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  • O’Ward inks new contract extension with Arrow McLaren SP

    O’Ward inks new contract extension with Arrow McLaren SP

    Pato O’Ward has signed a new contract extension with Arrow McLaren SP to remain with the organization in the NTT IndyCar Series through the 2025 season.

    The 23-year-old O’Ward from Monterrey, Mexico, is currently in his third full-time IndyCar season driving the No. 5 Dallara-Chevrolet with AMSP, where he is ranked in seventh place in the championship standings. He notched his first victory of the season at Barber Motorsports Park during the Honda Grand Prix of Alabama in early May.

    The news of O’Ward’s extension with AMSP comes after the Mexican competitor initially commenced this season testing himself on the free agency list. Following his victory at Barber Motorsports Park, O’Ward expressed high confidence of his intentions to remain with the organization as he continues his pursuit for his first IndyCar title.

    “I am incredibly happy to have locked in my future with Arrow McLaren SP,” O’Ward said. “This team has truly felt like home for me over the past three years, and I can’t wait to build on our success as we compete for wins and championships. I want to thank the whole team for this opportunity. This is exactly where I want to be.”

    O’Ward, who won the 2018 Indy Lights championship while driving for Andretti Autosport, made his IndyCar debut at Sonoma Raceway in September 2018, where he drove the No. 8 Harding Racing Dallara-Chevrolet to an impressive ninth-place finish. He then campaigned on a part-time basis for Carlin in 2019 before joining Arrow McLaren SP as a full-time competitor in 2020. After notching his first four podiums and finishing in fourth place in the 2020 standings, it only took the first four scheduled events of the 2021 season for O’Ward to claim his first IndyCar victory in the first of a Texas Motor Speedway doubleheader feature in May. Another four races later, he won for the second time in his career at The Raceway on Belle Isle during the second of a Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix doubleheader feature in June. Throughout the 2021 season, he contended for the championship against Alex Palou and Josef Newgarden before late misfortunes dropped and settled O’Ward in a career-best third place in the final standings.

    Through May 2022, O’Ward has achieved three victories, four poles, 10 podiums and 354 laps led all with Arrow McLaren SP. He has also achieved an average-finishing result of 9.2 in 43 IndyCar career starts.

    “The entire team is excited that Pato is onboard for the long haul,” Taylor Kiel, President of Arrow McLaren SP, said. “He is an important part of our plan here at Arrow McLaren SP; his energy and work ethic is infectious. Having watched him develop since he joined the team, I look forward to building on these foundations to increase our performance and achieve our common goals in the years to come.”

    “Pato is an important part of McLaren’s future in INDYCAR, and we are happy that he will be a key part of Arrow McLaren SP for years to come,” Zak Brown, CEO of McLaren Racing, added. “He is an incredibly talented driver who has already shown what he is capable of in INDYCAR, and I look forward to watching him take the next step in his promising career.”

    The remainder of Arrow McLaren SP’s driver lineup for the 2023 season, which will see the team expand to three cars, will be announced at a later date.

    With his future set, O’Ward’s next scheduled event is the 106th running of the Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where he will start in seventh place as he pursues his first Indy 500 title. The event is scheduled to occur on Sunday, May 29, at 11 a.m. ET on NBC.

  • Marco Andretti to make 250th IndyCar career start in Indy 500

    Marco Andretti to make 250th IndyCar career start in Indy 500

    Making his lone NTT IndyCar Series start of the season in one of motorsports’ iconic events, Marco Andretti is primed to achieve a milestone start. By taking the green flag in this weekend’s 106th running of the Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the third-generation driver of the Andretti racing family and the No. 98 Andretti Autosport Dallara-Honda will make his 250th career start in the IndyCar circuit.

    A native of Nazareth, Pennsylvania, Andretti made his inaugural presence in the IndyCar Series during the 2006 season-opening event at Homestead-Miami Speedway. By then, he was coming off a part-time campaign in the Indy Pro Series, where he claimed three victories and finished 10th in the final standings. Driving the No. 26 Andretti Green Racing Honda, Andretti started 13th and finished 15th in his IndyCar debut after breaking his half shaft early in the event.

    After finishing no higher than 12th during his first three IndyCar career starts, Andretti’s opportunity in claiming his first IndyCar victory occurred during the following event, which was the 90th running of the Indianapolis 500, an event his grandfather, Mario, won at in 1969. During a four-lap shootout to the finish, Marco took the lead from his father, Michael, with three laps remaining and had appeared to have the victory sealed. During the final lap, however, Sam Hornish Jr., who restarted in the top 10 and was muscling his Team Penske Honda to the front, made a slingshot move on Andretti at the final straightaway and managed to edge Andretti by 0.064 seconds to emerge victorious. To this day, the margin of victory between Hornish and Andretti marks the second-closest finish in Indy 500 history. Despite losing in a photo finish, Andretti claimed the 2006 Indy 500 Rookie-of-the-Year title.

    Entering the penultimate event of the 2006 IndyCar season at Sonoma Raceway in August, Andretti had racked up two additional top-five results and a total of five top-10 results as he was in ninth place in the standings. During the event at Sonoma, Andretti claimed his first IndyCar career victory after leading the final 30 laps. By then, he became the youngest winner in the IndyCar Series at the age of 19 years and 167 days. After finishing 18th during the season finale at Chicagoland Speedway in September, Andretti capped off his maiden IndyCar season in seventh place in the final standings.

    Throughout his sophomore IndyCar season in 2007, Andretti, who failed to finish in 10 of 17 scheduled events, only managed to achieve two podium results and a season-best second-place result at Iowa Speedway in June as he finished in 11th place in the final standings. Andretti’s junior IndyCar season in 2008 resulted with the third-generation competitor launching back to seventh place in the final standings in a year where he achieved four podiums, a season-best second place at Homestead, a third-place result in the 92nd running of the Indianapolis 500 and starting on pole position for the first time in his career at the Milwaukee Mile in June.

    The 2009 IndyCar season marked Andretti’s first full-time season where he did not finish on the podium, but he recorded 11 top-10 results throughout the 17-race schedule and finished in eighth place in the final standings.

    After recording three podium results, including another third-place result in the Indy 500, and finishing eighth in the 2010 standings, Andretti claimed his second IndyCar career victory at Iowa Speedway in June after leading the final 19 laps and beating the 2004 IndyCar champion Tony Kanaan by nearly eight-tenths of a second. The victory snapped Andretti’s 79-race winless drought dating back to Sonoma 2006. To go along with a podium result at Japan’s Twi Ring Motegi Superspeedway, a ninth-place result in the 97th running of the Indy 500 and a total of seven top-10 results, Andretti finished in eighth place in the final standings for a third consecutive season.

