PLYMOUTH, Wis. (May 20, 2023) – Patrick Woods-Toth took his first-career victory on Saturday afternoon during the opening race of the weekend for Formula 4 United States Championship Powered by Honda (F4 U.S.) at Road America. When the season opened at NOLA Motorsports Park just two months ago, Woods-Toth (No. 27 Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F4) recorded one second-place result and two third-place finishes, making today’s result his fourth-straight podium finish.
Woods-Toth started the race second on the grid just behind his teammate Jesse Lacey (No. 16 Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F4). Both drivers had a clean start, and Lacey initially pulled into the point position to lead the first lap. As they raced down the front stretch, Woods-Toth pulled side-by-side with Lacey before taking over the top spot.
Meanwhile, Frankie Mossman (No. 6 Jay Howard Driver Development / CSU One Cure / Lucas Oil / LHP Ligier JS F4) lined up fifth on the grid. Initially falling back a few positions with aggressive two- and three-wide racing during opening lap, Mossman rebounded to retake the fifth position just before a full-course caution was displayed. With the field regrouped and a chance to pick up track position when the race returned to green, Mossman took it three-wide coming down the front stretch. Successfully taking over the fourth position from Titus Sherlock (No. 31 Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F4), Mossman pulled side-by-side with Alex Berg (No. 08 MySim.ca/Rhode & Liesenfeld/Easy Drift/Penn Elcom Online/Dae Systems Ligier JS F4) to battle for the third position as they neared Turn 3. Taking over the position as they came off Turn 5, Mossman never looked back.
As they finally crossed the line to take the checkered flag, Woods-Toth led Lacey, Mossman and the rest of the field.
“We’ve had a good start to the championship, and today was our day, it looks like,” said Woods-Toth as he stepped atop the podium. “I’m happy. I’d like to thank Orlando, MRFKC, Ron Fellows, all of my Crosslink Kiwi team, and Adam and Glen for all the hard work on the car. It was an awesome day today.”
F4 U.S. returns to action tomorrow for the final two races of the weekend. The lights go out for Race 2 at 9:10 a.m. CT. Then, at 12:25 p.m., fans are invited to join us in the pre-grid area between Victory Circle and Pit Road for a fan walk. Come meet the drivers of F4 U.S. and FR Americas, collect photos and autographs, and see the F4 U.S. cars up close and personal just minutes before they take the track for their final race of the weekend. For updates, follow F4 U.S. on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, or use Race Monitor to follow live timing and scoring. A live feed from the Road America Jumbotron will be available throughout the weekend on Road America’s YouTube page.
About Formula Regional Americas Championship & Formula 4 United States Championship, Powered by Honda: The FIA-certified Formula 4 United States Championship (F4 U.S.) & Formula Regional Americas Championship (FR Americas) are designed as entry-level open-wheel racing series offering young talent the opportunity to demonstrate their skills on an international platform while keeping affordability and safety as key elements. The Championships align with the global FIA development ladder philosophy of using common components to provide a cost-efficient, reliable and powerful racing structure as drivers ascend through the levels on their way to U.S. or global racing success. The F4 U.S. Champion is awarded a scholarship to compete the following season in FR Americas, while the FR Americas Champion is awarded a Super Formula Scholarship from Honda Performance Development and Honda Racing Corporation.
INDIANAPOLIS (Saturday, May 20, 2023) – Felix Rosenqvist led a historic day of qualifying Saturday for the 107th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge, turning the third-fastest four-lap qualifying run in history to lead the 12 drivers who will compete for the NTT P1 Award on Sunday.
Rosenqvist’s second run of the day, at 4:42 p.m. ET, featured a four-lap average speed of 233.947 mph in the No. 6 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet. Only Arie Luyendyk’s all-time record run of 236.986 in 1996 and Scott Dixon’s pole run of 234.048 last year were faster.
The Swede’s first attempt, at 11:55 a.m., clocked in at 233.099.
“Super proud of the whole team for executing,” Rosenqvist said. “That last run we did was just phenomenal. Almost in a 234 average. That was pretty mind-blowing how we found so much speed. We weren’t super happy on our first run, so we had two or three reasons to think we were going to go quicker. We kind of put them all together. Wow, what a run.
“Yeah, just a fun time to be in Arrow McLaren right now. Everything kind of resets for tomorrow, but we’re definitely feeling good right now.”
Rosenqvist’s teammate Alexander Rossi was second at 233.528 in the No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, and 2021 NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Alex Palou was third at 233.398 in the No. 10 The American Legion Honda fielded by Chip Ganassi Racing.
Rinus VeeKay was fourth at 233.395 in the No. 21 Bitnile.com Chevrolet fielded by Ed Carpenter Racing, with six-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Dixon fifth at 233.375 in the No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda.
2013 Indy 500 winner Tony Kanaan, making his final NTT INDYCAR SERIES start in this race, was sixth at 233.347 in the No. 66 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet. Arrow McLaren put all four of its cars in the top eight today, while Chip Ganassi Racing put its four in the top 10.
Katherine Legge made history with her qualifying run in the No. 44 Hendrickson Honda fielded by Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, turning the fastest single qualifying lap and four-lap qualifying average by a female driver in Indy 500 history. Her fastest lap of 231.627 broke the record of 230.201 set by Simona de Silvestro in 2021, and her four-lap average of 231.070 eclipsed the mark of 229.439 set by Sarah Fisher in 2002 and secured the final locked-in starting spot of the day, 30th.
While positions 13-30 were locked into the field today, PPG Presents Armed Forces Qualifying continues Sunday with the dramatic Firestone Fast Six runs for the NTT P1 Award and the pressure of making the 33-car field in Last Chance Qualifying.
