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  • Simon Pagenaud snaps year-long winless streak at Iowa

    Simon Pagenaud snaps year-long winless streak at Iowa

    Using strategy, Simon Pagenaud ended a year-long drought Friday night at Iowa Speedway to earn his first-ever track win at Iowa Speedway.

    “Wow, this place is tough!,” Pagenaud said after coming from 23rd to first. “What a night! What a day for us. First of all, it was an amazing group effort from the whole Team Penske to recover from Road America. I made a mistake. We unloaded really well. This morning was a lot of fun. Qualifying was disheartening, but these guys never give up and that’s what this team is all about. It’s amazing to get the Menards car to be shining here in Iowa is awesome. So, I’m really proud for John and everybody at Menards and Chevy. Obviously, we had the horsepower and the fuel conception, but most importantly, I can’t believe it. I have to re-watch the race. How did I get there? I don’t know. The last 50 laps were certainly a lot of tension, a lot of tension. When (Scott) Dixon is chasing you, you’d better hit your marks.”

    The Frenchman started dead last in 23rd position, as Pagenaud was unable to post a qualifying lap earlier Friday afternoon due to not getting the car off the pit lane, as the team reported it was a fuel pressure issue.

    When the green flag flew, Conor Daly led the first 14 laps of the event from the pole, but Team Penske driver Josef Newgarden took the lead and checked out by four seconds over Daly. Green flag pit stops were already underway at Lap 45 when Takuma Sato and Zach Veach became the first drivers on pit road.

    About 10 laps later, Newgarden remained the leader, but Pagenaud ended up on pit road on Lap 58 for four tires and fuel. Meanwhile, Newgarden stretched his strategy and didn’t pit until Lap 70. With pit stops cycling out, Sato grabbed the lead at Lap 77. When green flag pit stops were complete, Sato had the lead over Will Power by two seconds.

    After being out front for several laps, Sato had to give up the lead on Lap 127 for a pit stop, which allowed Newgarden to get the lead and his teammate, Pagenaud, followed in second, 1.7 seconds back. Though Newgarden pitted again a few moments later and Pagenaud saw his first lead of the night on Lap 140.

    However, the first caution of the night flew when Power had a scary moment on the frontstretch as he slightly brushed the wall but his left front tire was not safely secured and fell off the car. Unfortunately, the incident would end Power’s night early and he would be credited with a 21st place finish.

    During the caution, race leaders made their pit stops, which included eventual race winner, Simon Pagenaud.

    Another wild moment came prior to the restart with 94 to go. IndyCar officials waved off the restart, which did cause some confusion. Two drivers, Colton Herta and rookie Rinus VeeKay had a major accident on the frontstretch again. Herta was unaware of the restart being waved off and went right over the top of VeeKay’s car, crashing into the SAFER barrier. Thankfully, both drivers would end up being okay.

    After a couple of yellows, rookie Pato O’ Ward held the lead over Pagenaud. Pagenaud was a man on a mission. Eventually, the Team Penske driver made his move with 72 to go to take the top spot.

    The rest of the Iowa 250 would go caution-free, but as the case was throughout the first half of the race, pit strategy would play a factor in determining the victor. As many others made their final stop of the night, Pagenaud tried to stretch his lead and save gas at the same time. With laps winding down, Pagenaud had to fend off an already three-time IndyCar winner this year, Scott Dixon.

    Dixon looked on the inside of Pagenaud’s No. 22 Menards Chevrolet with around 18 to go. He got side-by-side with him, but could never make the pass and slid up the track. By making the move a little too early, this ultimately hurt Dixon’s chances as he fell back and had to regroup again. Pagenaud did end up running into lap traffic, which allowed Dixon to close in. However, it was too little, too late for the New Zealander as Pagenaud scored his first victory of the 2020 IndyCar season and his first at Iowa Speedway.

    When asked if he could have a repeat performance on Saturday night, Pagenaud says he thinks there’s a chance.

    “I do, I do. I never give up,” the Team Penske driver said. “If I’ve got to do it again, I’ll do it again. This was certainly a pretty cool win on an oval. Indy will always be the top, but this one was pretty cool, too.”

