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  • Newgarden rolls to a dominant victory in the first IndyCar doubleheader feature at Iowa

    Newgarden rolls to a dominant victory in the first IndyCar doubleheader feature at Iowa

    Josef Newgarden took the first swing in the first of an NTT IndyCar Series’ doubleheader feature at Iowa Speedway after winning the Hy-VeeDeals.com 250 on Saturday, July 23.

    The two-time IndyCar champion from Hendersonville, Tennessee, led twice for a race-high 208 of 250 laps and managed to retain the top spot through a 76-lap dash to the finish to both carve his way through lapped traffic and hold off a hard-charging Pato O’Ward to claim his fourth victory of the 2022 IndyCar season along with his fourth victory at Iowa.

    With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Saturday, Will Power earned his 65th IndyCar career pole position after earning the top starting spot with a pole-winning lap at 178.199 mph in 18.0607 seconds. Joining him on the front row was teammate Josef Newgarden, who posted his best qualifying lap at 177.782 mph in 18.1031 seconds.

    When the green flag waved and the race commenced, Power rocketed with an early advantage ahead of Newgarden through the first two turns while Pato O’Ward challenged Conor Daly for third place. Following the completion of the first lap, Power’s No. 12 Verizon 5G Dallara-Chevrolet was out in front by a second over teammate Newgarden while Daly fended off O’Ward and Scott McLaughlin in third place.

    Through the first 10 scheduled laps, Power remained out in front by one-and-a-half seconds over teammate Newgarden followed by Daly, O’Ward and McLaughlin while David Malukas, Rinus VeeKay, Jack Harvey, Marcus Ericsson and Felix Rosenqvist were in the top 10. Romain Grosjean was in 11th ahead of Alex Palou, Jimmie Johnson, Colton Herta and Takuma Sato while Scott Dixon, Helio Castroneves, Devlin DeFrancesco, Alexander Rossi and Simon Pagenaud were scored in the top 20.

    Seven laps later and with the leader Power approaching lapped traffic, the first caution of the event flew when Jimmie Johnson got loose and spun his No. 48 Carvana Dallara-Honda in Turn 4. During the caution period, 11 competitors, including Johnson and Ed Carpenter, pitted while the rest led by Power remained on the track.

    When the event restarted under green on Lap 23, Newgarden launched his No. 2 Hitachi Dallara-Chevrolet to the lead entering the first turn while Power settled in second ahead of O’Ward, Daly and McLaughlin.

    By Lap 35, Newgarden was out in front by more than three-tenths of a second over teammate Power followed by O’Ward, Daly and Marcus Ericsson while McLaughlin, VeeKay, Malukas, Herta and Rosenqvist occupied the top 10.

    At the Lap 50 mark, Newgarden continued to lead by eight-tenths of a second over teammate Power while O’Ward’s No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP Dallara-Chevrolet trailed by more than a second in third place. Colton Herta and Ericsson were in the top five while McLaughlin, Helio Castroneves, VeeKay Rosenqvist and Jimmie Johnson were in the top 10. By then, names like Conor Daly, Simon Pagenaud David Malukas and Jack Harvey pitted under green.

    At the Lap 60 mark, Newgarden surrendered the lead to pit along with O’Ward, McLaughlin, Palou, VeeKay, Romain Grosjean, Takuma Sato, Marcus Ericsson, McLaughlin and Alexander Rossi. During the following lap, Power also pitted along with Herta, Rosenqvist, Dixon and Ilott.

    Once the first cycle of green flag pit stops concluded as Johnson, who led a handful of laps, pitted on Lap 80, Newgarden reassumed the lead as he was out in front by more than three seconds ahead of O’Ward while Power, Ericsson and Herta occupied the top five.  

    Through the first 100 scheduled laps, Newgarden was leading by nearly six seconds over O’Ward while Ericsson overtook Power for third place. McLaughlin was in fifth ahead of Dixon, Johnson, VeeKay, Rosenqvist and Herta while Castroneves, Ilott, Palou, Grosjean and Rossi were in the top 15. 

    Four laps later, Johnson, who pitted on Lap 80 for fresh tires, carved his way into the top five after overtaking teammate Dixon and McLaughlin on the track. Meanwhile, Newgarden remained as the leader by more than six seconds over O’Ward. In addition, Conor Daly pitted his No. 20 Bitnile Dallara-Chevrolet while running inside the top 20.

    Another seven laps later, the caution flew when Felix Rosenqvist, coming off his maiden podium result with Arrow McLaren SP at Toronto, slipped sideways and backed his No. 7 Arrow McLaren SP Dallara-Chevrolet into the Turn 1 outside wall as he became the first competitor to retire. During the caution period, the leaders led by Newgarden pitted and Newgarden retained the lead after exiting his pit stall with the top spot ahead of O’Ward, Ericsson, Power, McLaughlin and Johnson. During the pit stops, trouble ensued for Colton Herta, who encountered a clutch issue to his No. 26 Gainbridge Dallara-Honda and could not exit his pit stall. By the time he returned to the track, he lost six laps to the leaders.

    When the event restarted on Lap 123, Newgarden took off with the lead while Ericsson muscled his No. 8 Huski Chocolate Dallara-Honda into the runner-up spot. Power would also overtake O’Ward for third place.

    At the halfway mark on Lap 125, Newgarden was ahead by four-tenths of a second over Ericsson and Power while O’Ward, McLaughlin, Johnson, Dixon, VeeKay, Palou and Ilott were in the top 10.

    Two laps later and as Power and O’Ward battled for third place, the caution returned due to debris reported on the track.

    When the event returned to green flag conditions on Lap 133, Newgarden retained the lead following another strong start. Through the backstretch, however, Ericsson launched his attack on Newgarden for the lead. During the following lap in Turn 3, both nearly made contact as Newgarden managed to remain as the leader. Another three laps later, Power gained a huge run on Ericsson entering the backstretch to assume the runner-up spot as Newgarden led by nearly half a second.

    With 100 laps remaining, Newgarden continued to lead by three-tenths of a second over teammate Power followed by Ericsson, O’Ward and McLaughlin. Behind, VeeKay and Johnson battled for sixth in front of Palou, Grosjean and Dixon. Rookie Christian Lundgaard was in 11th ahead of Callum Ilott, Castroneves, Devlin DeFrancesco and Alexander Rossi while Graham Rahal, Jack Harvey, rookie Kyle Kirkwood, David Malukas and Daly occupied the top 20.

    Ten laps later, the battle for the lead ignited between Team Penske’s Newgarden and Power after Newgarden, who briefly lost his momentum while making his way around the lapped car of Simon Pagenaud, had Power settling right behind his rear wing. Meanwhile, O’Ward trailed by more than a second in third place while Ericsson and McLaughlin settled in the top five. 

    On Lap 164, the caution returned when Ed Carpenter spun and wrecked his No. 33 Alzamend Neuro Dallara-Chevrolet against the outside wall through Turns 1 and 2. During the caution period, the leaders led by Newgarden pitted as Newgarden retained the lead upon exiting his stall first followed by teammate Power, O’Ward, McLaughlin, Alex Palou and Jimmie Johnson. During the pit stops, Rossi and O’Ward nearly collided on pit road as O’Ward was exiting his pit stall while Rossi was trying to enter his. 

    With 76 laps remaining, the race proceeded under green. At the start, Newgarden continued to lead ahead of teammate Power while Alex Palou overtook O’Ward on the outside lane in Turn 1 to move into third place. As O’Ward attempted to challenge Palou to reclaim the final podium spot, Palou kept his green No. 10 Ridgeline Lubricants Dallara-Honda ahead of O’Ward’s No. 5 entry as he went to work on Power for the runner-up spot. 

    With less than 60 laps remaining, Newgarden remained as the leader by four-tenths of a second over teammate Power followed by Palou, O’Ward and Johnson. Meanwhile, McLaughlin, who was having a strong run towards the front, was two laps behind the leaders following issues during the previous restart as he pitted to address a loose right-rear wheel on his No. 3 Freightliner Dallara-Chevrolet.

    Down to the final 50 laps of the event and with the leaders approaching lapped traffic, Newgarden was leading by half a second over teammate Power while Palou, O’Ward and Johnson retained their spots in the top five. VeeKay settled in sixth ahead of Grosjean, Dixon, Ericsson and Graham Rahal. 