    Andretti commenced the 2012 IndyCar season by making his 100th career start at the Streets of St. Petersburg in March, where he finished 14th. By then, Andretti Autosport swapped engine manufacturers from Honda to Chevrolet. After finishing no higher than 11th twice during the first eight scheduled events, he bounced back at Iowa in June, where he started third and finished second behind teammate Ryan Hunter-Reay. He went on to claim a pole and an eighth-place result in the season finale at Auto Club Speedway in September before settling in 15th place in the final standings.

    The 2013 IndyCar season marked Andretti’s consistent season to date. Commencing the season with a new number, 25, he finished on the podium twice during the first five scheduled events (a third-place result at the Streets of St. Petersburg in March and another third-place result at the Streets of Sao Paulo, Brazil, in May). He then claimed two poles in the summer (Milwaukee Mile in June and Pocono Raceway in July). Recording a total of 15 top-10 results throughout the 19-race schedule, including a fourth-place result in the Indy 500, Andretti capped off the season by finishing a career-best fifth place in the final standings.

    With Andretti Autosport returning to Honda engines in 2014, Marco recorded two podiums throughout the 18-race schedule, which included a second-place result at Barber Motorsports Park in April and a third-place result in the 98th running of the Indianapolis 500 in May after leading 20 laps. After claiming seven additional top-10 results, Andretti finished in ninth place in the final standings.

    Sporting a new number, 27, to commence his 10th full-time season in IndyCar competition in 2015, Andretti tallied his podium results to 20 as he recorded two throughout the 16-race schedule, including a second-place result at The Raceway at Belle Isle in May and a third-place result at Auto Club Speedway in June. He concluded the season in ninth place in the final standings, which marked his eighth top-10 result in the final standings along with a total of 11 top-10 results.

    The 2016 IndyCar season marked the first time since 2009 where Andretti did not record a podium result throughout the season. He managed to finish as high as eighth place during the 2016 season finale act Sonoma Raceway in September before finishing in 16th place in the final standings. The following season, his best on-track result was a fourth-place run at the Exhibition Place in Toronto, Canada, before he settled in 12th place in the final standings. By then, Andretti reached 200 career starts in the IndyCar circuit. 

    Prior to the 2018 IndyCar season, Andretti Autosport swapped numbers for Marco and teammate Alexander Rossi that resulted with Rossi sporting the No. 27 and Andretti taking over the No. 98. Andretti managed to start on pole position in the first of a Belle Isle doubleheader feature in June, where he finished a season-best fourth place, and finish in the top 10 eight times before capping off the season in eighth place in the final standings.

    After finishing in the top 10 five times throughout the 17-race schedule and finishing 15th in the 2019 standings, Andretti claimed the pole position for the 104th running of the Indianapolis 500 over Scott Dixon in August. The accomplishment marked the first time an Andretti claimed the pole position for the 500 since grandfather Mario made the last accomplishment in 1987. During the main event, however, he did not lead a single lap and finished in 13th place. Throughout the 14-race scheduled that was shortened amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, his best on-track result was 10th place at Iowa Speedway in July as he ended up in 20th place in the final standings.

    In 2021, Andretti, who decided to step away as a full-time IndyCar competitor while pursuing other interests, made his lone start of the season in the 105th running of the Indianapolis 500, where he finished 19th.

    The 2022 Indianapolis 500 will mark Andretti’s 17th consecutive entrance in the Indy 500 as he is set to take the green flag in 23rd place of the 33-car field.

    Through 249 previous IndyCar starts, Andretti has achieved two victories, 20 podiums, six poles, 1,032 laps led and an average-finishing result of 12.3. He also holds an average-finishing result of 12.4 along with eight top-10 results in 16 previous appearances in the Indy 500.

    Andretti is scheduled to make his lone NTT IndyCar Series start of the season in the 106th running of the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday, May 29, with the event scheduled to start at 11 a.m. ET on NBC.

  • Colton Herta outlasts Mother Nature for first IndyCar victory of 2022 at GMR Grand Prix

    Colton Herta outlasts Mother Nature for first IndyCar victory of 2022 at GMR Grand Prix

    Colton Herta survived a chaotic, tricky and slick run in the midwest by notching his first NTT IndyCar Series victory of the season in the rain-shortened GMR Grand Prix at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course on Saturday, May 14.

    The 22-year-old Herta from Valencia, Santa Clarita, California, led three times for a race-high 50 of 75 shortened laps and benefitted for a late pit stop for slick tires to overtake Pato O’Ward during a Lap 66 restart and fend off the field by Lap 73 when the caution flew due to an on-track incident. During the caution period, the event was reaching its two-hour time limit and running on a 21-minute clock session due to the wet, foggy conditions amid a delayed start that also shortened the event by 10 laps from the original 85 planned. With the event concluding on Lap 75, Herta was able to navigate his way around the circuit under two cautious pace laps to claim his first triumph of the season following a string of misfortunes.

    With on-track qualifying occurring on Friday, Will Power secured his 64th career pole position after posting a pole-winning speed at 125.854 mph in one minute, 9.7664 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Alex Palou, who logged a qualifying speed at 125.777 mph in one minute, 9.8090 seconds.

    When the green flag waved and the race commenced amid a delayed start due to inclement weather, Power led the field ahead of Palou, Josef Newgarden and the field entering the first two turns as the field jumbled behind. Through Turns 4, 5 and 6, Power maintained the lead. Then in Turn 7, Alex Palou moved into the lead and Pato O’Ward moved into the runner-up spot as Newgarden and Power were both overtaken. Soon after, O’Ward overtook Palou entering Turn 12 and went on to lead the first lap.

    During the following lap and as O’Ward was leading, teammate Felix Rosenqvist cycled his No. 7 Arrow McLaren SP Dallara-Chevrolet into second place while Palou, Power and Conor Daly were in the top five. 

    Following the third lap, O’Ward surrendered the lead to pit early while teammate Rosenqvist moved into the lead. By then, names like Alexander Rossi, Josef Newgarden, Will Power, Rinus VeeKay pitted. Soon after, Palou, Romain Grosjean, Callum Ilott, Juan Pablo Montoya, Hello Castroneves, Dalton Kellett, David Malukas, Jimmie Johnson and Marcus Ericsson also pitted.