    In addition to Pagenaud’s victory, he became the seventh driver to accomplish the feat after starting 23rd or worse. The last to do so was Helio Castroneves in 2008 at Chicagoland Speedway.

    Friday night’s victory was Pagenaud’s 15th of his NTT IndyCar Series career.

    With the victory, Pagenaud moves into second in the championship points standings, 50 points behind leader Scott Dixon.

    There were seven cautions for 26 laps and six leaders among eight lead changes.

    Two penalties were seen. One was for the No. 15 of Graham Rahal, who received a pit safety infraction, and the other was for Conor Daly who also received a pit safety infraction. The consequence of those will be a post-race fine.

    Official Results following the IndyCar Iowa 250 at Iowa Speedway

    1. Simon Pagenaud, led 83 laps
    2. Scott Dixon
    3. Oliver Askew
    4. Pato O’ Ward, led 30 laps
    5. Josef Newagarden, led 68 laps
    6. Alexander Rossi
    7. Jack Harvey
    8. Conor Daly, led 13 laps
    9. Marcus Ericsson
    10. Takuma Sato, led 49 laps, 1 lap down
    11. Alex Palou, 1 lap down
    12. Graham Rahal, 2 laps down
    13. Santino Ferrucci, 3 laps down
    14. Felix Rosenqvist, led seven laps, 3 laps down
    15. Ed Carpenter, 3 laps down
    16. Ryan Hunter-Reay, 3 laps down
    17. Charlie Kimball, 5 laps down
    18. Tony Kanaan, OUT, In Pits
    19. Colton Herta, OUT, Contact
    20. Rinus VeeKay, OUT, Contact
    21. Will Power, OUT, Contact
    22. Marco Andretti, OUT, Mechanical
    23. Zach Veach, OUT, Mechanical

    Up Next: The NTT IndyCar Series will remain at Iowa Speedway for race No. 2 Saturday night July 18 live on NBCSN. Telecast begins at 8:30 p.m./ET.

  • Weekend schedule for Indianapolis

    Weekend schedule for Indianapolis

    The world’s most famous 2.5-mile oval track, Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS), will host the first-ever NASCAR/INDYCAR triple-header this weekend. The 2-day event that kicks off with NTT INDYCAR SERIES (NTTICS) GMR Grand Prix on the track’s road course at noon on Saturday followed by NASCAR’s Xfinity Series (NXS) Pennzoil 150 at 3 p.m. on NBC. Then on Sunday, the NASCAR Cup Series will race the 27th running of the Big Machine Hand Sanitizer 400 at 4 p.m. on NBC and broadcast live on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network.

    All times are Eastern.

    NASCAR Cup Series

    The Big Machine Hand Sanitizer 400 race will be 400 miles (160 laps) and broken up into three stages. The first two stages will be 50 laps each and the final stage will be 60 laps.

    Five former Indianapolis race winners are entered in this weekend race. Seven-time series champion Jimmie Johnson with four wins (2006, 2008, 2009, 2012), Kevin Harvick (2003, 2019), Kyle Busch (2015, 2016), Brad Keselowski (2018) and Ryan Newman (2013).

    NASCAR Xfinity Series

    The NASCAR Xfinity Series will race the road course for the first time in series history this weekend. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course is a 2.439-mile, 14-turn road course that will provide a whole new set of challenges for drivers and teams. Saturday’s race will be 62 laps for 151.22 miles with the first two stages being 20 laps each and the final stage is 22 laps.

    For the first time since the break from the COVID-19 pandemic, the NASCAR Xfinity Series will be allowed to practice prior to race. The teams and drivers will get two practice sessions on Friday, July 3 at 1:30 p.m. ET and at 3 p.m. ET.

    All times are Eastern.