    Ten laps later, Newgarden stabilized his advantage to nearly eight-tenths of a second over teammate Power. Meanwhile, O’Ward was back in third ahead of Palou while VeeKay worked his way back into the top five ahead of Johnson.

    Another 15 laps later, Newgarden stabilized his advantage to nearly six-tenths of a second over the new runner-up competitor: O’Ward. Power settled back in third followed by Palou and VeeKay while Johnson, Grosjean, Dixon, Ericsson and Rahal were in the top 10.

    With 15 laps remaining, Newgarden extended his advantage to more than a second over O’Ward as Power, Palou and VeeKay settled in the top five. Meanwhile, Johnson fell back to eighth ahead of Rahal and Ericsson while Grosjean was up in sixth in front of Dixon.

    Down to the final 10 laps of the event, Newgarden continued to lead by more than two seconds over O’Ward as the top-10 competitors stabilized their positions on the track.

    With five laps remaining, Newgarden stretched his lead to less than six seconds over O’Ward as VeeKay was up in fourth in between Power and Palou.

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Newgarden remained as the leader by more than six seconds over O’Ward. Despite carving his way through lapped traffic, Newgarden was able to cycle his way back to the finish line under cruise control and claim his fourth checkered flag of the 2022 IndyCar season.

    In addition, Newgarden claimed his 24th NTT IndyCar Series career victory, the seventh of the season for Team Penske and first since winning at Road America in June. By winning at Iowa for the fourth time in his career, he also became the all-time winningest competitor at Iowa in the IndyCar Series. In terms of the championship battle, Newgarden now trails points leader Marcus Ericsson by 15 points as he retains his hopes of contending for his third IndyCar title.

    “It was pretty nice and easy out there,” Newgarden said on NBC. “It felt cool today. This car was good. I was surprised at how hard these guys were pushing on these restarts. This was a long game day and I think O’Ward definitely looked like was the toughest competitor all day to beat. I’m really proud of our team. I was disappointed after qualifying. I hate losing and I felt like we had enough to get the job done, and we didn’t. It motivated me. I knew we had the car here today to win this race and in front of this great crowd. This has been a great event and it’s one of my favorite tracks, so to be able to win here again, it’s always very special.”

    “We’re in the [title] fight,” Newgarden added. “We’re relatively there. We just got to figure out how to have more consistency. It’s either winning or going sideways on our weekend. I know we can do better than this. I just know consistently, we can do better than what we’ve been doing, but we’ll get there. I always got faith every weekend I show up with Team Penske.”

    O’Ward muscled his way to a strong runner-up result after finishing no higher than 11th during his three previous IndyCar starts while Will Power collected his fifth podium result of the season by finishing third.

    “I was pushing Josef at the end,” O’Ward said. “We didn’t quite have it, but I have to say the car was really good. We didn’t really start off as strong, but we kept making the car better and better every single stint. There at the end, I just think we took a little bit out of [Newgarden]. Getting by Will [Power] and getting by Alex [Palou] and getting by the lappers to try and catch [Newgarden]. We’ll see what we can make better for tomorrow, but the car was really good. A P2 is really good for where we are in the championship and for our weekend. It’s good to be here. I’m excited for tomorrow.”

    “I was really stoked to finish third,” Power said. “To hang on like that. Man, the tires were so gone at the end. It was crazy. It’s kind of fun like you’re sliding these things a lot. It was a good effort for our Chevy Verizon 5G car. Another top three [finish]. I look back on those as bad days. Good day.” 

    Rinus VeeKay and Dixon finished in the top five while Alex Palou, Grosjean, Ericsson, Graham Rahal and Christian Lundgaard completed the top 10 on the track. Meanwhile, Jimmie Johnson, who led 19 laps, made a strong recovery from his early spin to finish 11th after spending the majority of the event in the top 10.

    “That last run, we just went so far [that] I burned the right-rear tire off the car,” Johnson said. “But still, a very strong performance. Super happy for everybody here at Chip Ganassi Racing. Thankful for the support from Carvana, American Legion, everybody on this program. It was really a lot of fun today to be up there racing. [I] Had the outside lane working a lot of those restarts. Making up spots. Racing had with the regulars up front. It was a lot of fun.”

    There were four lead changes for three different leaders. The race featured four cautions for 33 laps.

    With his top-10 result, Marcus Ericsson continues to lead the standings by 15 points over Josef Newgarden, 22 over Will Power, 33 over Alex Palou, 38 over Scott Dixon, 59 over Pato O’Ward and 93 over Scott McLaughlin.

    Results.

    1. Josef Newgarden, 208 laps led

    2. Pato O’Ward

    3. Will Power, 23 laps led

    4. Rinus VeeKay

    5. Scott Dixon

    6. Alex Palou, one lap down

    7. Romain Grosjean, one lap down

    8. Marcus Ericsson, one lap down

    9. Graham Rahal, one lap down

    10. Christian Lundgaard, one lap down

    11. Jimmie Johnson, one lap down, 19 laps led

    12. Callum Ilott, one lap down

    13. Alexander Rossi, one lap down

    14. David Malukas, one lap down

    15. Kyle Kirkwood, one lap down

    16. Helio Castroneves, one lap down

    17. Devlin DeFrancesco, one lap down

    18. Jack Harvey, one lap down

    19. Conor Daly, one lap down

    20. Dalton Kellett, three laps down

    21. Takuma Sato, five laps down

    22. Scott McLaughlin, six laps down

    23. Simon Pagenaud, six laps down

    24. Colton Herta, eight laps down

    25. Ed Carpenter – OUT, Contact

    26. Felix Rosenqvist – OUT, Contact

    The second NTT IndyCar Series event of the weekend at Iowa Speedway is scheduled to occur on Sunday, July 24, at 3 p.m. ET on NBC.

  • Alex Palou set to join McLaren Racing in 2023

    Alex Palou set to join McLaren Racing in 2023

    McLaren Racing announced the addition of reigning NTT IndyCar Series Alex Palou to its driver roster for the 2023 season in the wake of an earlier announcement from Chip Ganassi Racing that contradicted the Spaniard’s accurate plans for the upcoming racing season.

    Earlier on Tuesday, July 12, Chip Ganassi Racing issued a statement that the team had exercised its option to retain Palou for the 2023 IndyCar season. Not long after the news was released to the public, however, Palou took to social media to deny the announcement.

    “I have recently learned from the media that this afternoon, without my approval, Chip Ganassi Racing issued a press release announcing that I would be driving with CGR in 2023,” Palou tweeted. “Even more surprising was that CGR’s release included a “quote” which did not come from me. I did not approve that press release, and I did not author or approve that quote. As I have recently informed CGR, for personal reasons, I do not intend to continue with the team after 2022. This evening’s unfortunate events aside, I have great respect for the CGR team, and look forward to finishing this season strongly together.”

    Palou then unveiled the news through social media that he will be joining the McLaren Racing family for the upcoming racing season. The series which Palou will compete for with McLaren (IndyCar, Formula One and Formula E) is yet to determined, but he will be joining the organization’s F1 Testing of Previous Cars program.

    “I’m extremely excited to join the driver roster for such an iconic team as McLaren,” Palou said in a released statement. “I’m excited to be able to show what I can do behind the wheel of a Formula 1 car and looking at what doors that may open. I want to thank everyone at Chip Ganassi Racing for everything they have done for me.”

    Palou is currently campaigning in his third full-time season in the IndyCar Series, where he is ranked in fourth place in the drivers’ standings on a strength of four podiums through nine of the 17-race schedule. He trails teammate and points leader Marcus Ericsson by 35 points.

    Palou joined Chip Ganassi Racing for the 2021 IndyCar season after spending his inaugural season in 2020 with Dale Coyne Racing with Team Goh. In his first event with CGR, he achieved his maiden victory at Barber Motorsports Park in April. He went on to achieve victories at Road America in June and at Portland International Raceway in September while engaged in a season-long championship battle against Josef Newgarden and Pato O’Ward. When the season concluded at the Streets of Long Beach in September, Palou achieved his maiden IndyCar Series title and became the first Spaniard to win an IndyCar championship.

