. Fifth win at Texas, baby! That was awesome.

“It feels amazing to be in this position. You just never want it to end. We want to go back-to-back and try to tie Mario tomorrow. I’m sure that’s not exactly what he wants to see. We’ll keep our heads down. It’s extremely tough. This season has been one of the toughest starts, I think, for a lot of us just with how tight the competition is.”

The victory is Dixon’s 51st, putting him just behind Mario Andretti (52) and A.J. Foyt (67) all-time in the series. His fifth Texas Motor Speedway victory breaks a tie with Helio Castroneves for most wins as well as being the first repeat winner in the series’ 33-race history at The Great American Speedway. Dixon’s other three wins came in 2018, 2015 and 2008. The Genesys 300 victory also made it 19 seasons Dixon has earned at least one NTT INDYCAR SERIES victory, breaking a tie with Foyt.

The balance of the top 10 finishers were Alex Palou (No. 10 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet), Graham Rahal (No. 15 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda), Josef Newgarden (No. 2 Team Penske Chevrolet), Jack Harvey (No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing Honda), Alexander Rossi (No. 27 Andretti Autosport Honda), Takumo Sato (No. 30 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda), and Simon Pagenaud (No. 22 Team Penske Chevrolet).

Damp conditions throughout the morning and early afternoon cancelled qualifying, setting the starting grid based on the entrant point standings. That put Palou on the point, the No. 12 Team Penske Chevrolet of Will Power to his right and Ganassi teammate Dixon directly behind, with the No. 26 Andretti Autosport Honda of Colton Herta on the outside of Row 2.

Palou, who came to Texas with the point lead after two races, led the first two laps before Dixon grabbed the top spot. Dixon maintained a 0.4-of-a-second lead over his teammate after 15 laps and slightly less than that by the time green-flag pit stops began on Lap 53.

The day’s first caution waved just four laps later when Sebastien Bourdais made hard contact with the outside retaining wall after a tap from behind by Newgarden. Newgarden was able to continue but INDYCAR officials deemed the incident to be avoidable and penalized him with a restart at the back of the field.

Dixon continued his run out front before relinquishing the lead back to Palou on Lap 125 during another round of green-flag pit stops. But the No. 9 Honda returned to where it was most comfortable just four laps later.

The evening’s second and final caution slowed the field on Lap 160 when the No. 7 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet of Felix Rosenqvist and the No. 29 Andretti Steinbrenner Autosport Honda of James Hinchcliffe made contact in Turn 2, forcing Hinchcliffe hard into the outside wall. It was nearly a mirror image from last year when the two tangled, sending Rosenqvist into the wall and out of the race.

The field returned to green on Lap 175 of 212. McLaughlin lined up directly behind Dixon, with O’Ward and Palou in tow. As the laps counted down, McLaughlin hung tight to the leader but was not able to make a final charge before the checkered flag wave.

There were three lead changes among two drivers and two cautions for 29 laps.

NOTES
NTT INDYCAR SERIES point standings (after three races): Dixon 118, Palou 100, Power 81, O’Ward 80, Harvey 77, McLaughlin 75, Newgarden 75, Pagenaud 74, Rahal 71, Herta 70

Dixon again celebrated the victory in traditional Texas Motor Speedway fashion, wearing a cowboy hat and firing a pair of Smith & Wesson 629 Deluxe six-shooters while accepting the Genesys 300 Foyt Rutherford Trophy produced by Jostens.

Next up on the Texas Motor Speedway schedule is the second race of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES doubleheader weekend, Sunday’s XPEL 375. Live coverage begins May 2 at 4 p.m. CT on NBCSN, The INDYCAR Radio Network and 95.9 The Ranch.

TICKETS:
Tickets for Texas Motor Speedway’s 2021 major event season, including the June 13 NASCAR All-Star Race, are on sale now at http://www.texasmotorspeedway.com.

MORE INFO:
Keep track of all of Texas Motor Speedway’s events by following on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Keep up with all the latest news and information on the speedway website and TMS mobile app.