    NASCAR:

    Friday, July 3

    1:30 p.m. – 2:25 p.m.: First Xfinity Series practice – NBC Sports App

    3 p.m. – 3:55 p.m.: Final Xfinity practice – NBC Sports App

    Saturday, July 4

    3 p.m.: Xfinity Series Pennzoil 150 at the Brickyard (road course) – 62 laps/151.22 miles – Stages: 20/40/62 (NBC, NBC Sports App, PRN/IMS Radio Network, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)

    Sunday, July 5

    4 p.m.: Cup Series Big Machine Hand Sanitizer 400 Powered by Big Machine Records – 160 laps/400 miles – Stages: 50/100/160 (NBC, NBC Sports App, PRN/IMS Radio Network, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)

    NTT IndyCar:

    Friday, July 3

    11:30 a.m.: 1 p.m. IndyCar practice (NBC Gold)

    4:30 – 5:45 p.m.: IndyCar qualifying (NBCSN)

    Saturday, July 4

    Noon: IndyCar GMR Grand Prix – 80 laps/207.32 miles (NBC, IMS Radio Network)

  • NTT IndyCar Series Preview-Texas

    NTT IndyCar Series Preview-Texas

    After a three month delay due to COVID-19, the NTT IndyCar Series finally gets their turn to get back on track for their 2020 season opener this Saturday night at Texas Motor Speedway in what is expected to be a wild race.

    In last year’s race, defending champion Josef Newgarden led the last 46 laps en route to victory at the 1.5-mile speedway. It was Newgarden’s first victory at Texas in just eight starts. The 2019 race featured three cautions for 22 laps with 13 lead changes.

    While Newgarden was most certainly strong in the late parts of the event, there were other challengers such as Alexander Rossi, Graham Rahal and Scott Dixon, among a few others, who were front runners and traded the lead multiple times with Newgarden.

    As last year’s race was the ninth race on the schedule, this year’s race will certainly be different since it will now be the first race on the schedule. Considering this, there will likely be some anxious and in some cases, cautious, drivers when they dive into Turn 1 for the first time in 2020. However, unlike NASCAR where there is no practice or qualifying, IndyCar drivers will be granted at least one practice and qualifying session which should make things somewhat more manageable for the competition Saturday night. Despite that, we won’t know who will have the fastest car until the first practice session on Saturday. However, I’ll try to give you five drivers to keep an eye on during Saturday night’s Genesys 300.

    1. Simon Pagenaud – Pagenaud has been very close to victory lane at Texas over the last couple of races, ever since he began driving for Team Penske in 2016. Pagenaud has scored two podiums that occurred in two consecutive races in 2017 and 2018. He got his best finish of second in 2018 after leading 26 laps. In the 2019 race, the Penske driver started fifth and finished sixth. Overall, Pagenaud’s average finishing position is 6.1 and he has led a total of 85 laps. After his teammate Newgarden won last year’s race and Pagenaud being close multiple times in the last two years, don’t be surprised to see the No. 22 DXC Technology Chevrolet challenging for the win once again.
    2. Graham Rahal – Rahal’s statistics have definitely improved over the last few races ever since winning his first elusive victory in 2016, nearly four years ago. Since that victory, he has finished fourth, sixth, and placed on the podium in the ’19 race after finishing third. In 12 starts dating back to his first in 2008, Rahal has one win, 36 laps led, three podiums and he has averaged an 11.3 finishing position. He also was able to lead five laps in the ’19 race as well. Only twice has Rahal failed to finish a race. The last time was in 2011 when he had an issue with the fuel pump. Rahal and the No. 15 RLL team are expected to be strong once again Saturday night.
    3. Alexander Rossi – Fan favorite Alexander Rossi and the No. 27 NAPA team missed out on a victory in last year’s race by falling short to Newgarden and finishing second. His first few races weren’t all that great with an 11th place finishing position in 2016 and a 22nd place result after a crash took him out in the 2017 event. But since 2018, Rossi and the Andretti team have stepped up their game by getting back to back podiums. In total, he has a 9.5 average finishing position and a best starting position of third back in ’17. It has been well over a year since Rossi visited victory lane (which occurred at Elkhart Lake) and he’ll be hungry for a win.
    4. Will Power – Continuing on the Team Penske train, Newgarden’s teammate, Will Power has also had his fair share of success at Texas. Since 2008, the Aussie has made 12 starts at the superspeedway and has earned four podiums along with two wins (2011, 2017) and has led 432 laps. Besides having a decent track record, Power also qualified on the pole three consecutive times from 2013-2015. When he scored the ’17 victory, the Penske driver led all but 20 laps to score his second victory at Texas. It’s been a couple of years since Power has had a good race but it’s hard to count him out at a track where Penske has had so much success.
    5. James Hinchcliffe – This weekend will most likely be one of the most important weekends of James Hinchcliffe’s career when he takes the track Saturday night. After losing his ride at Arrow McLaren, Hinchcliffe is back with his old team Andretti Autosport where he will pilot the No. 29 machine. It’ll almost be a “home sweet home” feel for Hinchcliffe who made two starts with Andretti in 2012 and 2013. In those two races, Hinchcliffe finished fourth and ninth, respectively. His only podium of the race was in 2016 after Hinchcliffe came .008 seconds short of a thrilling finish with competitor Graham Rahal.