The 12 fastest drivers from today will participate in Top 12 Qualifying from 2-3 p.m. ET (live, Peacock and INDYCAR Radio Network), with the six fastest from that session competing for the pole in Firestone Fast Six Qualifying from 5:15-5:45 p.m. In between those two sessions, the four slowest drivers from today will compete for the final three spots in the field in Last Chance Qualifying from 4-5 p.m. NBC, Peacock and the INDYCAR Radio Network will broadcast the last two sessions live from 4-6 p.m.
Participants in Top 12 Qualifying are Rosenqvist, Rossi, Palou, VeeKay, Dixon, Kanaan, two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Takuma Sato (233.322 mph today, No. 11 Deloitte Honda), Pato O’Ward (233.252, No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet), Santino Ferrucci (233.147, No. 14 Homes For Our Troops Chevrolet), reigning “500” winner Marcus Ericsson (233.030, No. 8 Huski Ice Spritz Honda), rookie Benjamin Pedersen (232.739, No. 55 AJ Foyt Racing/Sexton Properties) and reigning series champion Will Power (232.719, No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet).
Last Chance Qualifying will feature Rahal Letterman Lanigan drivers Christian Lundgaard (231.056, No. 45 Hy-Vee Honda), Jack Harvey (230.098, No. 30 PeopleReady Honda) and Graham Rahal (228.526, No. 15 United Rentals Honda), and rookie Sting Ray Robb (229.955, No. 51 biohaven Honda).
On-track action Sunday starts with Top 12 Qualifying Practice from 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m., followed by Last Chance Qualifying practice from 12:30-1:30 p.m., with coverage of both sessions on Peacock and the INDYCAR Radio Network.
History was made almost as quickly as the 34 cars circled the 2.5-mile oval today under sunny skies and temperatures in the mid-70s.
Besides Rosenqvist’s epic run and Legge’s history-making laps, Pedersen’s four-lap average was the second-fastest ever by a rookie, topped only by the 233.100 turned by Tony Stewart in 1996. The first lap of Pedersen’s run, 233.297, was the fastest ever by an Indy 500 rookie.
The number of qualifying attempts in a single day was the final record to fall on a frantic day of nearly non-stop attempts during the six-hour, 50-minute session. There were 84 qualifying attempts today, shattering the mark of 73 set in 2019.
Five drivers endured the pressure of four qualifying attempts in one day: Colton Herta (No. 26 Gainbridge Honda), Lundgaard, David Malukas (No. 18 HMD Trucking Honda), Rahal and Robb.
Public gates open at 10 a.m. Sunday at IMS.
The 107th Indianapolis 500 is scheduled for Sunday, May 28 (11 a.m. ET, NBC, Peacock, Universo, INDYCAR Radio Network).
Indianapolis 500 Day 1 Qualifying Results
(6) Felix Rosenqvist, Dallara-Chevy, 02:33.8810 ( 233.947)
(7) Alexander Rossi, Dallara-Chevy, 02:34.1569 ( 233.528)
(10) Alex Palou, Dallara-Honda, 02:34.2432 ( 233.398)
INDIANAPOLIS — It’s that time of year, again. The IndyCar teams leave their shops on Main Street and pull into the racing capital of the world for the centerpiece of the NTT IndyCar Series calendar, the Indianapolis 500. Penske Entertainment Corp. president and CEO, Mark Miles, and Indianapolis Motor Speedway track president, Doug Boles, kicked off the Month of May at the Brickyard, Saturday, by unveiling an environmental initiative to make the 2023 edition “the most sustainable on record.”
For all that IndyCar and IMS changed for 2023, however, one tradition lingers: The Indy 500 local blackout.
Why the blackout?
INDIANAPOLIS – MAY 13: (l to r) Mark Miles, Doug Boles and Glenn Johnson speak to the media during the NTT IndyCar Series GMR Grand Prix at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on May 13, 2023, in Indianapolis. Photo: Tucker White/SpeedwayMedia.com
While the rest of the United States sees the Indianapolis 500 live, the NBC affiliate blacks it out for its namesake city and airs it later that day, in primetime, to incentivize locals to pack the grandstands. This practice started in 1986 and continues to this day, except for 2016 (sellout for 100th Indy 500), 2020 and 2021 (COVID restrictions). Meanwhile, NASCAR doesn’t blackout races for the local markets. Not even for its crown jewel race, the Daytona 500.
So why does IndyCar and IMS continue this tradition? It’s a question Miles has had many times over many years.
“We have to get people here as they have been here in growing numbers for many, many years,” he said. “We’re really clear-minded about the fact that for us, attendance is first, and this spectacle emanates from the vibe here on race day with 300,000 plus people here. I think that’s unique.”
Unlike NASCAR, where tracks get 65% of its $6.6 billion TV deal, IndyCar doesn’t make those numbers public. How much IndyCar and the track rely on ticket sales, vs. the league’s TV deal, is unknown. And that doesn’t include how much the teams and drivers get from the TV deal the league signed in 2021.
So there might be a financial rationale to continue the practice.
“We think this is a unique event,” he said. “With all due respect, and I mean with complete respect to our friends at NASCAR, at Indianapolis for the 500, we sell as many tickets in the 500 hours after this race, renewals, as they have at the Daytona 500 in total by the time they run the race. And that is in no way meant to be — like I said, we have complete respect for them. It is meant to emphasize how important attendance is to us, to the success of this event.”