CHEVROLET RACING IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES
GENESYS 300 AND XPEL 375 – DOUBLEHEADER WEEKEND
TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
FORT WORTH, TEXAS
RACE RECAP
MAY 1, 2021

SCOTT MCLAUGHLIN, PATO O’WARD PUT CHEVY ON PODIUM
Young stars continue to make major gains early in the season

FORT WORTH, Texas (May 1, 2021) – Chevrolet drivers recorded second- and third-place finishes in the Genesys 300 at Texas Motor Speedway – the first race of an NTT INDYCAR SERIES doubleheader on the fast 1.455 oval.

Eleven Team Chevy drivers will line up May 2 for the XPEL 375.

Scott McLaughlin made his Series debut on an oval memorable with a runner-up finish in the No. 3 PP Team Penske Chevrolet after starting 15th in the 24-car field based on championship entrant points after weather delays forced cancellation of NTT P1 Award qualifications.

The first-year NTT INDYCAR SERIES driver, making his third start overall, had a 90-minute practice session earlier in the day and a March 31 test on the asymmetrical racetrack. Powered by the 2.2-liter, twin-turbocharged, direct-injected V6 Chevrolet engine, McLaughlin finished .2646 of a second behind winner Scott Dixon.

Pato O’Ward, who started 11th in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet, recorded his second top-five finish in three races with third place as he approaches his 22nd birthday May 6.

Josef Newgarden, a two-time winner at Texas Motor Speedway, was in contention for the victory until he received a penalty for unavoidable contact on Lap 70 that sent the No. 2 XPEL Team Penske Chevrolet to the rear of the field on the restart of the race. Still, Newgarden rallied to a sixth-place finish.

Teammate Simon Pagenaud completed the Team Chevy top 10 with 10th place in the No. 22 Menards Team Penske Chevrolet.

NBCSN will telecast the XPEL 375 live at 5 p.m. ET. The race will also be broadcast live on INDYCAR Radio Network affiliates, Sirius 211, XM 205, Indycar.com, and on the INDYCAR Mobile app powered by NTT DATA.

TEAM CHEVY RACE 1 FINISHERS:

2. Scott McLaughlin, No. 3 PPG Team Penske
3. Pato O’Ward, No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP
4. Josef Newgarden, No. 2 XPEL Team Penske
5. Simon Pagenaud, No. 22 Menards Team Penske
6. Felix Rosenqvist, No. 7 Vuse Arrow McLaren SP
7. Will Power, No. 12 Verizon 5G Team Penske
8. Ed Carpenter, No. 20 U.S. Air Force
9. Dalton Kellett, No. 4 K-Line Insulators/AJ Foyt Racing
10. Rinus VeeKay, No. 21 Sonax/Autogeek
11. Conor Daly, No. 59 Gallagher Carlin
12. Sebastien Bourdais, No. 14 ROKiT/AJ Foyt Racing

DRIVER QUOTES:
SCOTT MCLAUGHLIN, NO. 3 PPG TEAM PENSKE – FINISHED 2ND
HOW PROUD OF SECOND PLACE ARE YOU TODAY?
“I’ve never been this bloody happy with second. I’m really stoked. Everyone at PPG and Chevy, thank you. I just didn’t have enough for Scott (Dixon) at the end. It was bloody cool battling with one of my all-time heroes. Two Kiwis 1 and 2, fantastic.”

DID YOU HAVE TO SNAP OUT OF IT WHEN YOU WERE CHASING THE OTHER SCOTT?
“I’m just so proud. I’ve worked really hard behind the scenes to make it feel good, and we got some good strategy there from my team. They put me in a position; I’m just happy to bring it home for them.”

COUPLE OF THINGS IN THE BACK OF YOUR MIND YOU MIGHT HAVE TRIED DIFFERENTLY AGAINST DIXON?
“I was trying really hard but it’s so hard in dirty air. I was hoping there would be some traffic toward the end and I could have a run. I was really good through (Turns) 3 and 4, but I just couldn’t get through 1 and 2. P2 is good and we’ll get a win one day.

“So many thanks! That guy in front of me, Scott Dixon, is a legend in this sport and a fellow countryman. It was very special for me and for New Zealand. Very proud of everyone at Team Penske, PPG and Chevy for giving me a very good engine. I couldn’t quite get there at the end but I’ve never been this happy with a second place. The testing really paid off. Just getting familiar and getting a feeling for everything. My engineers got me to the point where I am comfortable. I’m really proud of everyone on this PPG Chevy. We had a really great strategy. I can hardly wait until tomorrow!”