    Through the first five scheduled laps, Colton Herta, who made a bold save while slipping sideways as he pursued O’Ward earlier through the infield, cycled his No. 26 Gainbridge Dallara-Honda into the lead followed by O’Ward and Rosenqvist. Shortly after, the first caution flew when Palou spun his No. 10 American Legion Dallara-Honda in Turn 10.

    When the race restarted on the ninth lap, Herta maintained the lead ahead of O’Ward, Rosenqvist and the field. 

    On Lap 16, the caution flew when contact between Rossi and Newgarden resulted with Newgarden’s No. 2 PPG Dallara-Chevrolet getting turned off the front nose of Jack Harvey through Turn 12 as he took his car to the garage and dropped out of race-winning contention. Under caution, some like Marcus Ericsson, Kirkwood and Palou pitted while the rest led by Herta remained on the track.

    On Lap 20, the race restarted under green. At the start, Herta retained the lead ahead of O’Ward and Rosenqvist while Takuma Sato muscled his way into fourth place over Power. Following the first three turns, however, the caution returned for a two-car wreck involving Rinus VeeKay and Devlin DeFrancesco, where the former got loose, went off the course, came back across the circuit sideways and was hit by the latter.

    Four laps later, the race resumed under green as the skies darkened. At the start, Herta retained the lead ahead of Arrow McLaren SP’s O’Ward and Rosenqvist while Sato retained fourth place ahead of Power, Rossi and the field. 

    Through the first 30 laps of the event, Herta was leading by more than seven-tenths of a second over O’Ward while Rosenqvist, Sato and Power were running in the top five. Challenging Power for a top-five spot was Rossi while Harvey, Scott McLaughlin, Romain Grosjean and Callum Ilott occupied the top 10. Simon Pagenaud was in 11th followed by Scott Dixon, Helio Castroneves, Graham Rahal and David Malukas while Christina Lundgaard, Dalton Kellett, Tatiana Calderon, Juan Pablo Montoya and Ericsson were in the top 20. Meanwhile, Jimmie Johnson was in 21st ahead of Kirkwood while Palou was mired in 24th place.

    Three laps later, O’Ward returned to the lead as Herta pitted under green. By then, names like Takuma Sato, Scott McLaughlin and Dalton Kellett pitted. Then during the following lap, Herta pitted as teammate Rosenqvist inherited the lead. Along with O’Ward, names like Rossi, Grosjean, Ilott, Power and Pagenaud pitted.By Lap 35, Rosenqvist surrendered the lead to pit along with Castroneves, Rahal, Montoya and Malukas.

    Not long after, Kellett made contact with the tire barriers between Turns 5 and 6 and stalled his car as the caution flew. Prior to the caution, Dixon limped his No. 9 PNC Bank Dallara-Honda to pit road under a slow pace after running out of fuel. At the moment of caution, Ericsson was scored the leader followed by Kirkwood, Herta, Rosenqvist and O’Ward.

    During the caution period, the precipitation steadily increased around the circuit. Despite the wet circuit, the race restarted under green on Lap 41. At the start, disaster struck for O’Ward, who got loose while making a move on Herta in Turn 1 and spun as his No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP Dallara-Chevrolet was then his by teammate Rosenqvist, whose front nose was destroyed. The incident, which also involved Sato spinning, drew another caution as the field surpassed the halfway mark on Lap 43. In the midst of the carnage, Ericsson retained the lead ahead of Kirkwood, Herta, McLaughlin and Harvey.

    Under caution, some like Kirkwood pitted while the rest led by Ericsson remained on the track.

    When the race restarted under green on Lap 45, the field fanned out to multiple lanes as Ericsson retained a narrow advantage over Herta. Through the infield backstretch, however, Herta reassumed the lead followed by McLaughlin as the field continued to scramble for positions. 

    At the Lap 50 mark, Herta extended his advantage to more than a second over McLaughlin while Harvey, Grosjean and Pagenaud were in the top five. Power was in sixth followed by O’Ward while Ilott, Castroneves and Conor Daly were in the top 10. By then, Ericsson was mired back in 13th while Dixon, who raced his way back on the lead lap during the previous restart, was lapped and back in 21st.

    During the following lap, some like Ericsson pitted under green while the rest led by Herta remained on the track. On the track, Grosjean spun in Turn 7 after getting hit by Harvey.

    On Lap 57, the caution flew when Jimmie Johnson spun in Turn 10. Under caution, the lead lap competitors pitted as McLaughlin edged Herta to assume the lead. Soon after and with the precipitation intensifying, some like Herta, Dixon, Rossi, Palou, Power, Pagenaud, Harvey, Daly, Castroneves, Montoya and Ilott pitted for a second time for wet tires. In the process, O’Ward moved up to second place behind Herta.

    Soon after, the event became a timed event with IndyCar given 20 minutes to have the event completed since the event was reaching its two-hour time limit amid the wet conditions and the delayed start. In the process, the field led by McLaughlin continued to run on the circuit under a cautious pace behind the pace car. Just then, the leader McLaughlin spun through Turns 10 and 11 under the final 17 minutes as O’Ward cycled back to the lead. 

    When the race restarted under green with approximately 14 minutes left and on Lap 66, Herta gained a huge run on O’Ward prior to the first turn to reassume the lead as O’Ward fended off Pagenaud to retain the runner-up spot. Soon after, however, the caution flew when McLaughlin spun and stalled his car between Turns 2 and 3.

    Under caution and with 10 minutes of the event remaining, Herta continued to lead ahead of O’Ward, Pagenaud, Power and Daly while Montoya, Ericsson, Castroneves, Ilott and Sato were in the top 10.

    Then as time continued to expire, O’Ward spun under caution, which allowed Pagenaud and Power to move up to second and third while O’Ward fell back to fourth. Meanwhile, Herta remained as the leader as time continued to expire.

    With approximately six minutes left, the race proceeded under green on Lap 70 while O’Ward pitted. At the start, Herta retained the lead ahead of Pagenaud and Power while Daly and Montoya were in the top five. 

    With under five laps minutes, Herta was leading by more than two seconds over Pagenaud while third-place Power trailed by more than seven seconds. In the process, Daly retained fourth ahead of Ericsson, who overtook Montoya, while Sato, Rosenqvist, Castroneves and Ilott were in the top 10.