Of course, NASCAR doesn’t disclose how many tickets its tracks, Speedway Motorsports Inc., Indianapolis, Pocono Raceway or World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway sold, unless it’s a sellout. So I can’t verify the veracity of Miles’ statement on ticket renewals, compared to Daytona.
Bottom line
At the end of the day, IndyCar and IMS see a financial incentive to continue the local media blackout. Unlike NASCAR, however, IndyCar hasn’t struggled to pack the stands for its events.
“We also, I think, have demonstrated over the last few years that when getting people here is not an issue,” Miles said, “either because it’s COVID and we can’t bring anybody here, or because the number of people that could come were limited and we were definitely going to have that total here, then we do open it up. We like the idea that people can take it in, whether it’s linear or streaming.
“But for now, that’s our rationale, and it’s important to us.”
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen makes a dramatic late-race pass on his team-mate Sergio Perez to take a thrilling victory from ninth on the grid
A sell-out crowd of 270,491 fans across three days as celebrities from the world of music, film and sport including Roger Federer, Serena and Venus Williams, Vin Diesel, Tom Cruise and the Jonas Brothers all appear on the starting grid before the race
LL COOL J introduces all 20 F1 drivers ahead of the start accompanied by Will.I.Am, while fans across the entire Campus enjoy the best food and entertainment Miami has to offer
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – From ninth on the starting grid, Max Verstappen delivered a driving masterclass to take a thrilling win in today’s FORMULA 1 CRYPTO.COM MIAMI GRAND PRIX. In front of a sell-out crowd, the Red Bull ace came through the field to overtake his team-mate Sergio Perez with just nine laps to go. As the pair went wheel-to-wheel at Turn 1 on lap 48, the crowd leapt to their feet to celebrate. It was a thrilling end to the second-ever Formula 1 race held at the state-of-the-art Miami International Autodrome.
Verstappen’s 38th victory in his career and his second in Miami Gardens extended the Dutchman’s lead over his team-mate Perez at the top of the FIA Formula 1 Drivers’ World Championship to 14 points. His performance was particularly impressive given his starting position of ninth on the grid. Max chose to start on the hard tyre, the majority ahead of him began on mediums, meaning he ran longer into the race before making his pitstop.
“It was a good, clean race and I picked off the cars one by one,” said the reigning World Champion. “I could stay out long on the hard tyres and that made the difference today. I then had a good little battle with ‘Checo’ at the end but the most important thing is that we kept it clean. To win from P9 is extremely satisfying — a great win today.”
Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso joined the Red Bull pair on the podium to record his fourth top-three finish of the season ahead of Mercedes’ George Russell. Behind them Carlos Sainz finished fifth, but his final classification included a five-second time penalty for speeding in the pitlane.
Throughout the 57-lap event there was action up and down the field with drivers running on alternate tyre strategies and taking advantage of the Drag Reduction System (DRS) ensuring there was plenty of overtaking action at three main areas: Turn 1, Turn 11 and at the end of the back straight into Turn 17. The quality of the racing and the excellent reliability meant all 20 cars made the chequered flag — with South Florida’s very own Logan Sargeant the final runner to finish the race.
The overtaking action was so good, that at one stage Fernando Alonso came across on his team radio to complement a move his team-mate Lance Stroll had made late in the race, having watched the pass on one of the circuit’s big screens as he was driving around the track. Alonso started the race on the medium Pirelli compound and made his one and only pitstop on lap 25, four laps after Perez. When the time came for Verstappen to finally stop to change his hard compound tyres (at the end of lap 45) he emerged just 1.5s behind his team-mate. Despite a spirited attempt from Perez to hold Verstappen back, the decisive move for the lead of the race took place into Turn 1 on lap 48.
In addition to the exciting action on the track, the sell-out crowd was treated to a full day of entertainment at the Miami International Autodrome. There was music from award-winning DJs Tiësto and Cedric Gervais headlining at the Hard Rock Beach Club, and FISHER performed a set to round out the weekend after the podium celebrations. There were also pre-grid performances from bilingual Latin girl group Bella Dose, while the national anthem was sung by chart topping Puerto Rican singer and songwriter, GALE. The pre-race grid ceremonies were a new feature for 2023 with LL COOL J announcing each of the 20 drivers in turn, conducted by Will.I.Am and attended by the F1 Grid Kids, hailing from the local Miami Gardens community.
“It has been a fantastic weekend, an incredible race day and I’m proud of the entire team who have worked so hard to put together this year’s event,” said Tom Garfinkel, Vice Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Miami Dolphins and Hard Rock Stadium and Managing Partner of the FORMULA 1 CRYPTO.COM MIAMI GRAND PRIX 2023. “Thanks to Stephen Ross and the hard work of so many people on our team, we were able to deliver an event that showcased Miami to the world and stayed true to our commitment of improving from Year 1 to Year 2. It is our goal to provide a best-in-class experience for everyone, from the guests enjoying the new Paddock Club, to the fans around the Campus soaking up the atmosphere, to the teams enjoying their new home on the field of Hard Rock Stadium. We can’t wait to welcome everyone back next year and celebrate another weekend of great racing together.”
About FORMULA 1 CRYPTO.COM MIAMI GRAND PRIX
The inaugural FORMULA 1 CRYPTO.COM MIAMI GRAND PRIX – recognized as Best New Event of 2022 by Sports Business Journal – made its debut on 6-8 May, 2022. Located in Miami Gardens, Florida, the 5.41km Miami International Autodrome is located within the complex of Hard Rock Stadium, the home of the legendary Miami Dolphins NFL team and features 19 corners, three straights and has top speed of 320km/h.