    “We have always said that we want the best talent at McLaren, and it’s exciting to be able to include Alex on that list,” Zak Brown, CEO of McLaren Racing, said. “I’m also looking forward to seeing him get behind the wheel of a Formula 1 car as part of our Testing of Previous Cars (TPC) programme alongside Pato O’Ward and Colton Herta as we continue to build our driver talent. Alex is an incredibly talented driver who has won in every series he has raced in, and I’m happy to welcome him to the McLaren family.”

    The addition of Palou is among a series of additions and re-signings made by McLaren Racing throughout this season, among which include Lando Norris, Colton Herta, Pato O’Ward, Alexander Rossi and Felix Rosenqvist. Norris is currently campaigning in his fourth full-time Formula One season while Herta, who currently competes for Andretti Autosport in the IndyCar Series in spite of having a McLaren contract, is coming off a two-day McLaren F1 testing session at Portugal’s Portimão Circuit. O’Ward, who is currently embarking in his third full-time season at Arrow McLaren SP in IndyCar, inked a three-year contract extension with the team in May while Rossi, who currently competes for Andretti, is set to join McLaren as the team’s second IndyCar competitor in 2023. Rosenqvist, who is campaigning in his second season at AMSP, signed a multi-year extension to remain at McLaren, though the name of his racing series for next season is yet to be determined.

    McLaren Racing will unveil its full driver lineup across all motorsports regions at a later date.

    With his plans for next season set, Palou continues his pursuit to defend his IndyCar title by competing in the upcoming Honda Indy Toronto at the Exhibition Place in Toronto, Canada. The event is scheduled to occur on Sunday, July 17, at 3 p.m. ET on NBC Peacock.

  • Scott McLaughlin scores second IndyCar career victory at Mid-Ohio

    Scott McLaughlin scores second IndyCar career victory at Mid-Ohio

    Scott McLaughlin capitalized from a late-race misfortune that knocked Pato O’Ward out of contention to dominate and fend off Alex Palou to win the Honda Indy 200 at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on Sunday, July 3.

    The 29-year-old McLaughlin from Hamilton, New Zealand, led a race-high 45 of 80 laps in his No. 3 Odyssey Battery Dallara-Chevrolet and managed to pull away from the field during an 18-lap dash to the finish, including a late charge from Palou, to notch his second career victory in the NTT IndyCar Series.

    With on-track qualifying occurring on Saturday, Pato O’Ward became the ninth different pole winner through the first nine scheduled events after establishing a pole-winning lap at 121.861 mph in 1:06.7054. Joining him on the front row was Scott McLaughlin, who clocked in his best lap at 121.619 mph in 1:06.8382.

    Following a delayed, cautious start, the green flag waved on Lap 3 of 80. At the start, O’Ward took off with the lead as teammate Felix Rosenqvist mad an early bid on McLaughlin for the runner-up spot, with the latter retaining the spot. As the field jostled for positions early, Will Power spun his No. 12 Verizon 5G Dallara-Chevrolet in Turn 9, but the event remained under green.  

    Through the first five scheduled laps, O’Ward was leading by nearly nine-tenths of a second over McLaughlin followed by Rosenqvist, Colton Herta and Scott Dixon while Simon Pagenaud, Alex Palou, rookie Kyle Kirkwood, rookie David Malukas and Alenxader Rossi.

    Four laps later, the first caution of the event flew when Rosenqvist, who was in third place and was coming off a new multi-year deal with McLaren Racing, pulled his No. 7 Arrow McLaren SP Dallara-Chevrolet off the course in Turn 4 due to a mechanical issue and with smoke billowing out of his car.

    When the event restarted under green on Lap 13, O’Ward retained the lead ahead of McLaughlin while Dixon and Herta battled for third place ahead of Pagenaud. With Dixon moving into third place, Herta just managed to fend off Pagenaud for fourth place as Palou started to close in for his bid for a top-five spot.

    Twenty laps into the event, O’Ward continued to lead by more than a second over McLaughlin followed by Dixon, Herta and Pagenaud while Palou, Malukas, Kirkwood, Rossi and rookie Callum Ilott were in the top 10. By then, Josef Newgarden was in 11th ahead of Rinus VeeKay, Helio Castroneves, Marcus Ericsson and Takuma Sato while Conor Daly, Romain Grosjean, Devlin DeFrancesco, Will Power and Christian Lundgaard occupied the top 20. Graham Rahal, who was making his 250th IndyCar career start, was mired in 23rd while Jimmie Johnson was back in 25th ahead of Jack Harvey.

    Four laps later, the first round of green flag pit stops commenced as Newgarden pitted his No. 2 PPG Dallara-Chevrolet along with VeeKay, Grosjean and Lundgaard. Palou would soon pit along with Castroneves and Malukas, Rossi, Ilott, Simona De Silverstro, Kirkwood, Conor Daly, Dalton Kellett, Pagenaud, Takuma Sato, DeFrancesco and rookie Tatiana Calderon.

    Then on Lap 30, O’Ward, who was radioing power issues, surrendered the lead to pit followed by Dixon as McLaughlin took over the lead. Shortly after, the caution flew when Kirkwood got loose entering Turn 9, went off the course and wrecked his No. 14 AJ Foyt Enterprises Dallara-Chevrolet against the tire barriers.

    With the race restarting under green on Lap 36, McLaughlin fended off Palou to retain the lead through the first two corners and entering Turn 3. Then as Palou challenged McLaughlin for the lead, the caution returned when Dalton Kellett got hit by Jack Harvey in Turn 2, spun and stalled his car.

    As the race restarted under green at the halfway mark on Lap 40, McLaughlin retained the lead for a second time ahead of Palou as Herta, O’Ward and Dixon occupied the top five. 

    With 30 laps remaining, McLaughlin was leading by a second over Palou while Herta, VeeKay and Dixon were in the top five. Newgarden, who started 14th, was up in sixth place followed by Ericsson, Power, Rossi and Grosjean while O’Ward was back to 12th after being overtaken by Pagenaud.

    Three laps later, names like Newgarden, Malukas, Ilott, Castronevs, Lundgaard, Graham Rahal, Conor Day, DeFrancesco, Sato, Simona de Silvestro and O’Ward pitted under green. Then, disaster struck for O’Ward, who stalled his No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP Dallara-Chevrolet while trying to exit his pit stall and retired due to a mechanical issue. At the time of O’Ward’s issue, the leader McLaughlin along with Palou, VeeKay, Dixon, Ericsson, Power, Rossi, Grosjean and Pagenaud pitted. Not long after, the caution flew when Tatiana Calderon pulled her car off the course in between Turns 4 and 5 due to a mechanical issue. 

    When the race restarted under green with 23 laps remaining, Herta, who did not pit during the previous pit cycle, took off with the lead followed by McLaughlin while Palou, Power, VeeKay and Dixon occupied the top six. By then, Ilott limped his car back to pit road after he fell off the pace prior to the start and eventually retired due to a mechanical issue to his No. 77 Juncos Hollinger Racing Dallara-Chevrolet.

    During the following lap, however, the caution flew when teammates Grosjean and Rossi, both of whom made contact with one another earlier, made contact for a second time and went off the course in Turn 2, with Grosjean’s No. 28 Andretti Autosport Dallara-Honda ending up in the tire barriers while Rossi continued. During the caution period, Herta surrendered the lead to McLaughlin to pit.

    Down to the final 18 laps of the event, the race proceeded under green. At the start, McLaughlin took off with the lead while teammate Power challenged Palou for the runner-up spot as the field fanned out and scrambled for late positions.

    During the following lap, Herta, who was mired towards the rear of the field, received the slightest of contact from teammate Grosjean, who earlier voiced his frustration in being hit by teammate Rossi prior to the previous restart, as Herta went off the course, spun his No. 26 Andretti Autosport Dallara-Honda and continued.

    With 10 laps remaining, McLaughlin continued to lead by more than a second over Palou followed by Power, VeeKay and Dixon while Ericsson, Newgarden, Castroneves, Malukas and Jack Harvey were in the top 10. By then, the drama within the Andretti Autosport camp continued as Rossi made contact with teammate Devlin DeFrancesco in Turn 6. In addition, Rossi and Grosjean were assessed pass-through penalties through pit road following their run-in on the track.