    With two minutes left and as the race continued to run under green amid the wet conditions, Herta extended his advantage to nearly four seconds over Pagenaud while Power, Ericsson and Daly were in the top five.

    Shortly after, the caution flew on Lap 73 when Montoya wrecked in Turn 11. The incident and caution were enough for the remaining time of the event to expire as Herta, who endured an up-and-down start to the season, was able to cautiously navigate his way around the 14-turn circuit for a final time and claim the checkered flag on Lap 75 for his first victory of the season. 

    With his first IndyCar victory of the 2022 season, Herta notched his seventh career win in the IndyCar circuit, his first at Indianapolis and first since winning the final two scheduled events of the 2021 season. The Indy victory, which was a first of the season for Andretti Autosport and for Honda, was enough to boost Herta up five spots in the championship standings to sixth place.

    “[Pitting for slick tires] sure helped us a lot,” Herta said on NBC. “We gained a lot of positions there. Man, this is awesome. That was the hardest race I think I’ve ever done. Wet [tires] to dry [tires], dry back to wet. Thank you so much to the Hoosiers [fans] for sticking around. I know you’re used to this kind of weather, so thank you very much. I love you guys. ”

    Finishing in the runner-up spot was Pagenaud, who notched his first podium result in his first season with Meyer Shank Racing and first since the 2021 Indy 500. Meanwhile, Power settled in third place for his fifth consecutive top-four result through the first five scheduled IndyCar events. Power’s podium result was enough for him to assume the points lead.


    “I couldn’t see, couldn’t drive at the end,” Pagenaud, who started 20th, said. “That was unfortunate. The car felt really good in the wets, but I just couldn’t see. I was looking for lights on the sides to find a braking point, but it was treacherous at the end…It was really tough to finish the race. An amazing job from everybody at Meyer Shank Racing. We made the right calls on the tires. It was really tricky to decide, but overall, it was a great race. It was a really good job.” 

    “It was just so hard to decide, whether to go to wets or slicks there when it was raining on one side of the track and it was dry on the other,” Power added. “Stoked with third. Really happy to get the Verizon 5G Chevy on the podium after a mayhem day. I tried to be smart, sit back and didn’t want to take any too big of a risk…You could pick the wrong tire and it can be a terrible day, but in every situation, I just try to be as smart as I could, not take a big risk. It’s usually not fun not racing for a win, but it wasn’t the condition to try to do that, especially with the points battle.”

    Ericsson came home in fourth place followed by Conor Daly while Rosenqvist, Sato, Ilott, Lundgaard and Dixon finished in the top 10.

    In the midst of the on-track chaos, Rossi finished 11th, Castroneves settled in 14th, O’Ward fell back to 19th behind Grosjean and Palou and McLaughlin finished 20th. Johnson finished 22nd while Montoya, who was in position for a top-10 run prior to his late incident, ended up 24th.

    There were 10 lead changes for six different leaders. The race featured eight cautions for 31 laps.

    With his third-place result, Will Power leads the championship standings by 16 points over both teammate Scott McLaughlin and Alex Palou, 30 over teammate Josef Newgarden, 37 over Scott Dixon, 38 over Colton Herta and 42 over Pato O’Ward.

    Results.

    1. Colton Herta, 50 laps led

    2. Simon Pagenaud

    3. Will Power

    4. Marcus Ericsson, 10 laps led

    5. Conor Daly

    6. Felix Rosenqvist, four laps led

    7. Takuma Sato

    8. Callum Ilott

    9. Christian Lundgaard

    10. Scott Dixon

    11. Alexander Rossi

    12. David Malukas

    13. Jack Harvey

    14. Helio Castroneves

    15. Tatiana Calderon, one lap led

    16. Graham Rahal

    17. Romain Grosjean, one lap down

    18. Alex Palou, one lap down

    19. Pato O’Ward, one lap down, five laps led

    20. Scott McLaughlin, one lap down, five laps led

    21. Devlin DeFrancesco, two laps down

    22. Jimmie Johnson, two laps down

    23. Rinus VeeKay, two laps down

    24. Juan Pablo Montoya – OUT, Contact

    25. Josef Newgarden, 15 laps down

    26. Kyle Kirkwood – OUT, Contact

    27. Dalton Kellett – OUT, Contact

    Next on the 2022 NTT IndyCar Series schedule is the 106th running of the Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The starting lineup for the event will be determined through two qualifying sessions between May 21-22. The main event will then occur on May 29 with the event’s coverage to occur at 11 a.m.  ET on NBC.

  • Rosenqvist to make 50th IndyCar career start at GMR Grand Prix

    Rosenqvist to make 50th IndyCar career start at GMR Grand Prix

    Competing in his fourth full-time season in the NTT IndyCar Series, Felix Rosenqvist is within reach of a milestone start. By taking the green flag in this weekend’s GMR Grand Prix at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course, the driver of the No. 7 Arrow McLaren SP Dallara-Chevrolet will make his 50th career start in the IndyCar Series.

    A native of Värnamo, Sweden, Rosenqvist, the 2015 European Formula 3 champion with an extensive competition and race-winning background across a variety of motorsports regions, made his inaugural presence in the IndyCar Series at the start of the 2019 season. By then, Rosenqvist, who was also coming off two strong seasons in Formula E, joined forces with Chip Ganassi Racing to replace Ed Jones and pilot the No. 10 Dallara-Honda. 

    Making his debut in the season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg in March, Rosenqvist notched a strong fourth-place result after starting third and leading 31 laps. During the following 11 scheduled events, he achieved his maiden pole at the Indianapolis Grand Prix Circuit in May and a total of seven top-10 results. 

    In late July, Rosenqvist earned his first IndyCar podium result at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course after finishing in second place behind teammate Scott Dixon. The following event at Pocono Raceway, however, he was involved in a harrowing opening lap accident after being clipped by Takuma Sato in the Tunnel Turn as his car dragged the catch fence and nearly flipped before coming to rest driver’s right-size up. Despite the wild ride, the driver emerged uninjured. Following the Pocono wreck, Rosenqvist managed to collect a second podium result of the season after finishing second at Portland International Raceway and a fifth-place result in the season-finale Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in September. By finishing sixth in the final standings, Rosenqvist captured the 2019 Rookie-of-the-Year title.