The 2022 race provided an additional tourist boost and economic impact to local businesses in the greater Miami region totalling $350 million. Formula 1 and South Florida Motorsports worked closely with the local community to provide 1500 tickets for the residents of Miami Gardens, ensuring they had the opportunity to experience the thrill of the sport. Additionally, South Florida Motorsports launched a programme to support both local businesses and the community to ensure they got the full benefits of the race being held in Miami Gardens. This included a STEM education programme through F1 in Schools, 12 event internships for Miami Gardens students and featured 14 minority owned restaurants on campus over the weekend.
Mexican racer starts from pole position for only the third time in his Formula 1 career
Qualifying comes to a dramatic end when Charles Leclerc spins his Ferrari into the wall
American-based Haas F1 Team claim a surprise fourth in qualifying at their home race
Three native Spanish speakers claim the top three positions as Fernando Alonso and Carlos Sainz clinch second and third for tomorrow’s race
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – Qualifying for the FORMULA 1 CRYPTO.COM MIAMI GRAND PRIX 2023 came to a dramatic conclusion at the Miami International Autodrome on Saturday afternoon when Charles Leclerc spun off the track in the dying seconds to trigger a red flag stoppage. With just over a minute left on the clock, the session was not restarted and to the delight of the Red Bull fans and Mexican contingent in the crowd, Sergio Perez claimed his third pole position in Formula 1. Leclerc’s second off-track excursion of the weekend meant no driver could improve their lap times resulting in an exciting grid for Sunday’s race.
World Champion Max Verstappen will start tomorrow’s 57-lap event in ninth after he aborted his first lap in the final Q3 qualifying period after pushing too hard in his Red Bull heading towards Turn 7. Leclerc’s spin in the same section of the racetrack was the Ferrari man’s second error this weekend — following contact with the wall yesterday — and he’ll start in seventh tomorrow.
The biggest beneficiary of the red flag was Kevin Magnussen who recorded the fourth quickest time of the session to give the American-owned Haas team a day to remember in Miami. Three native Spanish-speaking drivers on the grid took the top three positions with Fernando Alonso second in his Aston Martin ahead of Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz. With ‘Checo’ Perez only six points behind his team-mate in the title race and starting eight places higher up the grid, it will make tomorrow’s race an unmissable spectacle.
Verstappen had been favorite to take top spot after finishing the morning’s third free practice session fastest and was again quickest in the first two sessions of qualifying. But on his first run in the top ten shootout, he made a mistake around the high-speed sequence of corners before the picturesque MIA Marina and aborted his lap. It was then unfortunate the red flag prevented him from having another shot at pole.
Perez set a lap two seconds quicker than last year’s P1 time, and said: “It has been one of those weekends where I was struggling for balance and confidence. I just couldn’t figure out how to put those tenths [of a second] that I was missing all the time to Max and the Ferraris. With a small change in qualifying everything came alive and we put the lap together when it mattered.”
The two Alpines made the final Q3 shootout, along with Mercedes’ George Russell, but in contrast his team-mate Lewis Hamilton struggled and could only manage an unlucky 13th on the grid. Meanwhile local hero Logan Sargeant will start his first-ever home race in 20th place in his Williams.
Saturday’s Formula 1 action at the Miami International Autodrome took place in glorious sunshine and the crowds who visited Miami Gardens were entertained both on and off the track. Looking on from the garages were world famous guests including the tech entrepreneur Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon. Meanwhile the party was in full swing at Hard Rock Beach Club on the outside of Turn 12 with global pop icons Jonas Brothers performing on stage and their headlining act broadcast around the whole of the Miami Campus.
More entertainment is planned on and off the track tomorrow at the FORMULA 1 CRYPTO.COM MIAMI GRAND PRIX 2023 as the action gets underway with lights out in Miami Gardens at 3.30pm local time.
The inaugural FORMULA 1 CRYPTO.COM MIAMI GRAND PRIX – recognized as Best New Event of 2022 by Sports Business Journal – made its debut on 6-8 May, 2022. Located in Miami Gardens, Florida, the 5.41km Miami International Autodrome is located within the complex of Hard Rock Stadium, the home of the legendary Miami Dolphins NFL team and features 19 corners, three straights and has top speed of 320km/h.
The 2022 race provided an additional tourist boost and economic impact to local businesses in the greater Miami region totalling $350 million. Formula 1 and South Florida Motorsports worked closely with the local community to provide 1500 tickets for the residents of Miami Gardens, ensuring they had the opportunity to experience the thrill of the sport. Additionally, South Florida Motorsports launched a programme to support both local businesses and the community to ensure they got the full benefits of the race being held in Miami Gardens. This included a STEM education programme through F1 in Schools, 12 event internships for Miami Gardens students and featured 14 minority owned restaurants on campus over the weekend.
After finishing outside of the podium in the previous three NTT IndyCar Series scheduled events, Josef Newgarden drew himself back into championship contention after winning the rain-delayed Bommarito Automotive Group 500 at World Wide Technology Raceway on Saturday, August 20.
The two-time IndyCar champion from Hendersonville, Tennessee, led twice for 78 of 260-scheduled laps and utilized an executed pit strategy along with an overtake on teammate Scott McLaughlin for the lead with 36 laps remaining to perfection as he muscled away from McLaughlin and David Malukas to capture his fifth checkered flag of the 2022 IndyCar season and draw within striking distance of teammate Will Power for the lead in the championship standings.