    Down to the final five laps of the event, McLaughlin remained as the leader by six-tenths of a seconds over Palou while Power, VeeKay and Dixon stabilized themselves in the top five. Ericsson, Newgarden, Castroneves, Malukas and Pagenaud were scored in the top 10 while Lundgaard, Rahal, Daly, Sato and Jimmie Johnson were in the top 15.

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, McLaughlin stabilized his advantage to nine-tenths of a second over Palou, who had the Australian within his sights but was not close enough to ignite a bid for the lead. Having a clear circuit in front of him for a final time and through the 13-turn circuit, McLaughlin was able to cycle his way back to the finish line and claim his second career checkered flag in the IndyCar circuit by more than half a second over Palou’s No. 10 NTT Data Dallara-Honda.

    With the victory, McLaughlin became the second IndyCar competitor to achieve multiple victories this season as he recorded the sixth IndyCar victory of the season for Team Penske along with the 12th for the organization at Mid-Ohio. The Mid-Ohio victory also marked his first podium result in IndyCar since he claimed his maiden IndyCar victory at the Streets of St. Petersburg in Florida followed by a runner-up result at Texas Motor Speedway in March.

    “Amazing,” McLaughlin said on NBC. “I really wanted to get a win here with mom and dad. Our first time with Odyssey Battery on the car. It was awesome, as well, to have them onboard, but to have mom and dad here is super special. America’s weekend! Last night, I was dressed up as a bald eagle, so maybe, I need to do that every July 4th weekend. [The race] was tough. You’re thinking about your fuel, but thankfully, Chevy gave us the great fuel mileage and drive ability off the restarts. That allowed to get a little bit of a gap from Palou and Honda there, so I’m really proud of the guys [with] the car they gave me. It was a little hard to drive towards the end. I would’ve loved to make it a little bit easier for myself, but yeah, super proud of everyone. Great pit stops from this car No. 3 team…We’re going to the moon!”

    Palou claimed his third runner-up result of the season after being half a second shy of claiming his first IndyCar victory of the season while Power rallied from his opening lap spin to finish in third place and round out the podium.

    VeeKay and Dixon finished in the top five while Ericsson, Newgarden, Castroneves, Malukas and Pagenaud completed the top 10 on the track. Notably, Herta finished 15th ahead of Jimmie Johnson, Rossi ended up 19th and Grosjean settled in 21st, a lap down.

    There were three lead changes for three different leaders. The race featured six cautions for 17 laps.

    With his sixth-place result, Marcus Ericsson continues to lead the championship standings by 20 points over Will Power, 34 over Josef Newgarden, 35 over Alex Palou, 65 over Pato O’Ward, 67 over Scott Dixon and 69 over Scott McLaughlin.

    Results.

    1. Scott McLaughlin, 45 laps led

    2. Alex Palou

    3. Will Power

    4. Rinus VeeKay

    5. Scott Dixon

    6. Marcus Ericsson

    7. Josef Newgarden

    8. Helio Castroneves

    9. David Malukas

    10. Simon Pagenaud

    11. Christian Lundgaard

    12. Graham Rahal

    13. Conor Daly

    14. Takuma Sato

    15. Colton Herta, seven laps led

    16. Jimmie Johnson

    17. Devlin DeFrancesco

    18. Simona De Silvestro

    19. Alexander Rossi

    20. Jack Harvey

    21. Romain Grosjean, one lap down

    22. Dalton Kellett, two laps down

    23. Callum Ilott – OUT, Mechanical

    24. Pato O’Ward – OUT, Mechanical, 28 laps led

    25. Tatiana Calderon – OUT, Mechanical

    26. Kyle Kirkwood – OUT, Contact

    27. Felix Rosenqvist – OUT, Mechanical

    Next on the 2022 NTT IndyCar Series schedule is the series’ return to the Exhibition Place in Toronto, Canada, for the Honda Indy Toronto following a two-year absence. The event is scheduled to occur on July 17 at 3 p.m. ET on NBC Peacock.

  • Pato O’Ward capitalizes for late IndyCar victory at Barber Motorsports Park

    Pato O’Ward capitalizes for late IndyCar victory at Barber Motorsports Park

    In an event dominated by Rinus VeeKay, Pato O’Ward rose to the occasion in the late stages and rallied from a difficult start to the season by winning the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama at Barber Motorsports Park on Sunday, May 1.

    The 22-year-old O’Ward from Monterrey, Mexico, spent more than 70% of Sunday’s event trailing pole-sitter Rinus VeeKay. During a late cycle of pit stops under green with less than 30 laps remaining, however, O’Ward capitalized on the opportunity to close in and overtake VeeKay for the lead. From there, he fended off Alex Palou by less than a second to grab his first NTT IndyCar Series victory of the 2022 season.

    With on-track qualifying occurring on Saturday, Rinus VeeKay started on pole position after notching a pole-winning lap at 124.980 mph in one minute, 6.2507 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Pato O’Ward, who recorded a fast lap at 124.698 mph in one minute, 6.4003 seconds.

    The first lap of the event occurred under caution as the IndyCar competitors were still working to line up in double lanes under a cautious pace.

    When the green flag waved and the race commenced on the second lap, VeeKay took off with the lead followed by O’Ward and Scott McLaughlin battled Alex Palou for third place while the rest of the field jostled for positions in a long single file line. 

    As the field made their way through the 15-turn circuit for a full lap under green, VeeKay was leading ahead of O’Ward, McLaughlin, Palou, Alexander Rossi, Felix Rosenqvist, Romain Grosjean, rookie Callum Ilott, Graham Rahal and Josef Newgarden.

    Through the first 10 scheduled laps, VeeKay continued to lead by more than a second over O’Ward while McLaughlin, Palou and Rossi occupied the top five, all while trailing VeeKay by more than three seconds. Rosenqvist, Grosjean, Ilott, Rahal and Newgarden remained in the top 10 ahead of Colton Herta, Jack Harvey, Marcus Ericsson, Christian Lundgaard and Scott Dixon. Takuma Sato, Helio Castroneves, Devlin DeFrancesco, Will Power and David Malukas were in the top 20 while Jimmie Johnson was mired in 25th.

    A lap later, pit strategy ensued as Marcus Ericsson pitted his No. 8 Huski Chocolate Dallara-Honda. Shortly after, Newgarden pitted his No. 2 PPG Dallara-Chevrolet along with Helio Castroneves and Jack Harvey. During the proceeding lap, Colton Herta veered his No. 26 Gainbridge Dallara-Honda to his pit stall for his service along with rookie Kyle Kirkwood, who endured a slow pit stop after his pit crew encountered issues while changing the right-front tire. In the midst of this, Romain Grosjean also made his way to pit road for service.

    On Lap 15, Herta overshot the course entering the first turn while battling teammate Grosjean, but the race proceeded under green as the two Andretti Autosport teammates continued to battle.

    By Lap 20, VeeKay extended his advantage to more than two seconds over O’Ward while McLaughlin, Palou, Rossi, Rosenqvist, Ilott, Rahal, Lundgaard and Dixon were in the top 10. By then, Will Power was in 13th, Johnson was in 16th ahead of Newgarden, Herta and Grosjean and Ericsson was in 22nd behind Tatiana Calderon and Jack Harvey.

    Nearing the Lap 30 mark, Rosenqvist pitted his No. 7 Arrow McLaren SP Dallara-Chevrolet along with Devlin DeFrancesco, O’Ward, Rossi, Ilott, Lundgaard, Takuma Sato, David Malukas and Simon Pagenaud. Soon after, the leader VeeKay made his first pit stop of the event along with Palou, McLaughlin, Rahal, Power and Dixon.

    Then on Lap 32, the first caution of the event flew when Ilott, who was having a stellar run in the top 10, overdrove and spun in Turn 9 before getting his No. 77 Juncos Hollinger Racing Dallara-Chevrolet stuck in the gravel while battling Castroneves. At the moment of caution, Newgarden, who was on a different strategy from the leaders, was leading ahead of Herta, VeeKay, Grosjean, O’Ward, McLaughlin, Palou, Harvey, Rossi and Ericsson.