PATO O’WARD, NO. 5 ARROW MCLAREN SP – FINISHED 3RD
YOUR STRATEGIST MADE THE CALL TO SHORT-PIT EARLY ON. IS THAT WHAT GOT YOU ON THE PODIUM?
“That was the call. I knew we had such a fast car, especially by ourselves. And I knew if we could get in clean air we could really make up some track position. In the beginning, we were just really stuck in a train. It’s very tough to pass. But what a great race car. We’re ready for tomorrow. I want to thank Arrow Electronics, Vuse, Team Chevy and the Arrow McLaren SP No. 5 guys. This is a very good step in the right direction. There are a couple more positions we want to get, but this should really put us tomorrow in a better starting position than what we started today.”

A STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION IN TERMS OF OVALS OR OVERALL?
“In terms of ovals and overall. We bounced back after a pretty tough weekend in St. Pete, so we want to come back tomorrow and try to do better and roll into the Month of May for the Indy road course and the crown jewel of the schedule.”
WHAT WILL YOU THINK ABOUT FOR TOMORROW? WERE THE VIBRATIONS A CONVERN FOR YOU AT ALL?
“It was at the end. I didn’t quite have anything for McLaughlin and Dixon. They were very quick. I didn’t want to risk anything. I started getting a little wiggly and were getting some temperature issues for I just said let’s take this and we’ll come back tomorrow and see what we got.

“This Arrow McLaren SP group made my life so much easier with that off strategy call. It really paid off for us. The car changed quite a bit during the race. Towards the end we had some issues with temps so we didn’t have quite enough for both Scotts there at the end. These guys did a great job of getting us up there. Chevy worked hard. We should have a way better starting place tomorrow which will be good. We have a fast car.”

JOSEF NEWGARDEN, NO. 2 XPEL TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET, FINISHED 6TH: “Tough night here in Texas for Race one. We recovered to finish in sixth place. Kind of a scrappy day. We started 10th. Made our way back up to finish sixth at the end of the day. . Had a minor altercation with a couple of cars running one-two. Big check-up. Unfortunately right now here at Texas to move out of that bottom lane. It is really a one lane race track right now. When there is a big checkup like that, I didn’t have time to react and ended up tapping Bourdais and spinning him. Got a penalty for that and went all the back-I think 21st. It was unfortunate to lose all that track position, I was going to restart fifth. We did every thing we could do to claw back to sixth. Pretty happy for that for XPEL and Chevy. We learned from our teammates. Great job for Scotty finishing second. We will look at what they have on their car and come back tomorrow and try to win it.”

SIMON PAGENAUD, NO. 22 MENARDS TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET, FINISHED 10TH: “P10 tonight here in Texas. Considering the day, I think P10 is reasonable. We had a very fast car with our Chevy Menards car tonight. We had excessive vibration on tires which didn’t allow us to do long stints. We had an issue with a brake that we will have to investigate tonight. We have a fast car so we should expect to be back in form tomorrow.:

SEBASTIEN BOURDAID, NO. 14 ROKIT AJ FOYT RACING CHEVROLET, RETIRED FROM RACE ON LAP 55 AFTER BEING INVOLVED IN A SINGLE CAR INCIDENT, FINISHED 24TH:
“I am just disappointed I guess. We struggled like hell here at testing, and this afternoon really wasn’t any better. We just threw everything we had at it and it was working! We had a pretty decent car and the ROKIT No. 14 Chevrolet was in the mix. We were fast and I passed. I think that was the first time I passed. I was pretty happy. A lot of guys were starting to run out of tires, we were too. I don’t know why Colton (Herta) decided to go so slow out of two, but we ended up on top of one another. I was slowing down with him. I got hit in the back and it took me out. It’s a real shame because I think we had something to play with them today. I’m okay. Just a really bad break for our ROKIT No. 14 Chevrolet. It is such a shame. A missed opportunity. There was chain reaction and we got the short end of it.”

About Chevrolet
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands, available in 75 countries with nearly 4 million cars and trucks sold in 2019. Chevrolet models include electric and fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found www.chevrolet.com.