    Aside from these five drivers who might have a chance at the victory Saturday night, in total, there will be 24 drivers aiming to get the victory. In the field, there will be three rookies who have never raced at Texas Motor Speedway. Those rookies are Oliver Askew, Alex Palou and Rinus VeeKay. Askew and Palou are teammates at Arrow McLaren SP, while VeeKay competes with Ed Carpenter Racing.

    While there will be three rookies who have never made a start at Texas, there have been at least eight winners of the previous Texas races, who have gone on to win the series championship. Those notable names include Sam Hornish, Tony Kanaan, Scott Dixon, Dario Franchitti, and Josef Newgarden.

    Texas has hosted 31 IndyCar races with an impressive list of drivers who have visited victory lane. Those winners are Arie Luyendyk (the first to win in ’97), Billy Boat, John Paul. Jr., Scott Goodyear, Mark Dismore, Scott Sharp, Sam Hornish Jr., Jeff Ward, Al Unser. Jr., Gil de Ferran, Tony Kanaan, Helio Castroneves, Thomas Scheckter, Scott Dixon, Ryan Briscoe, Dario Franchitti, Will Power, Justin Wilson, Ed Carpenter, Graham Rahal, and Josef Newgarden.

    Dixon and Kanaan have made 20 starts. There has never been a driver who has consecutively made every start at Texas.

    Out of those winners, at least six have started from the pole including Hornish, de Ferran, Castroneves, Scheckter, Dixon, and Briscoe who all won from the first starting spot. The lowest a winner has ever started from to win was 17th, set by Wilson back in 2012.

    O the active drivers, 14 have all led laps in previous races. Dixon leads the way with 517 followed by Power (432), Kanaan, Hinchcliffe, Carpenter, Pagenaud, Andretti, Newgarden, Sato, Hunter-Reay, Rahal, Kimball, Rossi, and Marcus Ericsson.

    This weekend will also mark a new era for the NTT IndyCar Series. Once the green flag drops Saturday night, race fans will see the all-new Aeroscreen, which is supposed to increase safety to the driver’s cockpit. The screen is made up of a titanium framework and a windscreen, which is a canopy-like version. It is mandatory for all drivers and teams to use this piece in all IndyCar races moving forward.

    Saturday’s event will be a one day show to limit exposure for the teams.

    The first and only practice will take place from Noon-2:30 p.m. local time and will be shown live on NBC Sports Gold. Single-car Qualifying is slated for 4 p.m. local time and can be seen on NBC Sports Gold and NBCSN.

    The Genesys 300 is scheduled to take the green-flag at 7:05 p.m. local time, 8:05 p.m. ET live on NBC with 200 laps scheduled to take place.

  • Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg pushed back-set for championship race on Sunday, Oct 25

    Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg pushed back-set for championship race on Sunday, Oct 25

    NTT IndyCar Series officials announced today that the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, which was originally scheduled at the beginning of the season before COVID-19 pandemic took place, is now scheduled as the championship-season ending race for the 2020 schedule on Sunday, October 25.

    Should the event go on as planned, it will be the 16th time in a row that the NTT IndyCar Series has competed on the streets of St. Petersburg.

    “The streets of St. Petersburg will make for a fitting and action-packed finale in a venue and city that our entire INDYCAR community holds dear,” Penske Entertainment Corp. President and CEO Mark Miles said. “We extend our thanks and gratitude to Mayor Kriseman, Green Savoree and Firestone for working with us to find a new date for the event. It’s going to be a fantastic weekend of INDYCAR action, and I know our drivers will have race day in St. Pete circled on their calendars.”

    By pushing back the St. Petersburg race, this is going to be the first-time in IndyCar’s history that the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg will be the championship race for the series.