    Remaining at Chip Ganassi Racing for the 2020 season, Rosenqvist rallied from a three-race slump to start the season by achieving his maiden IndyCar career victory in the second of a Road America doubleheader feature in July after overtaking Pato O’Ward with two laps remaining. Despite the win, Rosenqvist finished in the top 10 in four of the remaining 10 events to the season as he settled in 11th place in the final standings.

    Following a two-year stint with Chip Ganassi Racing, Rosenqvist transitioned to Arrow McLaren SP to pilot the No. 7 Dallara-Chevrolet, where he replaced Oliver Askew and competed alongside his new teammate, Pato O’Ward. Through the first six events of the season, Rosenqvist struggled with consistency as he finished no higher than 12th, which occurred at the Streets of St. Petersburg, Florida, in April.

    Then during the first of two Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix events at The Raceway at Bell Isle, Michigan, Rosenqvist was involved in another harrowing accident on Lap 24 of 70 after a locked throttle to his car sent the driver head-on into the tire barriers at full speed as the car came to a rest atop the barriers. Despite surviving the incident, Rosenqvist, who was taken to a downtown Detroit hospital for further evaluation, did not participate in the following two IndyCar events at Detroit and Road America as Oliver Askew and Kevin Magnussen took turns filling in the No. 7 Dallara-Chevrolet.

    Making his return at Mid-Ohio, where he finished 23rd, Rosenqvist went on to finish in the top 10 twice during the final six events of the 2021 IndyCar season, with his best on-track result being sixth place at Portland International Raceway in September. When the season concluded at California’s Long Beach Street Circuit, Rosenqvist settled in 21st place in the final standings.

    Remaining at Arrow McLaren SP for the 2022 season, Rosenqvist notched his second IndyCar career pole position at Texas Motor Speedway in March and has achieved a season-best result of 11th place at the Streets of Long Beach in April. He is currently ranked in 16th place in the drivers’ standings through the first four scheduled events.

    Through 49 previous IndyCar starts, Rosenqvist has achieved one victory, two poles, three podiums, 110 laps led and an average-finishing result of 13.2.

    Rosenqvist is scheduled to make his 50th NTT IndyCar Series career start in the GMR Grand Prix at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course on Saturday, May 14, with coverage to occur at 3 p.m. ET on NBC.

  • 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.

  • Ericsson to make 50th IndyCar career start at Barber

    Ericsson to make 50th IndyCar career start at Barber

    Competing in his fourth full-time season in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, Marcus Ericsson is primed for a milestone start. By taking the green flag in this weekend’s Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama at Barber Motorsports Park, the driver of the No. 8 Chip Ganassi Racing Dallara-Honda will reach 50 career starts in the IndyCar Series.

    A native of Kumla, Sweden, Ericsson, a former champion of Formula BMW UK and Japanese Formula Three who also competed in five full-time seasons in Formula One, made his inaugural presence in the IndyCar Series at the start of the 2019 season. By then, Ericsson, who lost his full-time F1 seat at Alfa Romeo Sauber to Antonio Giovinazzi following the 2018 season, transitioned to full-time IndyCar competition with Schmidt Peterson Motorsports for the upcoming season.

    Making his debut in the season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg in March, Ericsson started 18th and finished 20th due to water pressure issues. His best on-track result through the first seven events of the season was seventh in the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama at Barber Motorsports Park in April. Soon after, he achieved his maiden IndyCar podium result in the second of a Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix doubleheader feature at The Raceway at Belle Isle, Michigan, by finishing second behind Scott Dixon. Despite being absent for the Grand Prix of Portland at Portland International Raceway in September due to being on standby for Kimi Räikkönen for the Belgian Grand Prix in September, Ericsson earned another top-10 result (seventh at Texas Motor Speedway) during the final nine scheduled events before capping off his first IndyCar season in 17th place in the final standings.

    In 2020, Ericsson joined Chip Ganassi Racing to pilot the No. 8 Dallara-Honda on a full-time basis. Commencing his sophomore IndyCar season with a 19th-place result at Texas Motor Speedway in June, he notched three top-five results throughout the 14-race schedule, including a season-best fourth-place result in the second of a Road America doubleheader feature in July. When the season concluded at the Streets of St. Petersburg, Florida, in October, Ericsson ended up in 12th place in the final standings.

    Remaining at Chip Ganassi Racing for the 2021 season and on a new multi-year contract deal, Ericsson finished in the top 10 in three of the first six races of the season. After finishing 11th in the 106th running of the Indianapolis 500, he achieved his maiden IndyCar career win in the first of a Detroit Grand Prix doubleheader feature in June after leading the final five laps and benefitting from a late mechanical issue that eliminated initial leader Will Power from contention. 

    The momentum for Ericsson continued throughout the summer as he earned a strong runner-up result at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in July and his second IndyCar career triumph in the inaugural Big Machine Music City Grand Prix at the Streets of Nashville, Tennessee. The win came after Ericsson rallied from a bizarre early accident, where he ran into the rear of Sebastien Bourdais and went airborne, to lead 37 of 80 laps and fend off late challenges from Colton Herta and teammate Scott Dixon. Following his victory at Nashville, Ericsson was ranked in fifth place in the standings and trailing points leader and teammate Alex Palou by 79 points. Despite finishing in the top 10 in four of the final five IndyCar events to the schedule, the Swedish competitor ended up with a strong sixth-place result in the final standings and in a season where his average-finishing result was 9.1.

    Through 49 previous IndyCar starts, Ericsson has achieved two victories, five podiums, 65 laps led and an average-finishing result of 11.9. He is currently ranked in eighth place in the 2022 IndyCar Series standings on the strength of a third-place result at Texas Motor Speedway in March

    Ericsson is scheduled to make his 50th NTT INDYCAR Series career start at Barber Motorsports Park for the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama, which will occur on Sunday, May 1, at 1 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.

  • Rossi to make 100th IndyCar career start at Long Beach

    Rossi to make 100th IndyCar career start at Long Beach

    Competing in his seventh full-time season in the NTT IndyCar Series, Alexander Rossi is set to reach a milestone start. By taking the green flag in this weekend’s Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach at the Streets of Long Beach, California, the driver of the No. 27 Andretti Autosport Dallara-Honda will make his 100th career start in the IndyCar circuit.

    A native of Auburn, California, Rossi made his inaugural presence in the IndyCar Series at the start of the 2016 season. By then, he was coming off a part-time stint for Manor Marussia F1 Team, where he competed in five Grand Prix events as a reserve F1 competitor. Despite remaining as a reserve competitor for Manor entering the 2016 season, Rossi opted to compete in the IndyCar Series on a full-time basis and in the No. 98 Dallara-Honda for Andretti Herta Autosport with Curb Agajanian. 