FORT WORTH, Texas (Saturday, May 1, 2021) – Scott Dixon schooled the rest of the Genesys 300 field in an oval-racing clinic Saturday night at Texas Motor Speedway, leading a race-record 206 of 212 laps for his first victory of the 2021 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season.

Dixon drove the No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda to victory by .2646 of a second over fellow New Zealand native Scott McLaughlin in the No. 3 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet, who was racing on an oval for the first time. Pato O’Ward finished third in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet.

“It was a bit of a crazy night for us,” Dixon said. “Definitely very tense there at the end. It was kind of cool to be racing a countryman for the last few laps. Fifth win at Texas, baby! That was awesome.”

This was the 51st victory of the legendary career of six-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Dixon, just one behind tying Mario Andretti for No. 2 on the all-time win list. A.J. Foyt leads with 67 wins.

“It feels amazing to be in this position,” Dixon said. “You just never want it to end. We want to go back-to-back and try to tie Mario tomorrow. I’m sure that’s not exactly what he wants to see. We’ll keep our heads down. It’s extremely tough. This season has been one of the toughest starts, I think, for a lot of us just with how tight the competition is.”

The victory also marks Dixon’s 19th INDYCAR SERIES season with at least one victory. He also took the series points lead with his third victory in the last four seasons at the 1.5-mile oval.

NTT INDYCAR SERIES drivers and teams will race again Sunday evening at Texas in the XPEL 375, a 248-lap race. Live coverage starts at 5 p.m. (ET) on NBCSN and the INDYCAR Radio Network.

Dixon, who started second, held a comfortable lead of three to five seconds at various points during the race, which went the distance despite rain in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. But McLaughlin applied plenty of pressure over the last stint of the race after the final pit stops for most of the field under caution on Lap 165.

Three-time Australian V8 Supercars champion McLaughlin showed the composure and tactical sense of an oval racing veteran in his first race of only left turns, staying within about half a second of Dixon during the closing laps.

Dixon approached lap traffic with two laps to go, with the turbulent air from those cars slowing his charge toward the checkered. But he held off McLaughlin long enough for victory, averaging 173.036 mph.

“I have this thing on the dash that tells me the gaps to cars,” said Dixon, 40. “I probably need to take it off because it was stressing me out more than anything. I kept looking down, looking in the mirror. He was fast.”

Said McLaughlin, 27: “I’ve never been this bloody happy to finish second in my life. I’m really stoked. I just couldn’t get Scotty (Dixon) there at the end. But I’ll tell you what: It was bloody cool battling with my all-time favorite hero, Scotty Dixon. Two Kiwis, one and two. My Mom and Dad are watching at home (in New Zealand), for sure.”

It was a night of mixed results for the winners of the first two races of the season.

Alex Palou, winner of the season opener April 18 at Barber Motorsports Park, finished fourth in the No. 10 NTT DATA Chip Ganassi Racing Honda after starting from the pole when qualifying for the NTT P1 Award was canceled due to weather delays earlier in the day.

Colton Herta, winner April 25 at St. Petersburg, placed 22nd after a mechanical problem in his No. 26 Gainbridge Honda ended his night after completing 190 laps.

Sebastien Bourdais and James Hinchcliffe were unhurt in separate accidents that triggered the only two caution periods of the race.

Four-time INDYCAR SERIES champion Bourdais hit the SAFER Barrier hard in Turn 2 in the No. 14 ROKiT AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet after he was nudged into a spin by contact from the No. 2 XPEL Team Penske Chevrolet of two-time series champion Josef Newgarden on Lap 56. Newgarden was moved to the back of the lead lap on the restart as a penalty for the contact.

Hinchcliffe made contact with the SAFER Barrier in Turn 2 after spinning on Lap 160 in the No. 29 Genesys Honda.

Harvey advances to fifth in INDYCAR Championship following Saturday’s result

Fort Worth, Texas (1 May 2021) – Jack Harvey showed impressive pace on Saturday for Race 1 of the INDYCAR weekend at Texas Motor Speedway. A seventh place finish in the Genesys 300 advanced Meyer Shank Racing and the No. 60 AutoNation / SiriusXM Honda to fifth in the championship points standings with three rounds of racing in the books.

Quick weekends at Texas Motor Speedway seem to be the trend since Meyer Shank Racing and Harvey made his debut at the 1.5-mile oval last year. What was supposed to be Practice, Qualifying and Race 1 on Saturday soon turned to just a single practice session ahead of Race 1 due to a potential weather system threatening the area.