    The mayor for the city of St. Peterburg says they are ready for IndyCar to make their scheduled trip to the track.

    “The City of St. Petersburg stands ready to welcome back the fans of INDYCAR, drivers, teams and sponsors in October,” said City of St. Petersburg Mayor, Rick Kriseman. “I want to thank our partners at Green Savoree Racing Promotions for believing in this race and giving the residents of the Sunshine City something to look forward to. I am confident that the race will occur in a manner that puts public health at the forefront.”

    For more information regarding the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, fans can visit http://www.gpstpete.com/.

    As of now, the IndyCar Series officials plan to open their 2020 season with no fans in attendance at Texas Motor Speedway, Saturday night June 6 live on NBCSN.

    The rest of the schedule is as follows:

    Saturday June 6- Geneys 300 at Texas Motor Speedway, 8:45 p.m./ET

    Sunday June 21- Rev Group Grand Prix at Road America, 12:50 p.m./ET

    Saturday June 27- Indy Richmond 300, 8:15 p.m./ET

    Saturday July 4- GMR Grand Prix, 3:50 p.m./ET

    Sunday July 12- Honda Indy Toronto, 3:40 p.m./ET

    Friday July 17- Iowa Speedway Race 1, 9:00 p.m./ET

    Saturday July 18- Iowa Speedway Race 2, 9:00 p.m./ET

    Sunday August 9- Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio, 12:45 p.m./ET

    Sunday August 23- 104th Running of the Indianapolis 500, 1:00 p.m./ET

    Sunday August 30- Bommarito Automotive Group 500, 3:00 p.m./ET

    Sunday September 13- Grand Prix of Portland, 3:40 p.m./ET

    Saturday September 19- Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey Race 1, 3:25 p.m./ET

    Sunday September 20- Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey Race 2, 3:25 p.m./ET

    Saturday October 3- IndyCar Harvest GP, 3:50 p.m./ET

    Sunday October 25- Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg Championship race, 3:30 p.m./ET

  • Simon Pagenaud fends off Scott Dixon in back-to-back IndyCar Challenge wins

    Simon Pagenaud fends off Scott Dixon in back-to-back IndyCar Challenge wins

    In what was a thrilling final 10 laps at IndyCar’s virtual return at Twin Ring Motegi, last week’s Michigan winner Simon Pagenaud, held off a hard charging Scott Dixon for his second consecutive IndyCar challenge win.

    Pagenaud took the lead with seven to go after Oliver Askew made contact with leader Will Power.

    “Wow, it was a crazy race,” Pagenaud said to NBC Sports. “It was very hectic with Will (Power) at one point and then (Scott) Dixon at the end. But man, we worked hard. I will tell you, we worked hard all week to be competitive. I think I am catching up, I think I am getting there. Certainly, I get a lot of prep from Ben Bretzman, my race strategist and as you can see, he’s doing a great job with the pit stops.”

    “I am having a lot of fun. It’s so stressful, because you’re still lacking a lot of feedback. So, I’m learning another way to race. Though, it’s the same behavior as usual for all the drivers out there.”

    Before IndyCar made their virtual return to the oval in Japan, qualifying was held shortly before NBCSN came on the air. Robert Wickens was able to put his No. 6 machine on the front row for the pole. For James Hinchcliffe, however, internet issues plagued him and prevented him from competing in today’s race. He was credited with a 33rd place finish.

    As the Firestone 175 got underway, there were several accidents, some as early as Lap 2. Tony Kanaan went flipping on the backstretch but no caution was called. One lap later, Max Chilton went spinning around. However, the first and only caution of the race was called on Lap 5 as IndyCar veteran Helio Castroneves and others were involved in a multi-vehicle wreck.

    The restart came on Lap 8 with Oliver Askew in the lead and pole sitter Wickens dropped to 10th. But, it didn’t take long for Will Power to take the lead on Lap 12. After Power took the lead, the Firestone 175 went into a long green flag run. Though, on Lap 31, Felipe Nasr was parked by race control due to poor connectivity.