    Making his debut in the 2016 season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg in March, Rossi finished 12th after starting 18th. Through the following four events, he recorded his first top-10 career result by finishing 10th in the Angie’s List Grand Prix of Indianapolis at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course in May.

    A week later, Rossi achieved a pinnacle moment in his racing career by winning the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and claiming his maiden IndyCar career victory. The win came after Rossi took the lead with four laps remaining while the front-runners pitted for fuel and barely had enough to coast across the finish line with the victory over teammate Carlos Muñoz, Josef Newgarden and Tony Kanaan. With the victory, Rossi became the 70th different winner of the Indy 500 and the first rookie IndyCar competitor to win the event since Hello Castroneves made the last accomplishment in 2001. He also achieved the fifth Indy 500 victory for Andretti Autosport.

    Following his Indy 500 victory, Rossi went on to finish in the top 10 in four of the remaining 10 IndyCar events of the 2016 season. A day after finishing in fifth place in the season-finale GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma at Sonoma Raceway and capping off his first full-time IndyCar campaign in 11th place in the final standings, Rossi was named the 2016 IndyCar Rookie of the Year.

    Remaining at Andretti Autosport on a new multi-year contract deal, Rossi recorded two top-five results and five top-10 results through the first 11 IndyCar scheduled events and was ranked in ninth place in the standings. He then picked up his first podium result of the season after finishing second in the Honda Indy Toronto at Exhibition Place in July before claiming another podium result in the ABC Supply 500 at Pocono Raceway in August with a third-place effort. Two races later, Rossi claimed his second IndyCar triumph at Watkins Glen International after starting on pole position for the first time in his career and leading 32 of 60 laps. He went on to conclude the season in seventh place in the final standings.

    For the 2018 IndyCar season, Rossi, who remained at Andretti Autosport for a third full-time stint, swapped numbers with teammate Marco Andretti, giving the Californian the No. 27 to sport to his Dallara-Honda. Three races into the new season, Rossi claimed his third IndyCar career win following a dominating performance from pole position in the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach in April. The early win to the season marked the first time where Rossi emerged as the points leader.

    Rossi, however, lost the points lead during the following three events, but reassumed it after finishing in third place in the first of a Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix doubleheader feature in The Raceway at Michigan’s Belle Isle. During the second Belle Isle event, however, Rossi, who dominated and was battling teammate Ryan Hunter-Reay for the win, locked up his car with seven laps remaining and plummeted to 12th place in the final running order. In addition, he dropped from first to third in the standings while being overtaken by Will Power and Scott Dixon.

    Despite the misfortune, Rossi remained in contention for the title for the remaining nine events of the schedule, where he finished on the podium four times. During this stretch, he also claimed back-to-back victories in the season at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and at Pocono between July and August.

    Entering the finale at Sonoma, which marked Rossi’s 50th IndyCar career start, he trailed Dixon in the standings by 29 points. At the start of the finale, however, he made contact with teammate Andretti that damaged the front wing of his car and sent him to the rear of the field. He recovered to finish seventh despite running out of fuel on the final lap, but he concluded the season as the championship runner-up behind Dixon. Though he fell short in claiming his first IndyCar title, the 2018 season was a career season for Rossi, who achieved career-best results in wins (three), podiums (eight), poles (three), laps led (415), average-finishing result (5.7) and standing result (second).

    Rossi commenced the 2019 season with a fifth place result at the Streets of St. Petersburg. Three races later, he claimed his first victory of the season at the Long Beach Street Circuit, which also marked his second consecutive win at the circuit in Southern California. In a similar fashion to the previous season, Rossi remained in contention for the title as he earned another victory of the season at Road America in June along with six podium results through the following 12 scheduled events. When the season concluded at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca on September, however, Rossi, who finished sixth in the finale, settled in third place in the final standings and 33 points shy of his first IndyCar title.

    Coming off two strong seasons, the 2020 season, which was reduced to 14 scheduled events amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, was a disappointing season for Rossi, who endured a winless season for the first time in his career. Despite recording five podium results throughout the season, including two season-best runner-up results at Mid-Ohio and Indy’s Road Course event between September and October, he was not a factor for the title as he settled in ninth place in the final standings.

    Rossi endured another difficult season in 2021, where he only managed a single podium result with second place at Portland International Raceway in September along with four starts on the front row. When the season concluded, he ended up in 10th place in the final standings. 

    Through 99 previous IndyCar starts, Rossi has achieved seven victories, six poles, 25 podiums, 814 laps led and an average-finishing result of 9.8. He has finished 20th and 27th respectively during the first two IndyCar events and is ranked in 27th place in the championship standings while he continues his pursuit for his first IndyCar title.

    Rossi is set to make his 100th NTT IndyCar Series career start in the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach at the Streets of Long Beach, California, on Sunday, April 10 on NBC. The event’s coverage is scheduled to commence at 3 p.m. ET on NBC.

  • XPEL 375 proves that Texas still belongs on the season schedule

    XPEL 375 proves that Texas still belongs on the season schedule

    The finish to Sunday’s NTT IndyCar XPEL 375 proved to be spectacular finish to a spectacular race, which has proven to be something of a rarity in recent memory at Texas Motor Speedway. The facility, which has hosted races in both NASCAR and IndyCar since 1997, has been through something of a slump in recent years since it’s 2017 repave.

    Naysayers were quick to say that the race was a flop due to the dominance of runner-up Scott McLaughlin, who started second and led 186 of the 248 laps before Josef Newgarden chased him down for the win. But that’s not counting the race’s 15 lead changes among 12 drivers, or the four cautions for 52 laps.

    The quality of racing could be attributed to the special practice session IndyCar and Firestone put together to lay down some rubber in the race’s second groove, as the PJ1-stained track surface could lose grip over time. As a result, with a second groove rubbered in there was plenty of racing and action throughout the race through all parts of the field.

    As a result, the racing on Sunday made a strong case to keep Texas Motor Speedway on the IndyCar schedule. That’s a big statement considering how it’s now common knowledge that the speedway is among the least popular destinations on the circuit. Online pundits even asked if the lack of promotional efforts for the XPEL 375 were because of the perceived lack of popularity.