    Under caution, some like Newgarden pitted while the rest led by VeeKay remained on the track.

    When the race proceeded under green on Lap 36, VeeKay retained the lead ahead of O’Ward as the field jostled for positions. 

    On Lap 41, Castroneves got into the rear end of Johnson’s No. 48 Carvana Dallara-Honda, which sent Johnson spinning in Turn 8 while the race proceeded under green. As a result, Castroneves was assessed a drive-through penalty for the incident.

    At the halfway mark on Lap 45, VeeKay was leading by over O’Ward while McLaughlin, Rossi, Palou, Dixon, Power, Rosenqvist, Rahal and Pagenaud were in the top 10. Herta was up in 11th ahead of Sato, Laundgaard, Newgarden, Grosjean, Ericsson, DeFrancesco, Harvey, Malukas and Conor Daly while Johnson and Castroneves were back in 22nd and 23rd behind Kyle Kirkwood.

    Five laps later, VeeKay stabilized his advantage to less than two seconds over O’Ward while McLaughlin, Rossi and Palou remained in the top five. 

    By Lap 60, VeeKay continued to lead by more than two seconds over O’Ward followed by McLaughlin, Rossi, Palou, Dixon, Power, Rahal, Herta and Pagenaud.

    Shortly after, pit stops under green ensued as Rossi pitted followed by Rosenqvist, Lundgaard, DeFrancesco, Harvey and Rahal. During the following lap, the race leader VeeKay pitted followed by O’Ward, McLaughlin and Power. Despite VeeKay exiting pit road ahead of O’Ward, the latter was able to gain the speed needed to overtake VeeKay for position after trailing him throughout the event.

    When the pit stops concluded on Lap 65, O’Ward cycled his way into the lead while Palou, who had just exited his pit stall on Lap 64, fended off VeeKay for the runner-up spot, thus dropping VeeKay to third place. With Ericsson pitting, Dixon and McLaughlin were in the top five followed by Power, Rossi, Rahal, Herta and Pagenaud.

    With 20 laps remaining, O’Ward was leading by more than a second over Palou while third-place VeeKay trailed by more than four seconds. Dixon and Power were in the top five followed by McLaughlin, Herta, Rahal, Rossi and Grosjean.

    Five laps later, O’Ward continued to lead by more than a second over Palou and more than six seconds over VeeKay. Behind, a tight battle ensued for fourth place as Dixon was in position ahead of Power, McLaughlin, Herta, Rahal, Grosjean and Rossi. Soon after, Herta made contact with McLaughlin while battling for position and spun, but he proceeded under green.

    Down to the final 10 laps of the event, O’Ward remained as the leader by more than two seconds over Palou and more than seven seconds over VeeKay. Power and Dixon remained in the top five while McLaughlin, Rahal, Grosjean, Rossi and Herta were scored in the top 10. Pagenaud, Ericsson, Newgarden, Sato and Lundgaard were in the top 15 followed by Rosenqvist, DeFrancesco, Harvey, Daly and Malukas while Castroneves and Johnson were in 21st and 24th.

    With five laps remaining, O’Ward retained the lead by more than a second over Palou while third-place VeeKay trailed by more than 10 seconds. While Power and Dixon stabilized themselves in the top five, McLaughlin continued to be pressured by Rahal and Grosjean for more. 

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, O’Ward remained as the leader by more than a second over Palou. With the battles ensuing behind but none near his No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP Dallara-Chevrolet, O’Ward smoothly navigated his way through the 15-turn circuit and cycled his way back to the finish line to claim his first checkered flag of the season.

    The victory was the third of O’Ward’s IndyCar career and first since he won the first of a Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix doubleheader feature in June 2021. He also recorded the fourth consecutive victory of the 2022 season for Chevrolet and the first of the season for Arrow McLaren SP.

    “[Team principal] Taylor [Kiel] told me we were fighting for the win when we almost got [VeeKay] in the pit stops, so I said, ‘No, this is the chance, man.’ It was so tough to follow just because it’s such a fast and flowing circuit, so I knew if I would have the opportunity it would have been right then and there. I got on my [push to pass] button, got around him into [Turn] 5, and I knew if we would get into clean air, we could kind of control the thing. Once we did that, [we] cruised to Victory Lane.”

    The Barber victory also erased all speculations of O’Ward’s on-track struggles to the start of the season and uncertainty beyond this season as he is now poised to ink a new contract extension with Arrow McLaren SP.

    “It sucks to be at war within your own team, so I’m glad there’s been very positive talks for the future,” O’Ward added. “And man I wanted to do it for these guys, for Arrow McLaren SP, Team Chevy, they’ve swept this year so far, so I think it’s great for them…I was tired of being 10th, 11th and fifth, so I said let’s get a win under our belts so we can claw our way back into this championship fight.”

    Alex Palou, who notched his first IndyCar career victory at Barber a year ago, settled in second place as he trailed O’Ward by less than a second. Despite falling one spot shy of claiming his first victory of the season, Palou emerged as the new leader in the championship standings.

    “We had a good day, overall,” Palou said. “Super happy with P2. [O’Ward] was running second at that time. I think we were running fourth. Just that track difference, that’s what got us. I did a mistake on the restart where [Rossi] got us there. I think that was all the difference. [O’Ward] was really fast today, but super happy with the No. 10 American Legion Honda car. It was super fast all weekend. Another podium. We were fighting till the end. Couldn’t make it today, but we’ll try on the next one.”

    VeeKay, meanwhile, came home in third place after leading a race-high 57 of 90 laps.

    “We were in a great race and coming into pit lane, and I really got held up a little bit with Jimmie [Johnson], so Pato closed the gap a lot,” VeeKay said. “I was so much looking in my mirrors I forgot to use the push to pass because I was too much looking in my mirrors. Yeah, I was just a little bit too conservative there. So pretty bummed missing out on that win. We had a great car, great race.”

    Power and Dixon completed the top five on the track while McLaughlin, Grosjean, Rahal, Rossi and Herta finished in the top 10. 

    Following the event, Rahal voiced his displeasure towards Grosjean over their late battle and on-track contact. 

    Newgarden, who was vying for his third consecutive win in the IndyCar Series along with a $1 million bonus, settled in 14th place after an early gamble with a three-stop strategy was spoiled due to Ilott’s incident. 

    There were five lead changes for four different leaders. The race featured one caution for three laps.

    With his runner-up result, Alex Palou leads the IndyCar drivers’ standings by three points over Scott McLaughlin, nine over Josef Newgarden, 10 over Will Power, 30 over Pato O’Ward and 31 over Scott Dixon.

    Results.

    1. Pato O’Ward, 27 laps led

    2. Alex Palou, four laps led

    3. Rinus VeeKay, 57 laps led

    4. Will Power

    5. Scott Dixon

    6. Scott McLaughlin

    7. Romain Grosjean

    8. Graham Rahal

    9. Alexander Rossi

    10. Colton Herta

    11. Simon Pagenaud

    12. Marcus Ericsson

    13. Takuma Sato

    14. Josef Newgarden, two laps led

    15. Christian Lundgaard

    16. Felix Rosenqvist

    17. Devlin DeFrancesco

    18. Jack Harvey

    19. Conor Daly

    20. David Malukas

    21. Helio Castroneves

    22. Kyle Kirkwood, one lap down

    23. Dalton Kellett, one lap down

    24. Jimmie Johnson, one lap down

    25. Callum Ilott, two laps down

    26. Tatiana Calderon, two laps down

    The 2022 NTT IndyCar Series season will be returning to action at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course in Indianapolis, Indiana, for the GMR Grand Prix. The event is scheduled to occur on May 14 at 3 p.m. ET on NBC.

  • Newgarden goes back-to-back with his first IndyCar victory at the Streets of Long Beach

    Newgarden goes back-to-back with his first IndyCar victory at the Streets of Long Beach

    Three weeks after claiming his wildest and dramatic victories in his motorsports career in the Lone Star state, Josef Newgarden backed up his early momentum into this season by shining in the Golden State and winning the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach at the Streets of Long Beach, California, on Sunday, April 10.