    Just 14 laps before halfway, the first round of green flag pit stops began. Santino Ferrucci was the first to pit on Lap 42. The top runners like Scott McLaughlin pitted on lap 48, as Power pitted on Lap 49, while Dixon and Pagenaud pitted on Lap 50. During the pit stop cycle, Sage Karam, Josef Newgarden, Takuma Sato, and NASCAR Cup Champion Kyle Busch all stayed out a few laps longer due to pitting early in the race. They were hoping to catch a caution but they ran out of time and had to make a stop.

    After the stops, Team Penske driver and Pagenaud’s teammate, Will Power, cycled out in the lead on Lap 56, right at the halfway point. Despite Power having a dominating racecar, he was challenged for the first time in the race. On Lap 75, Scott Dixon ran down Power and took the lead. The two traded the top spots in a thrilling battle, before Dixon maintained the advantage.

    With the laps clicking off toward the finish, the last round of green flag pit stops took place. The first to pit was Jack Harvey with 29 to go, followed by eventual race winner Pagenaud on the same lap. The leaders Dixon, Power, and McLaughlin all pitted one lap later.

    Hoping to stretch their fuel mileage, Newgarden and Askew had not pitted. The only way the two could stay on track was to catch a caution and have a lucky break. However, Askew pitted with 16 to go, as the race leader Newgarden had to pit with 14 to go.

    After the pit stops, things heated up on the track. While Power cycled back into the lead again, Askew accidentally made contact with him and McLaughlin. McLaughlin had the most damage and went flipping, as Power suffered major right side damage, eventually costing Power the race.

    Due to those accidents, Pagenaud took the race lead with seven to go with Dixon breathing down his neck. Pagenaud was trying all he could to prevent Dixon from catching him in the draft. With two to go, Dixon made a dive bomb move to try and pass Pagenaud for the win. However, Dixon had to check up, which allowed Pagenaud to pull away with the lead and another race win in the IndyCar Challenge.

    After Pagenaud crossed the finish line, Dixon’s car hit the wall taking Castroneves and several others. In the end, it was Pagenaud and the No. 22 DXC Technology scoring back-to-back virtual wins.

    “No, I’ve never had that happen,” Pagenaud said to NBC Sports after Dixon’s car went rage mode. “You know, Dixon can be upset, it’s the last lap of the race. I’m racing for the win and I’m going to go for it, and he (Dixon) went for it too. Just sometimes, this can be like real life situations. Dixon is a great racer and it’s a pleasure to race with him.”

    Official Results

    1. Simon Pagenaud
    2. Scott Dixon
    3. Will Power
    4. Marcus Ericsson
    5. Robert Wickens
    6. Jack Harvey
    7. Sage Karam
    8. Zach Veach
    9. Santino Ferrucci
    10. Graham Rahl
    11. Conor Daly
    12. Takuma Sato
    13. Kyle Busch
    14. Felix Rosenqvist
    15. Josef Newgarden
    16. Ryan Hunter-Reay
    17. Ed Carpenter
    18. Colton Herta
    19. Dalton Kellett
    20. Sebastien Bourdais
    21. Oliver Askew
    22. Alex Palou
    23. Rinus VeeKay, one lap down
    24. Scott McLaughlin, one lap down
    25. Marco Andretti, one lap down
    26. Pato O’Ward, one lap down
    27. Kyle Kaiser, one lap down
    28. Alexander Rossi, two laps down
    29. Helio Castroneves, three laps down
    30. Tony Kanaan, 27 laps down
    31. Felipe Nasr, OUT, Parked
    32. Max Chilton, OUT
    33. James Hinchcliffe, OUT, DNS

    Up Next: The IndyCar Challenge continues next week with Round 5 taking place at Circuit of the Americus on Saturday April 25 live on NBCSN. The time of the event is yet to be announced.

  • Team Penske favorites to win IndyCar opener at St. Petersburg

    Team Penske favorites to win IndyCar opener at St. Petersburg

    With the Team Penske Chevrolet camp in the NTT IndyCar Series looking to dominate yet again in the 2020 season, there’s no better place to begin than Sunday’s upcoming Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. Penske driver Josef Newgarden won last year’s season opener on the way to winning three more times and his second series championship, having won the 2017 title with Penske as well.