With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Friday, Will Power, who earned his 67th IndyCar career pole and tied Mario Andretti for the most pole in the series all-time, led the field to the green flag after posting a pole-winning, two-lap average speed of 182.727 mph. Joining him on the front row was his championship rival Marcus Ericsson, who posted a two-lap average speed of 182.070 mph.
When the green flag waved and the race commenced, Power rocketed with an early advantage ahead of Ericsson, Scott McLaughlin and the field as he went on to lead the first lap. Meanwhile, Alex Palou was being overtaken by Takuma Sato and Devlin DeFrancesco as he fell back to ninth while Pato O’Ward challenged Scott Dixon for fifth place.
Through the first 10 scheduled laps, Power was leading by eight-tenths of a second over Ericsson followed by McLaughlin, Josef Newgarden and Pato O’Ward while Dixon, Takuma Sato, DeFrancesco, Palou and Alexander Rossi were in the top 10. David Malukas was in 11th followed by Colton Herta, Felix Rosenqvist, Conor Daly and Jack Harvey while Simon Pagenuad, Callum Ilott, Romain Grosjean, Graham Rahal and Kyle Kirkwood were in the top 20. Helio Castroneves, rookie Christian Lundgaard, Rinus VeeKay, Dalton Kellet, Ed Carpenter and Jimmie Johnson completed the 26-car field.
Ten laps later, Power continued to lead by nine-tenths of a second over Ericsson while McLaughlin, Newgarden and O’Ward remained in the top five. Dixon, winner of the previous IndyCar event at Nashville Street Circuit, remained in sixth while Sato, DeFrancesco, Palou and Rossi retained their spots in the top 10.
Another 10 laps later, Power, who was catching Jimmie Johnson to lap him, remained as the leader by six-tenths of a second second over Ericsson and more than a second over teammate McLaughlin. Teammate Newgarden trailed by more than a second in fourth while O’Ward retained fifth while more than two seconds behind.
At the Lap 45 mark, Power, who lapped Johnson earlier, kept his No. 12 Verizon 5G Dallara-Chevrolet out in front by half a second over Ericsson’s No. 8 Bryant Dallara-Honda and seven-tenths of a second over teammate McLaughlin’s No. 3 Odyssey Battery Dallara-Chevrolet. The No. 2 PPG Dallara-Chevrolet piloted by Newgarden remained in fourth while the No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP Dallara-Chevrolet piloted by O’Ward retained fifth.
A few laps later, Jack Harvey was the first competitor to pit under green while back on the track, O’Ward overtook Newgarden for fourth place. Meanwhile, Power retained the lead ahead of Ericsson and McLaughlin.
Past the Lap 50 mark, Rinus VeeKay pitted along with his teammate/owner Ed Carpenter, who was a lap behind the leaders. Then near the Lap 60 mark, names like Dixon, Simon Pagenaud, Ilott and Castroneves pitted along with Sato, Lundgaard, Herta and Kirkwood. By then, VeeKay, who was serving a penalty on pit road for speeding during his initial stop, parked his No. 21 BitNile Dallara-Chevrolet in his pit stall due to an electrical issue, an issue that knocked him out of race-winning contention.
By Lap 65 and with the first cycle of green flag pit stops complete, Power cycled his way back to the lead followed by teammate McLaughlin, O’Ward, Ericsson and Newgarden. Dixon was in sixth while Sato, Palou, Harvey and DeFrancesco were in the top 10.
Through the first 75 scheduled laps, Power remained as the leader by four-tenths of a second over teammate McLaughlin and nearly eight-tenths of a second over O’Ward while Ericsson and Newgarden remained in the top five. Meanwhile, Callum Ilott was serving a 30-second penalty on pit road for making contact with his crew member that stemmed from his previous pit stop while exiting his pit stall.
At the Lap 100 mark, Power was leading by approximately half a second over teammates McLaughlin and Newgarden while O’Ward and Ericsson were in the top five. Sato, Dixon, Palou, Harvey and DeFrancesco were in the top 10 while Rossi, Malukas, Herta, Daly, Rosenqvist, Rahal, Pagenaud, Grosjean, Kirkwood and Lundgaard occupied the top 20. By then, Castroneves and Ed Carpenter pitted under green as Jimmie Johnson was mired back in 22nd.
At the halfway mark on Lap 130 and with the second round of green flag pit stops occurring, Takuma Sato, who pitted earlier while on a differing strategy, was leading by more than two seconds over Power, the first competitor on fresh tires, followed by McLaughlin, OWard and Grosjean while Ericsson, Newgarden, Dixon, Palou and Harvey were in the top 10. By then, Rossi, who coasted his car to pit road after running out of fuel, remained stalled on pit road as he was unable to re-fire his car.
Then on Lap 144, the first caution flew when Jack Harvey shot up the racetrack and scrubbed the outside wall in Turn 4. During the caution period, some including the race leader Sato along with McLaughlin and Newgarden pitted while the rest led by Power remained on the track.
When the event restarted on Lap 157, Power briefly led the field entering the first turn until O’Ward rocketed his No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP Dallara-Chevrolet into the lead through Turns 1 and 2.
With 100 laps remaining, O’Ward was out in front by four-tenths of a second over Power followed by Ericsson, McLaughlin and Newgarden while Palou, Dixon, Sato, Herta and Malukas were in the top 10. Meanwhile, Graham Rahal was in 11th followed by Felix Rosenqvist, DeFrancesco, Grosjean and Conor Daly while Kirkwood, Pagenaud, Castroneves, Lundgaard and Dalton Kellett were in the top 20 ahead of Johnson.