Closing out a 90-minute practice session on Saturday afternoon P15, the focus quickly turned to preparing the No. 60 Honda for the Genesys 300. With qualifying cancelled and now determined by championship points, Harvey rolled off of the grid sixth for the start of the race.

At the drop of the green flag, Harvey got a strong jump and made a fast pass for fifth. It only took the first 10 laps for Harvey to start gaining ground on fourth place. As the first pit window started closing in, Harvey was hot on the tails of P4. At a track that is notoriously difficult to pass at, Harvey made the pass for third and ran in podium contention going into the first pit stop on lap 64.

Harvey ran strong as the team opted to stay out longer going into the second pit stop in hopes of gaining additional positions. Unfortunately, the No. 60 fell to eighth following the second stop, but Harvey put his head down and moved back up to seventh just a few laps later.

The final stop saw the MSR crew make a lightning quick stop which put Harvey two positions ahead once returning to track. The final 25 laps were a dash to the finish which, in the end, saw Harvey cross the line seventh. The top ten result puts Harvey fifth in the championship standings which is also where he will start Sunday’s XPEL 375.

“I thought today went really well, at times we looked really good and at others I think we had some things to work through,” said Harvey. “We had a small issue with the shift lights in the car, so restarts were a bit tricky. The No. 60 AutoNation / SiriusXM Honda is pretty quick around here. The biggest thing for us is the level of improvement compared to a year ago, it’s just massive. I’m so grateful for Meyer Shank Racing and the effort they put in and now we’ll just try to do better tomorrow.”

Race 2 for the Texas Motor Speedway double-header race weekend is set for 6:00pm ET on Sunday with live coverage on NBCSN. IndyCar Radio coverage will also be on SiriusXM Ch. 205.

CHEVROLET RACING IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES
GENESYS 300 AND XPEL 375 – DOUBLEHEADER WEEKEND
TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
FORT WORTH, TEXAS
PODIUM FINISHERS -SCOTT MCLAUGHLIN AND PATO O’WARD
MAY 1, 2021

SCOTT MCLAUGHLN, NO. 3 PPG TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET, ROOKIE-OF-THE-YEAR CONTENDER, AND PATO O’WARD, NO. 5 ARROW MCLAREN SP CHEVROLET, FINISHED SECOND AND THIRD RESPECTIVELY TO GIVE CHEVROLET DOUBLE PODIUM:

DRIVER QUOTES:
SCOTT MCLAUGHLIN, NO. 3 PPG TEAM PENSKE – FINISHED 2ND
HOW PROUD OF SECOND PLACE ARE YOU TODAY?
“I’ve never been this bloody happy with second. I’m really stoked. Everyone at PPG and Chevy, thank you. I just didn’t have enough for Scott (Dixon) at the end. It was bloody cool battling with one of my all-time heroes. Two Kiwis 1 and 2, fantastic.”

DID YOU HAVE TO SNAP OUT OF IT WHEN YOU WERE CHASING THE OTHER SCOTT?
“I’m just so proud. I’ve worked really hard behind the scenes to make it feel good, and we got some good strategy there from my team. They put me in a position; I’m just happy to bring it home for them.”

COUPLE OF THINGS IN THE BACK OF YOUR MIND YOU MIGHT HAVE TRIED DIFFERENTLY AGAINST DIXON?
“I was trying really hard but it’s so hard in dirty air. I was hoping there would be some traffic toward the end and I could have a run. I was really good through (Turns) 3 and 4, but I just couldn’t get through 1 and 2. P2 is good and we’ll get a win one day.

“So many thanks! That guy in front of me, Scott Dixon, is a legend in this sport and a fellow countryman. It was very special for me and for New Zealand. Very proud of everyone at Team Penske, PPG and Chevy for giving me a very good engine. I couldn’t quite get there at the end but I’ve never been this happy with a second place. The testing really paid off. Just getting familiar and getting a feeling for everything. My engineers got me to the point where I am comfortable. I’m really proud of everyone on this PPG Chevy. We had a really great strategy. I can hardly wait until tomorrow!”