    The two-time IndyCar champion from Hendersonville, Tennessee, led a race-high 32 of 85 laps and benefitted through an executed pit strategy to cycle to the front twice, including the second one as he fended off Alex Palou to reassume the lead approaching the final 30 laps. Newgarden then held off a challenge from Romain Grosjean through two late restarts to claim the win under caution after Takuma Sato wrecked prior to the final lap. The first Long Beach victory for Newgarden in his 11th attempt was enough for him and his No. 2 Team Penske Dallara-Chevrolet team to emerge as the new points leader.

    With on-track qualifying occurring on Saturday, Colton Herta, the reigning winner at Long Beach, started on pole position after establishing a pole-record qualifying lap at 108.480 mph in one minute, 6.2254 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Josef Newgarden, winner of the previous IndyCar event at Texas Motor Speedway in March who posted a fast lap at 107.745 mph in one minute, 5.7550 seconds.

    When the green flag waved and the race commenced, Herta rocketed away with an early advantage while Alex Palou challenged Newgarden for the runner-up spot. Behind, Felix Rosenqvist battled and fended off Alexander Rossi for fourth place while Marcus Ericsson was in sixth ahead of Romain Grosjean. 

    Through the 11-turn circuit and with the field settling in a long single-file line, Herta led the first lap while Newgarden settled in second place ahead of Palou, Rosenqvist and Rossi. 

    By the fifth lap, Herta was leading by more than two seconds over Newgarden, who was still ahead of Palou by more than half a second, while Rosenqvist and Rossi remained in the top five. Trailing behind in the top 10 were Ericsson, Grosjean, Will Power, Scott McLaughlin and Simon Pagenaud.

    A lap later, the first caution of the event flew when Dalton Kellett locked up his tires in Turn 1 and clipped the tire barriers, where he sustained heavy damage to his No. 4 AJ Foyt Enterprises Dallara-Honda as his race came to an end.

    Another two laps later and when the safety crew repaired the tire barriers while also towing Kellett’s car off the course, the race proceeded under green. At the start, Herta rocketed his No. 26 Gainbridge Dallara-Honda away from the field for a second time to retain the lead while Newgarden kept his No. 2 Hitachi Dallara-Chevrolet in front of Palou’s No. 10 NTT Data Dallara-Honda and the rest of the field. Behind, Rosenqvist kept his No. 7 Arrow McLaren SP Dallara-Chevrolet in front of Rossi’s No. 27 AutoNation/NAPA Dallara-Honda while Ericsson, Grosjean, Power, McLaughlin and Pagenaud remained in the top 10. By then, Pato O’Ward was in 11th in front of rookie Kyle Kirkwood, Hello Castroneves, Graham Rahal and Scott Dixon. Meanwhile, Rinus VeeKay, who damaged part of his front nose after getting into the rear of Castroneves prior to the restart basin 16th while Jimmie Johnson, who broke his right hand during a practice accident on Friday, was in 24th place.

    Through the first 20 laps of the event, Herta was out in front by more than a second over Newgarden while third-place Palou trailed by two-and-a-half seconds. Rosenqvist and Rossi, both of whom were more than eight seconds behind the leader Herta, battled for fourth place while Ericsson, Grosjean, Power, McLaughlin and Pagenaud remained in the top 10. 

    A lap later, Rossi muscled his way into fourth place followed by Ericsson, Grosjean, Power, McLaughlin and Pagenaud while Rosenqvist plummeted to 10th place in front of teammate Pato O’Ward.

    Not long after, some like Scott Dixon, Rinus VeeKay and Rosenqvist made a pit stop under green while Herta continued to lead. Meanwhile, Rossi and Ericsson were locked in a tight battle for fourth place before he prevailed on Lap 25. During the following lap, Grosjean made his move to muscle his No. 28 DHL Dallara-Honda into fifth place.

    On Lap 28, Palou pitted along with O’Ward. By then, Rossi also made a pit stop. Soon after, Pagenaud pitted along with Kirkwood.

    Then on Lap 29, Herta surrendered the lead to pit followed by teammate Grosjean, Conor Daly, Takuma Sato, David Malukas and Johnson. During the following lap, Newgarden pitted along with Ericsson and Scott McLaughlin and Callum Ilott. Following the pit stops, Malukas was penalized for speeding on pit road.

    By Lap 32, Will Power pitted along with Graham Rahal and Christian Lundgaard. Once the cycle of green flag pit stops were completed after Devlin DeFrancesco pitted, Palou cycled his way into the lead followed by Newgarden and Herta while Ericsson and Dixon were in the top five. Behind, McLaughlin spun in Turn 11 after he clipped the inside wall while settling behind Tatiana Calderon. Not long after, DeFrancesco, who just pitted, spun and shredded his tire as he limped back to pit road. Both incidents, however, were not enough for the caution flag to be drawn.

    Through the first 40 laps, Palou was leading by more than two seconds over Newgarden while third-place Herta trailed by less than a second behind Newgarden.

    At the halfway mark between Laps 42 and 43, Palou continued to lead by more than two seconds over Newgarden and less than three seconds over Herta. Ericsson was in fourth place, trailing by more than 10 seconds, while fifth-place Dixon trailed by more than 16 seconds. Rounding out the top 10 were Grosjean, Power, Rossi, O’Ward and Rahal while Kirkwood, Castroneves, Daly, Sato and Rosenqvist were in the top 15. By then, VeeKay, Pagenaud, McLaughlin and Johnson were mired in 17th, 19th, 20th and 22nd.

    By Lap 50, Palou stabilized his advantage to more than two seconds over Newgarden while third-place Palou trailed by more than three seconds. Ericsson was still in fourth place while Grosjean was up in fifth place. Trailing behind were Dixon, Power, Rossi, O’Ward and Rahal.

    Nearing the final 30 laps of the event, another round of green pit stops occurred as Rosenqvist pitted along with VeeKay and Jack Harvey. Among those who pitted included the leader Palou as Newgarden moved into the lead. 

    Just then and while the cycle of pit stops continued, trouble struck for Herta after Herta locked up his tires entering Turn 9 and smacked the wall hard as he then pulled his Honda off the course in Turn 10. While the race proceeded under green, Herta’s hopes of winning at Long Beach came to an end as the wreck mirrored a similar one Herta experienced at Nashville Street Circuit last August while contending for the win.

    “I just broke a little bit too late, got in there, locked the right front, and that’s it,” Herta, who led 32 laps, said on NBC. “It’s just a stupid mistake. We were definitely in that thing, running good there in third, keeping up with Alex and Josef. It’s unfortunate. I feel really bad.” 

    Back on the track, Newgarden, who pitted, managed to duel and fend off Palou to retain the lead on Lap 55 while Ericsson was up in third place. 

    With 26 laps remaining, the caution flew when Simon Pagenaud spun by the Dolphin Fountain between Turns 2 and 3 following contact with Takuma Sato. As Pagenaud tried to drive away, he came to a rest atop the flower bed by the Dolphin Foundation while McLaughlin got damage after running into the rear end of VeeKay, who was trying to dodge Pagenaud.

    Following an extensive cleanup, the race restarted under green with 19 laps remaining. At the start, Newgarden retained the lead ahead of Palou through the first two turns. Then behind, Ericsson, who was in third place, got loose and clipped the outside wall exiting Turn 4. While trying to continue under pace, he then got hit by teammate Dixon as he slipped sideways and was forced to pull his car off the course in Turn 5 while the field scattered. The incident spoiled Ericsson’s opportunity for back-to-back podiums of the season while Grosjean moved into third place. 

    With 15 laps remaining, Newgarden continued to lead by less than four-tenths of a second over Grosjean, who muscled his way into the runner-up spot over Palou during the pervious lap and began his challenge on Newgarden for the top spot. Behind, Will Power was in fourth place followed by Pato O’Ward while Dixon, following his late incident with teammate Ericsson, continued to run in sixth place.

    Down to the final 10 laps of the event, the caution flew when Jimmie Johnson spun and slapped his No. 48 Carvana Dallara-Honda against the tire barriers. David Malukas, who was running right behind Johnson, also got into the tire barriers after hitting Johnson’s car. At the moment of caution, Newgarden had stabilized his advantage to more than half a second over Grosjean followed by Palou, Power and O’Ward.