A few laps later, Newgarden, who pitted prior to the restart, used the fresh Firestone tires to his advantage as he rocketed from fifth to third while overtaking McLaughlin and Ericsson. He then blasted by teammate Power for the runner-up spot before overtaking O’Ward for the lead with 95 laps remaining.
With 85 laps remaining, Newgarden was leading by nearly seven seconds over O’Ward while teammate McLaughlin trailed by more than seven seconds. Power and Ericsson were in the top five while Palou, Dixon, Sato, Malukas and Herta were in the top 10.
Fifteen laps later and with 70 laps remaining, Newgarden continued to lead by more than four seconds over teammate McLaughlin, who had overtaken O’Ward for position as Power and Ericsson were in the top five. By then, another round of green flag pit stops ensued as Palou and Dixon pitted.
At the Lap 200 mark and with 60 laps remaining, Newgarden was leading by three seconds over teammate McLaughlin followed by Malukas, Sato and Rahal. By then, Arrow McLaren SP teammates O’Ward and Rosenqvist pitted under green.
By Laps 206 and 207, teammates Newgarden and McLaughlin pitted under green as Malukas made his way into the lead followed by Sato, Rahal and Herta. Once Newgarden returned to the track, however, he was quickly overtaken by teammate McLaughlin for position.
On Lap 212, Malukas, who was the initial leader, pitted under green along with Herta and Rahal. Once Rahal pitted on Lap 213, McLaughlin emerged with the lead followed by teammate Newgarden. Meanwhile, O’Ward was in third followed by Power and Malukas.
Then with 47 laps remaining, the caution flew due to weather conditions and potential rain looming near the circuit. Four laps later, the field led by McLaughlin was brought down to pit road and the race was red-flagged as the rainy conditions continued and began to increase with lightning reported near the track.
Following an extensive rain delay, the red flag was withdrawn and the field returned under cautious pace under the lights. During the caution period, names like Palou, Dixon, Johnson, Conor Daly, Ericsson and Kirkwood pitted while the rest led by McLaughlin remained on the track.
With 36 laps remaining, the race proceeded under green. At the start, McLaughlin retained the lead through the first two turns, but Newgarden executed his move entering Turn 3 as he reassumed the top spot.
Down to the final 30 laps of the event, Newgarden was leading by nearly four-tenths of a second over teammate McLaughlin while third-place O’Ward trailed by more than two seconds. Power was in fourth followed by Malukas while Sato, Ericsson, Dixon, Palou and Rahal were in the top 10.
Ten laps later, Newgarden stabilized his advantage to half a second over teammate McLaughlin while David Malukas started to close in and challenge third-place O’Ward for the final podium spot. Meanwhile, Sato completed the top five while Power fell back to sixth.
Another four laps later, Malukas capitalized on a strong run through Turns 1 and 2 to overtake O’Ward and move into third place while Newgarden continued to lead by half a second over teammate McLaughlin.
With 10 laps remaining, Newgarden slightly increased his advantage to nearly seven-tenths of a second over teammate McLaughlin while third-place Malukas trailed by more than a second as he started to track McLaughlin for the runner-up spot. Meanwhile, Sato started to close in and challenge O’Ward for fourth place while Power remained in sixth, one spot ahead of title rivals Ericsson and Dixon.
Down to the final five laps of the event, Newgarden stabilized his advantage to six-tenths of a second over McLaughlin while Malukas was only three-tenths of a second behind McLaughlin for the runner-up spot.
When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Newgarden remained as the leader by eight-tenths of a second over teammate McLaughlin and a hard-charging Malukas. In turn 1, Malukas executed a bold pass to the outside of McLaughlin to move into the runner-up spot. Despite his late charge, it was not enough to close in on Newgarden as Newgarden cycled back to the frontstretch and streaked across the finish line for his fifth checkered flag of the season.
In addition to claiming his fifth victory of the 2022 season, Newgarden recorded his fourth victory at Gateway, the eighth of the season for Team Penske, the 10th of the season for Chevrolet and his 25th career win in the NTT IndyCar Series. The victory also vaulted Newgarden from fourth to second in the standings as he now trails teammate Will Power by three points with two scheduled events remaining and in his quest to win his third IndyCar title.
Photo by Simon Scoggins for SpeedwayMedia.com.
“All I can say is that, I think, this No. 2 car crew has been very patient with me,” Newgarden said on USA Network. “I’ve lost my cool probably a couple of times closed doors out of frustration for us. We’ve had small miscues, timing-wise. That’s not really anybody’s fault. Just sometimes wrong time, wrong place. I feel like that’s been happening a lot this year. It kind of happened again tonight. We put ourselves in position. It’s time to close and there was just a barrier that got in front of us again, but fortunately, we were able to get back out. I was so happy we could finish this race. Scott McLaughlin wanted to win, too. I love that about him. We each want to win, but he drove me super fair at the end, and we had a good fight. It’s a big night for everyone at Team Penske.””
While Newgarden celebrated in Victory Lane, David Malukas celebrated in pit road with his crew as he achieved his maiden podium in the IndyCar circuit by settling in second place while McLaughlin, who was leading prior to the red flag period, ended up in third place.
“We ended getting around O’Ward and then, we ended up getting past the lapped car and [the crew] said, ‘You see [McLaughlin] in front and I just see two Penskes [cars] and I was like, ‘Oh my god! They’re Penskes!’” Malukas said. “They were tough to even get any sort of suck to get close to them. Unfortunately, two laps to go, that was the lap I decided to do the outside lane, and it worked so well. So if I’d done it a bit sooner, maybe we could have had done something for Newgarden. Overall that’s a win for me, a win for the team. They deserve that so much…It feels so good to finally get [a podium]. There’s still two more races to go. It’s only up from here.”