PATO O’WARD, NO. 5 ARROW MCLAREN SP – FINISHED 3RD
YOUR STRATEGIST MADE THE CALL TO SHORT-PIT EARLY ON. IS THAT WHAT GOT YOU ON THE PODIUM?
“That was the call. I knew we had such a fast car, especially by ourselves. And I knew if we could get in clean air we could really make up some track position. In the beginning, we were just really stuck in a train. It’s very tough to pass. But what a great race car. We’re ready for tomorrow. I want to thank Arrow Electronics, Vuse, Team Chevy and the Arrow McLaren SP No. 5 guys. This is a very good step in the right direction. There are a couple more positions we want to get, but this should really put us tomorrow in a better starting position than what we started today.”
A STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION IN TERMS OF OVALS OR OVERALL?
“In terms of ovals and overall. We bounced back after a pretty tough weekend in St. Pete, so we want to come back tomorrow and try to do better and roll into the Month of May for the Indy road course and the crown jewel of the schedule.”
WHAT WILL YOU THINK ABOUT FOR TOMORROW? WERE THE VIBRATIONS A CONVERN FOR YOU AT ALL?
“It was at the end. I didn’t quite have anything for McLaughlin and Dixon. They were very quick. I didn’t want to risk anything. I started getting a little wiggly and were getting some temperature issues for I just said let’s take this and we’ll come back tomorrow and see what we got.

“This Arrow McLaren SP group made my life so much easier with that off strategy call. It really paid off for us. The car changed quite a bit during the race. Towards the end we had some issues with temps so we didn’t have quite enough for both Scotts there at the end. These guys did a great job of getting us up there. Chevy worked hard. We should have a way better starting place tomorrow which will be good. We have a fast car.”

About Chevrolet
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands, available in 75 countries with nearly 4 million cars and trucks sold in 2019. Chevrolet models include electric and fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found www.chevrolet.com.

INDIANAPOLIS (Thursday, April 29, 2021) – After staging a race on a permanent road course and another on a temporary street circuit, the NTT INDYCAR SERIES is ready to ramp up the speed with its first oval event of the season this weekend at Texas Motor Speedway.

Call it a Texas two-step as the Genesys 300 opens the show at 7 p.m. (ET) Saturday followed by the XPEL 375 at 5 p.m. (ET) Sunday. The first race is 212 laps, the second 248 on the 1.5-mile oval. Both races will air live on NBCSN and the INDYCAR Radio Network.

Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon won last year’s event, leading 157 of the 200 laps in the first of three consecutive victories to open his title-winning season. It was the third consecutive year that the Texas winner went on to capture the championship. But Dixon figures to have plenty of challengers in the first doubleheader at Texas since 2011.

These two races also help set the stage for a busy Month of May – two races each at TMS and Indianapolis Motor Speedway, plus NTT P1 Award qualifying for the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge. It’s possible, though unlikely in this competitive sport, that a driver could collect a staggering 274 points this month alone!

Given the two-day format at Texas, there is only one practice, a 75-minute session at 12:45 p.m. (ET) Saturday (live on Peacock Premium, NBC’s streaming service). Qualifying is at 4 p.m. (ET) Saturday (live on Peacock and NBCSN), with the starting grid for both races set in the session. Sign up for Peacock Premium at www.peacocktv.com for $4.99 per month to get all the INDYCAR action, Indy Lights races and shoulder programming.

Here are five things to look for this weekend in Fort Worth:

Ch-ch-changes
Let’s start with which drivers will be in the 24-car field and which cars they will drive. Two of the more noteworthy additions are former Texas race winners.

Tony Kanaan, who won at the track for Andretti Autosport in 2004, will drive the No. 48 Bryant Honda of Chip Ganassi Racing in the Genesys 300 and the No. 48 American Legion Honda for the Ganassi team in the XPEL 375.

2004 series champion Kanaan is sharing the entry this season with seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson, who is focusing on the road courses and street circuits. These will be two of Kanaan’s four races this year, the others being the Indianapolis 500 on May 30 and the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 on Aug. 21 at World Wide Technology Raceway.

The other former Texas race winner making his season debut is Ed Carpenter, who in recent years has driven only on the oval tracks. Carpenter will drive the No. 20 U.S. Air Force Chevrolet, a seat held in the season’s first two races by Conor Daly. Like last year, Daly has moved to the No. 59 Carlin Chevrolet that Max Chilton usually drives. Chilton will be back in the car for both the GMR Grand Prix at IMS on Saturday, May 15 and the “500.”