    Following another extensive cleanup and repairs made to the tire barriers in Turn 8, the race restarted under green with five laps remaining. At the start, Grosjean tried to launch an attack to the outside of Newgarden, but the latter defended the top spot through the first five turns. Through Turns 6, 7 and 8 before entering Turns 9, 10 and 11, Newgarden continued to lead ahead of Grosjean and Palou, Behind, Power was in fourth while O’Ward fended off Dixon to remain in the top five.

    With two laps remaining, Newgarden continued to lead by nearly six-tenths of a second over Grosjean, who had Palou starting to intimidate him for the runner-up spot.

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Newgarden remained as the leader by less than eight-tenths of a second over Grosjean while third-place Palou trailed by more than a second. By then, Takuma Sato ran into the tire barriers in Turn 8 while battling VeeKay for position.

    Just as the field cycled their way to Turn 8, where Sato was unable to continue in time until the leaders arrived, the caution flew and the race was over, which handed the victory to Newgarden for the first time at the Streets of Long Beach and for his second consecutive IndyCar win in recent weeks.

    In addition, Newgarden recorded his 22nd career win in the NTT IndyCar Series. With the win, Team Penske and Chevrolet have won the first three scheduled IndyCar events of the 2022 season. 

    “[The Long Beach victory]’s definitely up there on the list,” Newgarden said on NBC. “Man, this was a fight today. This was not an easy race to win. I don’t know if it looks simple from the outside, but I was working my butt off with Grosjean at the end there on the used reds [tires]. I was hoping he would fade a little bit towards the end, but I was just trying to hold him off on the restart. It was super difficult. This Hitachi car, it was on it. We knew, coming in the race, we have a good strategy. We make good fuel with Team Chevy. We were gonna be alright and I had everything I needed today with pit stops trying to get around Alex [Palou]. So proud of Team Penske. I’ve been trying to win a race here for 11 years, so I’m so happy to finally get it done.”

    The runner-up result for Grosjean was his third in the series coming in a total of 16 career starts in the IndyCar Series and first since finishing in second place at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course in August 2021. It also marked his fourth career podium result in IndyCar competition.

    “Very close, but not close enough, right?” Grosjean said. “It was fun. We had the right tire strategy. The last caution, I thought it was going to be great. [I] Lost a bit of time when Marcus [Ericsson] stuffed it in front of me and then catch Alex [Palou]…Josef was up there. He made one mistake, but I just couldn’t use [the car] and then, I have to be honest, the Chevy engine was fast on the straight, so I couldn’t quite keep up. Very happy with P2 today. First podium on the DHL color. It’s a great day. Looking forward to more. We take what it is.”

    Filling in the final podium result in third place and with his second podium result of the season was Alex Palou, who was in contention to claim his first victory of the season.

    “We took the gamble on the first [pit] stop,” Palou, who led 22 laps, said. “We did a good strategy. We went from third to first. That was only on strategy and the pit stop, the crew did an amazing job. We were so close…I’m super proud of everybody at the No. 10 car and everybody at the Chip Ganassi Racing team. It was not our day, but yeah, we’ll try again at Barber.”

    Power and O’Ward finished in the top five while Dixon, Rahal, Rossi, Castroneves and Kyle Kirkwood completed the top 10 on the track.

    There were five lead changes for five different leaders. The race featured four cautions for 14 laps.

    With his second consecutive victory in recent weeks, Josef Newgarden leads the NTT IndyCar Series standings by five points over teammate Scott McLaughlin, 15 over Alex Palou, 16 over Will Power, 35 over Scott Dixon and 43 over Romain Grosjean.

    Results.

    1. Josef Newgarden, 32 laps led

    2. Romain Grosjean

    3. Alex Palou, 22 laps led

    4. Will Power, two laps led

    5. Pato O’Ward

    6. Scott Dixon

    7. Graham Rahal

    8. Alexander Rossi

    9. Helio Castroneves

    10. Kyle Kirkwood

    11. Felix Rosenqvist

    12. Conor Daly

    13. Rinus VeeKay 

    14. Scott McLaughlin

    15. Jack Harvey

    16. Tatiana Calderon, one lap down

    17. Takuma Sato – OUT, Accident

    18. Christian Lundgaard, two laps down

    19. Simon Pagenaudm, four laps down

    20. Jimmie Johnson – OUT, Contact

    21. David Malukas – OUT, Contact

    22. Marcus Ericsson – OUT, Contact

    23. Colton Herta – OUT, Contact, 28 laps led

    24. Callum Ilott – OUT, Contact

    25. Devlin DeFrancesco – OUT, Contact, one lap led

    26. Dalton Kellett – OUT, Contact

    Next on the 2022 NTT IndyCar Series schedule is the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama at Barber Motorsports Park, which will occur on May 1 at 1 p.m. ET on NBC.

  • Herta scores IndyCar victory, Palou wins championship at Long Beach

    Herta scores IndyCar victory, Palou wins championship at Long Beach

    For the final time in 2021, the NTT IndyCar Series took to the streets of Long Beach where the series looked to crown a champion and a race winner. Colton Herta, starting deep in the field in 14th after being the fastest in both practice sessions took over the lead on Lap 34 after Helio Castroneves made his scheduled stop and held off Newgarden to win at home for the first time in his career.

    “I’ve been coming here since I was a baby when my dad was racing in the 2000s,” Herta said about the victory. “It (Long Beach) was the only race I could come to because I couldn’t fly, and it was so close. This one means so much, being my hometown race. I can’t believe I won it on my second try – this was a big one. It’s been mostly a perfect weekend, aside from qualifying, but it was fun to come from further back. I can’t thank Gainbridge, Dan, Cassidy and the entire Andretti Autosport 26 team enough for such a strong weekend. We started the season with a win and got to end the season with a win. I wish we had a few more in between, but this win was big.”

    Meanwhile, as Herta grabbed the checkered flag, Alex Palou needed to finish 12th or better entering the final race of the season to capture the championship. Josef Newgarden, who won the pole, needed to win the race and gain the maximum points. Newgarden was close to doing so after leading through the first 18 laps, but with how the cautions fell and varying strategies, Newgarden had to fight his way back up to the top.

    Following Lap 18, Newgarden was unable to lead another lap hurting his championship chances. As Herta clinched the most laps led late in the race, the championship was guaranteed for Palou as the Spaniard finished fourth in the overall result to win his first-ever NTT IndyCar Series Championship.

    Yeah, man, what a season,” Palou said in regards to winning the championship. “What a season. I cannot really believe it. I’m super happy. We worked so, so hard. Getting into the season finale, this place, didn’t know the track, but the guys gave me a really good car. They gave me good strategies. Today we went from P10 to P4, right? Just amazing, super happy. I think all the season we were super consistent. Feels amazing to be a champion. I want to do it again now.”

    Photo Courtesy of Joe Skibinski/Penske Entertainment

    When the green flag flew for the 85-Lap race, the race lead was all Newgarden who led early on. Unfortunately, troubles found another championship contender as Pato O’Ward was clipped from behind by the No. 18 of Ed Jones to bring out the first yellow. Ultimately, O’Ward’s chances would be over on Lap 17 due to a broken half shaft. O’Ward was relegated to a 27th place finish after being unable to finish the race.

    Prior to the yellow, Newgarden and Palou were already on pit road for service but 12 cars had stayed out with Newgarden restarting in the 13th position. Unfortunately for Newgarden, another yellow fell on Lap 25 for the No. 8 of Marcus Ericsson who plowed into the Turn 9 tire barrier.

    After the two early yellows, the green flag came back out on Lap 30 with Newgarden third and Palou seventh. Colton Herta passed Newgarden for third two laps later and eventually took the lead on Lap 34.

    For the majority of the race, Herta had a tremendous race pace and kept a sizeable gap over Newgarden. At one point, the California native Herta had an eight-second gap ahead of Newgarden. But, the last yellow bunched the field one more time on Lap 61 due to an incident with Oliver Askew and Conor Daly in Turn 9.

    With the help of the caution, Newgarden had one more chance to overpower Herta while Palou was lurking behind in fourth. Herta’s lead, however, was one second through the final 20 laps. Newgarden did close in with eight laps to go and was only half a second behind, but the win eventually went to Herta for the third time this season.