“That’s racing,” McLaughlin said. “That’s oval racing. We love it. Want more of it. Good points for us today. The car felt awesome. Glad we put on a show for the fans. A lot of people stayed out tonight, so it’s fantastic. We’re going to the moon. I’m feeling good. I’m loving IndyCar. Really proud of everything. I’m just really proud to be able to do it for the team. Pit stops have been unreal. I’m working with some really good people. Excited for what the future holds.”
Pato O’Ward fended off Takuma Sato to finish fourth while points leader Power settled in sixth ahead of Ericsson, Dixon, Palou and Rahal, all of whom finished in the top 10 on the track.
There were 13 lead changes for 10 different leaders. The race featured two cautions for 22 laps.
With two races remaining in the 2022 schedule, Will Power continues to lead the standings by three points over teammate Josef Newgarden, 14 over Scott Dixon, 17 over Marcus Ericsson, 43 over Alex Palou, 54 over Scott McLaughlin and 58 over Pato O’Ward.
Results.
1. Josef Newgarden, 78 laps led
2. David Malukas, four laps led
3. Scott McLaughlin, 12 laps led
4. Pato O’Ward, 10 laps led
5. Takuma Sato, 22 laps led
6. Will Power, 128 laps led
7. Marcus Ericsson, one lap led
8. Scott Dixon
9. Alex Palou
10. Graham Rahal, two laps led
11. Colton Herta, one lap down
12. Devlin DeFrancesco, one lap down
13. Romain Grosjean, one lap down, two laps led
14. Jimmie Johnson, one lap down
15. Helio Castroneves, one lap down
16. Felix Rosenqvist, one lap down, one lap led
17. Kyle Kirkwood, two laps down
18. Dalton Kellett, two laps down
19. Christian Lundgaard, two laps down
20. Simon Pagenaud, three laps down
21. Callum Ilott, three laps down
22. Ed Carpenter, four laps down
23. Conor Daly, 16 laps down
24. Jack Harvey, 21 laps down
25. Alexander Rossi, 34 laps down
26. Rinus VeeKay – OUT, Mechanical
Next on the 2022 NTT IndyCar Series schedule is the penultimate event of the season at Portland International Raceway for the Grand Prix of Portland. The event is scheduled to occur on September 4 at 3 p.m. ET on NBC.
Renger van der Zande drove his No. 1 Cadillac to the lead in the Chevrolet Grand Prix at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park with 10 minutes to go, cruising to a decisive victory in the seventh round of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.
He won by a margin of 3.509 seconds after passing Oliver Jarvis’s No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura with 10 minutes to go to claim the third win of the season for the No. 1 Cadillac.
The victory was unexpected and was not without its struggles.
“This race wasn’t going to be ours,” he said, “We changed the car around completely after the warm-up practice this morning and didn’t know what to expect. The changes worked, but the power steering failed, and that was the toughest part of today.
“I knew I needed traffic to get by, so it was maximum attack, full risk,” he added. “I thought, ‘This is the time to go,’ and it worked.”
Teammate Sebastien Bourdais qualified the No. 01 Cadillac fifth fastest, but he gave all the credit to van der Zande for expertly navigating the 11-turn, 2.459-mile road course.
“That was all him,” Bourdais remarked. “With the massive power steering issues, I was barely hanging on and I have no idea how he put that thing up there to fight those guys. He obviously reads traffic super-well, and when he gets all wound up with emotions, he uses that anger in a positive way. He really made it work today, and it was very impressive.”
It was van der Zande’s 17th victory in the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship competition and the 10th for Bourdais.
Tom Blomqvist, who set a record qualifying lap to capture the pole in the No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura, and co-driver, Oliver Jarvis, finished second. Pipo Derani and Olivier Pla completed the podium after finishing third in the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac.
CORE Autosport’s Colin Braun and Jon Bennett won the LMP3 Class finishing ahead of Andretti Autosport’s Jarrett Andretti and Gabby Chaves. Ari Balogh and Garrett Grist placed third in the No. 30 Jr III Motorsports Ligier.
The next round of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship is August 4-7 at Road America for prototype classes DPi, LMP2 and LMP3.
Murillo Racing scored the top two spots in Saturday’s IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge race at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (CTMP). They were dominant throughout the race as the No. 56 and No. 72 cars combined to lead all but two laps.
Co-drivers Eric Foss and Marc Miller claimed the victory in the No. 56 Murillo Racing Mercedes-AMG GT4, .338 of a second ahead of their teammates, Kenny Murillo and Christian Szymczak, who finished second in the No. 72 Mercedes. It was the team’s second victory in the last three races.
Foss, who led the final 33 laps, said, “The Murillo Racing team has always been on top of things and a great communicating team,” Foss said. “Having Kenny Murillo and Christian Szymczak come into the team this year has given us another push and added an incredible amount of additional data with two more talented drivers on the team.
“Christian was very generous today. I made a couple of mistakes toward the end of the race, and he had the opportunity to pounce, but we definitely wanted to make sure we stayed clean. It’s just amazing to bring both Mercedes-AMG GT4s home one-two like that and get the great result here. The biggest strength the Mercedes-AMG GT4 has is its balance. It is very driver-friendly.”
Szymczak was pleased with the team’s performance and optimistic about the future.
“It is awesome for the team,” he said. “Since we rolled the cars off the truck, they have been great, and we knew we were going to be in for a good finish for the weekend. I came out of the pits and Eric had already cycled through the pits. He was on warm tires, I was on cold, and he was just able to get by me for the lead. I would have tried to make a move if I could have, but there was just no viable place to make a move. It was just great to bring home the one-two finish. We just need to keep showing up, doing what we do, and hopefully, good results will keep coming our way.”