Like Johnson, Formula One veteran Romain Grosjean is not competing on the ovals as an INDYCAR newcomer, and his seat in the No. 51 Nurtec ODT Honda of Dale Coyne Racing with RWR will be taken on the ovals by rookie Pietro Fittipaldi. The 24-year-old Brazilian competed in three oval races in his six-race 2018 INDYCAR season cut short by injuries suffered in a World Endurance Championship sports car event in Belgium.

This isn’t the first time Fittipaldi has stood in for Grosjean. He drove the last two races of the 2020 Formula One season for the Haas F1 Team after Grosjean suffered burned hands in a fiery crash at Bahrain.

Former Texas Winners Aplenty
The next important factor to consider is which drivers have enjoyed success on Texas’ 1.5-mile oval. There are six who have won there, the highest number of former winners in an INDYCAR race this season until the “500,” when there could be up to nine.

Dixon dominated last year’s event in the No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Honda, one of his four wins at the track. Dixon’s other wins came in 2008, 2015 and 2018, which means he has won two of the past three outings and three of the past six. Only Helio Castroneves, who is not in this field, has won four INDYCAR races at Texas.

Team Penske’s Will Power (No. 12 Verizon 5G Chevrolet) has a pair of Texas wins, in 2011 and 2017. Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing’s Graham Rahal (No. 15 Fleet Cost & Care Honda) won in 2016 and Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden (No. 2 XPEL Team Penske Chevrolet) won in 2019.

INDYCAR’s Youth Movement
Chip Ganassi Racing’s Alex Palou (No. 10 NTT DATA Chip Ganassi Racing Honda) is the series points leader as a 24-year-old series sophomore, and a pair of 21-year-olds – Arrow McLaren SP’s Pato O’Ward (No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet) and Andretti Autosport’s Colton Herta (No. 26 Gainbridge Honda) – won the NTT P1 Award as pole winner at the season’s first two races. Herta led 197 of the 200 laps in winning last weekend’s Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.

Also off to a strong start this season is Ed Carpenter Racing’s Rinus VeeKay (No. 21 Sonax/Autogeek Chevrolet). VeeKay, 20, has finished sixth and ninth in the season’s opening races, respectively, good for eighth in the standings.

Here’s an interesting fact about INDYCAR’s youth movement: Herta and VeeKay were 3 years old when Dixon scored his first top-three finish at Texas in the season-ending 2003 race. O’Ward was 4.

Parity on the Podium
The first two races of the INDYCAR season have seen six different drivers earn top-three finishing positions. In fact, the top four finishers in the two races have been represented by eight different drivers.

Consequently, the point totals are tighter than normal. Palou leads with 67, but Power and Dixon have 65 and Herta 62. Given the point structure, it is likely that any driver currently in the top nine will be the series leader – at least for a night – with a win Saturday.

Not surprisingly, there is congestion in the middle of the pack, too. Only four points separate fifth from ninth place, and three drivers – AJ Foyt Racing’s Sebastien Bourdais (No. 14 ROKiT AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet), Meyer Shank Racing’s Jack Harvey (No. 60 AutoNation/Sirius XM Honda) and VeeKay — are tied with 51 points. Chip Ganassi Racing’s Marcus Ericsson (No. 8 Huski Chocolate Chip Ganassi Racing Honda) has 50 points.

Title Hopefuls Need Help
And then there are those especially eager to climb in the standings.

Newgarden (10th place with 47 points), O’Ward (11th with 45), Rahal (13th with 41) and Andretti Autosport’s Alexander Rossi (16th with 31) are ones to watch in this race. Newgarden and Rahal have combined for three wins, with Newgarden third last year and Rahal second in 2012 and 2019.

Rossi has had strong cars at Texas – he finished third in 2018 and was second in 2019 – and is desperate for a good points day after finishing ninth at Barber Motorsports Park and 21st in St. Petersburg, the latter due to his car suffering a flat right front tire in Turn 4 contact with Rahal. A slow start to last season cost Rossi a chance at the championship, and he had vowed to begin better this year. So far it hasn’t happened, but Texas could be his turnaround.