    All said, Texas has been around long enough that it has achieved historical status in American motorsport. Where else would the racing world have gleefully watched AJ Foyt launch Arie Luyendyk into a bed of rose bushes? Where else would we have had the pleasure of watching Justin Wilson win his last race while driving for Dale Coyne? What about 2016, where the most exciting race in recent memory ended with James Hinchcliffe and Graham Rahal in a nose-to-nose photo finish with Rahal coming out on top?

    It isn’t the track’s fault racing has been lackluster; all speedways go through periods where the racing isn’t that great. Texas is a great facility with a great layout. It was a given it would take time for the racing product to come in after the repave, and on Sunday that’s exactly what happened.

  • Newgarden captures thrilling last lap victory over McLaughlin at Texas

    Newgarden captures thrilling last lap victory over McLaughlin at Texas

    In what appeared to be a dominant victory within grasp for Scott McLaughlin for the second consecutive time into a new season of racing, teammate Josef Newgarden spoiled the party as he overtook McLaughlin with a daring pass on the outside lane on the final lane and with the finish in sight to win the XPEL 375 at Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday, March 20.

    The 31-year-old Newgarden from Hendersonville, Tennessee, led a total of three of 248-scheduled laps compared to McLaughlin’s 186, but benefitted with the last lap pass and lapped traffic that briefly stalled McLaughlin’s progress to become the second winner of the 2022 NTT IndyCar Series season.

    With on-track qualifying occurring on Saturday that determined the starting lineup, Felix Rosenqvist captured the pole position after posting a pole-winning, two-lap average of 221.110 mph. Joining him on the front row was Scott McLaughlin, who earned his maiden IndyCar victory at the Streets of St. Petersburg, Florida, in February and posted a two-lap average at 221.096 mph.

    Prior to the event, Santino Ferrucci replaced Jack Harvey in the No. 45 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Dallara-Honda after Harvey did not receive medical clearance to compete following a practice accident on Saturday.

    When the green flag waved and the race commenced, Rosenqvist maintained a steady advantage for nearly a full lap until McLaughlin used the outside lane to lead the first lap by a hair. 

    As the field fanned out and jostled for positions early, McLaughlin was out in front followed by Rosenqvist, Will Power, Takuma Sato and Helio Castroneves, who was being pressured by Colton Herta for more.

    Through the first 10 laps of the event, McLaughlin was leading by two-tenths of a second over Rosenqvist while Sato, Power and Herta were in the top five. Castroneves was in sixth followed by Scott Dixon, Josef Newgarden, Marcus Ericsson and Rinus Veekay. By then, Alexander Rossi, who was in 12th place, was penalized for jumping the start when he pulled his No. 27 Andretti Autosport Dallara-Honda out of line prior to the start.

    Two laps later, the first caution of the event flew when Rossi fell off the pace due to a mechanical issue and was creeping to pit road below the apron.

    Four laps later, the race restarted under green. At the start, McLaughlin retained the lead ahead of Rosenqvist and Sato as the field settled in a long single-file line.

    By Lap 25, McLaughlin was leading by nearly three-tenths of a second over Rosenqvist followed by Sato, Herta and Power while Castroneves, Dixon, Pato O’Ward, Ericsson and rookie Kyle Kirkwood were in the top 10. Meanwhile, Newgarden was back in 11th, Alex Palou was in 13th ahead of Romain Grosjean and Simon Pagenaud and Jimmie Johnson was in 20th ahead of Graham Rahal.

    Through the first 50 laps of the event, McLaughlin stabilized his advantage to nearly two seconds over Rosenqvist while Sato, Herta, Power, Castroneves, Dixon, O’Ward, Kirkwood and Newgarden were scored in the top 10.

    Nearly five laps later, pit stops under green commenced as Rinus VeeKay pitted followed by Marcus Ericsson and the leader McLaughlin. During the pit stops, David Malukas stalled his car while trying to exit his pit stall and nearly collided with Sato, which cost the two-time Indianapolis 500 champion from Japan time on pit road. 

    By Lap 75 and with the pit stop cycle under green complete, McLaughlin was back in the lead by more than 12 seconds over his Team Penske teammate Newgarden while Arrow McLaren SP’s O’Ward and Rosenqvist battled for third place. Behind, Herta for Andretti Autosport was in fifth ahead of Ericsson, Dixon, Power, VeeKay and Castroneves. Meanwhile, Conor Daly was penalized for pit speed violation.

    On Lap 99, the caution flew when Sato slipped in the marbles and made light contact against the outside wall in Turn 1 as a result of making earlier contact with Devlin DeFrancesco’s No. 29 Andretti Steinbrenner Autosport Dallara-Honda entering the turn. By then, McLaughlin had his advantage of nearly 12 seconds over teammate Newgarden reduced to half.

    Under caution, the leaders pitted and McLaughlin retained the lead ahead of teammates Newgarden and Power along with Dixon and Ericsson. During the pit stops, O’Ward hit his left-front tire changer while teammate Rosenqvist overshot his pit stall and endured a slow pit stop, which cost him time and positions. In addition, Romain Grosjean retired due to a mechanical issue to his No. 28 Andretti Autosport Dallara-Honda.

    When the race restarted on Lap 113, McLaughlin retained the lead ahead of teammates Newgarden and Power as the field scrambled for positions. 

    Just then, the caution returned when Kyle Kirkwood, who was battling DeFrancesco on the outside lane through Turns 3 and 4, got loose, spun and backed his No. 14 AJ Foyt Dallara-Chevrolet against the outside wall, which ended his day with a wrecked race car.

    With the race surpassing its halfway mark under caution on Lap 124, McLaughlin was out in front ahead of teammates Newgarden and Power along with Dixon, Ericsson, VeeKay, Herta, Alex Palou, Pagenaud and Graham Rahal, who started at the rear of the field. 

    When the race restarted under green on Lap 127, McLaughlin retained the lead ahead of teammates Newgarden, Power and the field. Not long after, however, the caution returned for a multi-car wreck that involved DeFrancesco, Graham Rahal and Helio Castroneves in Turn 3. During the caution period, Rosenqvist’s strong start to the weekend ended on a low note after he retired due to a mechanical issue to his No. 7 Arrow McLaren SP Dallara-Chevrolet

    With the event reaching the final 100 scheduled laps, the race restarted under green. At the start, McLaughlin maintained a steady lead until Newgarden assumed the top spot a lap later. Behind, Rinus VeeKay charged his way towards the front as he moved into the top four before moving into third place ahead of Power.