    Palou finished fourth to become the first Spanish champion and gave Chip Ganassi his 14th different title joining Jimmy Vasser, Alex Zenardi, Juan Pablo Montoya, Scott Dixon and Dario Franchitti.

    “It’s (winning the championship) as big as it gets,” Ganassi said. “Just to see this young man come along, it’s been a few dry years in the 10 car. I go back to think of Dario and Dan Wheldon in the 10, all the successes they had. Unfortunately for one reason or another, we haven’t found that right combination for a few years. You have to work just as hard. Sometimes you’re probably working harder than the guys on the 10 car and the 8 and the 48. They have to work harder sometimes than the champion.

    “Like last year with Dixon, I’m really, really happy for the team. Championships are won by a lot of hard work, by a lot of people making a lot of sacrifices that aren’t obvious to the naked eye or get lost and they never get the press or the coverage of the late nights over the winter in Indianapolis, cold and dark and blowing snow. Guys are in there toiling away on their computers or on their cars, making them just a little better, getting ready for the start of the season or getting ready for the Indianapolis 500. That’s where the championships are won.

    “There’s a whole slew of people back in Indianapolis that I’m sure right now have a big smile on their face. They’re in our race shop, family members that aren’t able to be here with their spouses, boyfriends or girlfriends. It’s a pleasure to represent those people. So that’s what makes this championship special.”

    There were four cautions for 13 laps and seven lead changes among seven different leaders.

    Official Results following the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach.

    1. Colton Herta, led 43 laps
    2. Josef Newgarden, led 18 laps
    3. Scott Dixon, led one lap
    4. Alex Palou, 2021 NTT IndyCar Champion
    5. Simon Pagenaud
    6. Alexander Rossi
    7. Jack Harvey
    8. Sebastien Bourdais
    9. Takuma Sato
    10. Will Power
    11. Scott McLaughlin, 2021 IndyCar Rookie of the Year
    12. Ed Jones
    13. Felix Rosenqvist
    14. James Hinchcliffe
    15. Max Chilton
    16. Graham Rahal, led four laps
    17. Jimmie Johnson
    18. Dalton Kellett
    19. Helio Castroneves, led 15 laps
    20. Conor Daly, 1 lap down
    21. Oliver Askew, 2 laps down, led three laps
    22. Ryan Hunter-Reay, 2 laps down
    23. Romain Grosjean, OUT, Contact
    24. Rinus VeeKay, OUT, Mechanical
    25. Callum Ilott, OUT, Mechanical
    26. Pato O’Ward, OUT, Contact
    27. Marcus Ericsson, OUT, Contact

    Up Next: The NTT IndyCar Series will head into the offseason before opening up the 2022 season Sunday, Feb. 27 at the Streets of St. Petersburg live on NBC.

  • Alex Palou scores first career IndyCar victory at Barber

    Alex Palou scores first career IndyCar victory at Barber

    In his first drive with Chip Ganassi Racing, Spaniard Alex Palou was able to fend off a hard-charging Will Power to win his first-ever IndyCar victory at Barber Motorsports Park Sunday afternoon.

    Palou completed the race using a two-stop strategy and had one of the best cars throughout the 90 lap event. He made his final pit stop on Lap 61 (29 to go) and came out ahead of Power by just 2.3 seconds. Through the remaining 10 laps, Power tried closing in with the push to pass and was getting close as lap traffic was holding up Palou. However, Palou closed the deal and scored his first checkered flag in his 15th IndyCar start.

    “I didn’t know what to say,” Palou said. “It was an amazing weekend. It was a really exciting race, really exciting qualifying. So yeah, I don’t know what to say to be honest. Like I’m super, super proud of the team. The team did an amazing job, as you could see on qualifying. We had three cars in the Fast Six, which it’s amazing. It was my first Fast Six, and today they just gave me the best car. I just had to do the obvious things right, as Chip likes to say, and we kept it simple. We went for a two-stop, we were able to manage our fuel mileage and our tires, so I’m just super, super happy.”

    While Palou and Power had their own battle just past halfway on lap 45, there was another battle for the lead that ensued during the early portions of the race. Pole sitter Pato O’Ward and second-place starter Alexander Rossi were class of the field in the early going. While O’Ward and Rossi were maintaining the top two spots, there was a caution on Lap 1. The No. 2 of Josef Newgarden got loose off Turn 4 and touched the grass slightly, which made his Chevy spin in front of the field. Multiple drivers were collected including the No. 7 of Felix Rosenqvist, the No. 26 of Colton Herta, the No. 59 of Max Chilton, the No. 28 of Ryan Hunter-Reay and the No. 21 of Rinus VeeKay.

    After the early pile-up, the race restarted on Lap 7 but was briefly brought under yellow again with new IndyCar comer and rookie, Jimmie Johnson, spinning in Turn 13. Johnson didn’t hit anything and was able to keep the No. 48 machine going. On Lap 18, the first round of green-flag pit stops occurred. Race leader O’Ward and second place Rossi pitted at the same time. O’Ward’s team was fast enough that the crew kept him out in front of Rossi. While O’Ward and Rossi made their pit stops, Palou swiped the lead on Lap 22 and battled with Power. Palou didn’t make his stop until Lap 31 while Power stayed out for a few laps and pitted on Lap 33.

    Strategy would be the story of the race as the race went on a long green-flag run toward the end of the finish. There was a close moment on Lap 45 between leader O’Ward and the No. 14 of Sebastien Bourdais. Bourdais almost made contact with O’Ward and barely sent O’Ward off the track in Turn 5. But, O’Ward was still able to hang on to the car without further incident.

    At the halfway mark on Lap 45, Palou regained the lead and held Power to an 8.4-second advantage. Before the final round of pit stops, Power erased the lead to 4.7715 seconds. Power stayed out one lap later than Palou before making his last stop on Lap 62. With the stops complete on Lap 68, Palou led by 2.3 seconds. With a win in sight, Palou had to keep pushing as second place Power had more push to pass in the 104 seconds left in the remaining laps. And as for Palou, the Chip Ganassi driver had to worry about traffic ruining his momentum.

    On the white flag lap, Power closed the gap to 1.1160 seconds. The Aussie kept using his push to pass, but not to his full advantage as Power was slightly worried about fuel. In the end, Palou won in his first start with Ganassi and gave Ganassi their 114th NTT IndyCar Series victory. Power had to settle for the 76th podium of his career by finishing 0.4016 seconds behind race-winner Palou.

    “Yeah, obviously went from a three stopper to a two stopper with all those yellows at the beginning, which I didn’t mind,” Power said about his runner-up finish. “I know we’re very good at getting fuel and lap time, but Alex pulled away extremely fast. I was surprised. I actually thought he was on a three stopper. But I think he had a very good middle stint saving fuel, and we came out close to him. I still had to save a bit of fuel at the end there, so in the last few laps I could use Push-to-Pass. Made a little mistake which made the gap not possible to close. Very happy with the day, though. Really, really just wanted a solid start to the season, and that’s what we got here so far.”

    There were two cautions for eight laps and 10 lead changes among five different leaders. Palou led three times for 56 laps en route to victory.

    Official Results following the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama at Barber Motorsports Park:

    1. Alex Palou, led 56 laps
    2. Will Power, led four laps
    3. Scott Dixon
    4. Pato O’Ward, led 25 laps
    5. Sebastien Bourdais, led four laps
    6. Rinus VeeKay, led one lap
    7. Graham Rahal
    8. Marcus Ericsson
    9. Alexander Rossi
    10. Romain Grosjean
    11. Jack Harvey
    12. Simon Pagenaud
    13. Takuma Sato
    14. Scott McLaughlin
    15. Ed Jones
    16. Conor Daly
    17. James Hinchcliffe, 1 lap down
    18. Dalton Kellett, 1 lap down
    19. Jimmie Johnson, 3 laps down
    20. Max Chilton, 4 laps down
    21. Felix Rosenqvist, OUT, Contact
    22. Colton Herta, OUT, Contact
    23. Josef Newgarden, OUT, Contact
    24. Ryan Hunter-Reay, OUT, Contact