Marc Miller was eager to help out the team and fill in for the injured Jeff Mosing.
“I have known the Murillo guys and Jeff Mosing for years and when Eric called me, and I could do it, I didn’t hesitate. I called my wife and said ‘hey, we are going to Canada.’ It was our weekend off, but I really wanted to fill in for Jeff and do this for Eric.”
Murillo, who won his first career pole Friday and led a race-high 42 laps, said, “Christian and I both worked hard coming into this event. Anything less than a podium was not going to feel good. If we were going to get beat, it was going to be by our teammates. I am really happy for the team. They have been working really hard all weekend long. Canada always brings some logistical challenges, so we were working with just half the crew, it was especially hard on the crew, so to bring them a one-two finish just feels really good.”
Wickens and Wilkins score TCR class victory
Photo by Ray MacAloney for SpeedwayMedia.com
To say it’s been an exciting week for Robert Wickens is an understatement.
Last week, he was in victory lane at Watkins Glen International, celebrating his first win since he returned to competition this year after suffering a spinal cord injury in 2018 during an IndyCar race.
Then, fast forward to Saturday when Wickens and Mark Wilkins earned the Michelin Pilot Challenge Touring Class victory. But it’s what came in between that put the biggest smile on his face.
Wickens was at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park on Thursday when his wife call called to say the baby they were expecting was going to arrive early. Wickens immediately drove home for the anticipated birth of his first child, On Friday, he and his wife welcomed their son, Wesley Joseph Wickens, into the world.
Tom Blomqvist won the pole Saturday afternoon in his No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-05 and will lead the field when the green flag drops for Sunday’s Chevrolet Grand Prix at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in Round 7 of the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.
The 1:04.394-lap was Blomqvist’s second consecutive IMSA pole and a DPi track record.
“It was an absolute wild ride,” he said. “I was over my limit; I’m not going to lie. That session was a case of putting your brain to one side.”
Ricky Taylor qualified second in the No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing car and Tristan Vautier was third fastest in the No. 5 JDC-Miller Motorsports Cadillac DPi-V.R. The Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac of Alex Lynn’s No. 02 will start in fourth place with Olivier Pla in the No. 31 Action Express Racing Cadillac starting fifth and Sebastien Bourdais rounding out the top six.
Andretti Autosports’ Jarrett Andretti won the pole in LMP3 with a 1:13.102 lap time followed by Gar Robinson (Riley Motorsports) in second, Ari Balogh (Jr III Racing) in third and CORE Autosport’s Jon Bennett in fourth.
Pfaff Motorsports’ Mathieu Jaminet earned the pole in GTD Pro, and Frankie Montecalvo had the best time in GTD in his Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3.
Jaminet was tops in GT3 R, 0.165 seconds ahead of the GTD pole-sitter Montecalvo.
Alex Riberas was third among the GTD cars and second in GTD pro in the No. 23 Aston Martin Vantage GT3, followed by the No. 25 Team GT3 team of John Edwards. Jordan Taylor was fifth in the No. 3 Chevrolet Corvette C8.R GTD.
You can tune into the Chevrolet Grand Prix Sunday at 3 p.m. ET with television coverage on NBC and Peacock.
Kenny Murillo was fastest during qualifying Friday afternoon, topping the leaderboard in his No. 72 Murillo Racing Mercedes-AMG GT4 with a track record lap at 106.997 mph.
He will start on the pole for Saturday’s Michelin Pilot Challenge Canadian Tire Motorsport Park 120 for the sixth round of the Michelin Pilot Challenge season.
Argentinian driver, Damian Fineschi, made the most of his debut in the series, qualifying his Toyota FR Supra GT4 in second, only 074 seconds behind Murillo.
Marc Miller, Murillo’s teammate, will start third, followed by VOLT Racing’s Alan Brynjolfsson while Murillo Racing’s Tim Probert will round out the top five in the No. 65 Mercedes-AMG GT GT4.
The qualifying session ended early after a crash involving Turner Motorsports’ Dillon Machavern, who had unofficially been credited as fifth fastest. As a result, he lost his two best laps for causing the red flag which dropped him to seventh place.
Hugh Plumb will start his Team TGM Porsche in sixth, followed by Machavern. Michael McCann Jr. will start in eighth place as PF Racing’s James Pesek and Sheena Monk round out the top 10.
In the Touring Class (TCR) Bryan Herta Autosports’ Tyler Maxson bested JDC-Miller Motorsports’ driver Chris Miller for the pole with a 104.988 mph lap. It was Maxson’s second pole of the year and the eighth-fastest qualifying lap overall. Miller posted the second-fastest overall lap and will start 10th, followed by Parker Chase (11th), Travis Hill (13th) and AJ Muss in 15th.
There are 33 cars on the entry list but only 28 posted qualifying laps. Robert Wickens, who was shown as the driver for the Bryan Herta Autosport No. 33 car, was notably absent.
The reason became quickly apparent when he announced the birth of his first child on his Twitter account.
“For those of you wondering why I wasn’t at the track today, I would like everyone to meet Wesley Joseph Wickens. Born two weeks early but we could not be happier. Baby and Mom are doing great! I am so grateful to be married to such a strong woman! Let’s start the next chapter!
You can tune in to watch the Canadian Tire Motorsport Park 120 Saturday afternoon at 4:10 p.m. ET with broadcast coverage on Peacock.