    Shortly after, the battle for the lead ignited as McLaughlin reassumed the lead while VeeKay joined the battle and overtook Newgarden for the runner-up spot. 

    On Lap 159, VeeKay moved his No. 21 Ed Carpenter Racing Dallara-Chevrolet to the top spot. Five laps later, however, Power muscled his No. 12 Team Penske Dallara-Chevrolet to the lead as Scott Dixon was in third place.

    With less than 50 laps remaining and pit stops under green occurring for a majority of the field, David Malukas, who has yet to pit, was leading followed by Callum Ilott. Behind, VeeKay, who pitted, was in third ahead of McLaughlin and Newgarden. 

    On Lap 206, McLaughlin cycled back to the lead after Ilott pitted while Newgarden, VeeKay, Ericsson and Power were in the top five. Behind, Pagenaud was in sixth while Jimmie Johnson was up in seventh place ahead of teammates Scott Dixon and Alex Palou.

    With 30 laps remaining, McLaughlin was leading by nearly a second over teammate Newgarden while Ericsson was in third place. Power was in fourth ahead of VeeKay while Pagenaud, Johnson, Dixon, Palou and Santino Ferrucci were in the top 10. 

    Ten laps later, McLaughlin continued to lead by more than two-tenths of a second over teammate Newgarden while Ericsson remained in the final podium spot in third place. While Power and Pagenaud settled in fourth and fifth, Johnson was up in sixth place. 

    Down to the final 10 laps of the event, McLaughlin was leading by four-tenths of a second over teammate Newgarden amid lapped traffic followed by Ericsson while Power and Johnson were in the top five. Pagenaud, Dixon and Palou were in sixth, seventh and eighth while VeeKay was back in ninth ahead of Ferrucci. 

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, McLaughlin, who continued to navigate his way through lapped traffic, stabilized his advantage to three-tenths of a second over teammate Newgarden, who was trying to reduce the gap between himself and his Penske teammate. Then with McLaughlin mired behind some more lapped cars, this allowed Newgarden to narrow the deficit and gain a huge run to the outside of teammate McLaughlin through Turn 3. With both Penske teammates dead even approaching the finish line, Newgarden muscled ahead and stole the show and the win by 0.0669 seconds over McLaughlin.

    The victory was Newgarden’s first of the 2022 NTT IndyCar Series season, second at Texas and the 21st of his career. With the victory, Newgarden also rewarded the 600th overall motorsports win for Team Penske as he ignites his bid for his third IndyCar title.

    “Oh my gosh!” Newgarden exclaimed on NBC. “I was fuming in the car. We had all this traffic and it wasn’t helping me. And then right when I needed it to help me, it helped me literally last corner, last lap. The traffic helped me out. Unbelievable. I hate doing that to a teammate, but I was going for it just like he was. We were driving hard. Man, I was loose. I was driving things sideways off in [Turns] 3 and 4 every lap I was trying to get a run, but Team Chevy, what an unbelievable job. Just so pleased for everybody. It was so good to drive this PPG car again with Team Chevy. That’s what it’s all about at Texas. I hope we come back [to Texas]. Let’s come back!”

    McLaughlin, who led a race-high 186 of 248 laps, settled in second place as he fell short in his bid to claim back-to-back IndyCar victories. Despite the result, McLaughlin made a trip to Victory Lane to congratulate teammate Newgarden on the win.

    “Second’s a great day,” McLaughlin said. “Unfortunately, we led a lot of laps and at the end of the day, we lost it though. If you’re gonna lose to anyone, your teammate is a great guy to lose it to. Congrats to Josef and the PPG team. Gutted I couldn’t get it done for XPEL and Chevy but at the end of the day, with the air, I learned a lot [from] this race. I’m gutted. It’s how it is, but I’m pretty proud of how we’re running.”

    Ericsson came home in a strong third place for his fifth top-three career result in IndyCar competition while Will Power and Scott Dixon finished in the top five.

    Meanwhile, Jimmie Johnson achieved his maiden top-10 result in IndyCar competition after methodically racing his way to a career-best sixth-place result in his maiden IndyCar oval event and at a track where he won at seven times in NASCAR.

    “I had hoped to qualify in the top 10 and race in the top 10,” Johnson said. “Once we hit the halfway point in the race, I really could sense and feel the car, and it became second nature, and off I went. I’m just very thankful for the support that I have from Chip Ganassi Racing, my teammates, team members, fantastic support from Carvana. We knew going oval racing would help, and today got us in a competitive mix. When I was racing with [Dixon] at the end, I thought that was pretty cool and pretty fun. We had a little trouble with our telemetry and didn’t know how much fuel I had saved, so I had to really go into conserve mode at the end and couldn’t fight for that top five, but what a special day. Just very thankful.”

    Teammate Palou finished seventh while Pagenaud, Ferrucci and VeeKay completed the top 10.

    With his runner-up result, Scott McLaughlin continues to lead the points standings by 28 points over teammate Will Power, 30 over Alex Palou, 32 over teammate Josef Newgarden, 39 over Marcus Ericsson and 42 over Scott Dixon.

    Results.

    1. Josef Newgarden, three laps led

    2. Scott McLaughlin, 186 laps led

    3. Marcus Ericsson, 10 laps led

    4. Will Power, 20 laps led

    5. Scott Dixon

    6. Jimmie Johnson

    7. Alex Palou

    8. Simon Pagenaud

    9. Santino Ferrucci

    10. Rinus VeeKay, five laps led 

    11. David Malukas, three laps led

    12. Colton Herta, one lap down

    13. Ed Carpenter, one lap down

    14. JR Hildebrand, one lap down

    15. Pato O’Ward, one lap down

    16. Callum Ilott, one lap down

    17. Dalton Kellett, two laps down

    18. Conor Daly, three laps down

    19. Christian Lundgaard – OUT, Accident

    20. Takuma Sato – OUT, Accident

    21. Felix Rosenqvist – OUT, Halfshaft

    22. Graham Rahal – OUT, Accident

    23. Helio Castroneves – OUT, Accident

    24. Devlin DeFrancesco – OUT, Accident

    25. Kyle Kirkwood – OUT, Accident

    26. Romain Grosjean – OUT, Engine

    27. Alexander Rossi – OUT, Battery

    Next on the 2022 NTT IndyCar Series schedule is the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach at the Streets of Long Beach, California, which will occur on April 10 at 3 p.m. ET on NBC.