    Along with Newgarden, Penske driver Will Power is a two-time event winner (2010, 2014) and holds five podiums at St. Petersburg, three of which came after starting from the pole. While Newgarden has shown more promise on the mile-and-a-half speedways, Power has excelled on the street/road courses in the IndyCar series with 26 of his 35 career wins coming on those types of tracks.

    Fellow Team Penske driver Simon Pagenaud is also a two-time St. Petersburg winner (2016-17), with 12 of his 14 career wins coming on street/road courses showing that he too has a prediliction toward those types of races. His strengths are more similar to Power’s than Newgarden’s, but with all three of the Team Penske drivers former winners at St. Pete’s, it’s a clear bet that they’re the safest bets to win come Sunday.

    That isn’t to say there won’t be challenges elsewhere during the 100-lap event. Ganassi Racing’s all-time champion Scott Dixon has 24 of his 45 wins on street/road courses despite being winless at St. Pete’s, while former series champion Ryan Hunter-Reay has eight wins on street/road courses. Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing driver Graham Rahal has six wins in the series but is a former St. Pete’s winner, having won there in 2008.

    Five of Andretti Autosport’s Alexander Rossi’s wins come on street/road courses including a huge defeat in the 2018 edition of St. Pete’s, where a late-race incident ended his chances while running up front. He’s Andretti Autosport’s strongest driver and he knows how to get around St. Pete’s, but in the end he’s yet to be as successful as the Team Penske camp.

    With that said, the odds are in favor for the Penske Chevrolets, all of whom are not only St. Pete champions but series champions as well. With five victories in the event among three drivers, it’s not a matter of if they’ll win, but which one will win. This is coming on the heels of former Penske IndyCar drivers Juan Pablo Montoya and Helio Castroneves and their winning pedigree at St. Petes, as both drivers have a combined five wins among themselves while driving for Penske.

    The race will begin at 3:30 p.m. EST, and will air on NBCSN live and on radio network affiliates, Sirius 211, XM 205, indycar.com, indycarradio.com and the INDYCAR Mobile app.

  • Newgarden leads most laps, wins Iowa 300

    Newgarden leads most laps, wins Iowa 300

    Josef Newgarden again led the most laps at Iowa for the fourth time in the last five years. Only this time, he was able to seal the deal and take the checkered flag after leading 245 of the race’s 300 laps after the race was delayed due to thunderstorms in the area for four-and-a-half hours, pushing the start of the race to 11:45 p.m. ET.

    The race was again delayed briefly on lap 55 for another shower, but the race was resumed shortly after, in which Newgarden was able to dominate and win at Iowa for the second time since 2016 when he led 282 laps in an Ed Carpenter Racing machine.

    “Let me thank the fans that stayed. I’m sorry it took so long but I’m glad we got it in tonight,” said Newgarden. “My guys were awesome on the Hitachi car. Team Penske. Team Chevy. I can’t thank them enough. We had three fast cars. I wanted to be the fastest. We succeeded tonight.

    “The car was great. You had to be good in traffic. And we were pumped for the guys. They worked really hard. It was nice to have it under the lights. I think if the weather didn’t come, we weren’t going to be under the lights.”

    Defending series champion Scott Dixon finished in second while defending event champion James Hinchcliffe finished third. Newgarden’s Penske teammate Simon Pagenaud finished fourth after starting on the pole. Spencer Pigot finished fifth, while Alexander Rossi, Zach Veach, Graham Rahal, Sebastien Bourdais, and Tony Kanaan rounded out the top-10.

    Will Power, driving the third Team Penske car, started second and led 49 laps before experiencing difficulties that left him one lap down in 15th.

    “I went a bit wide getting onto pit road and then you get into the marbles,” said Power. “Once you get your tires dirty it is impossible to drive and I really had no chance. It was an unfortunate end to a pretty strong day for the No. 12 Verizon Chevy team. We jumped out to the lead early before Josef got around us. He was pretty strong tonight but we definitely had a podium night tonight before the pit road penalty.”

    The race was slowed five times for 45 laps, including a yellow on lap one for a yellow start. The second yellow came out on lap 18 when the No. 31 of Sage Karam made contact in Turn 4. Rain slowed the race on lap 51 before the red flag flew on lap 55. The fourth caution flew on lap 187 for 12 laps when Karam and the No. 30 of Takuma Sato made contact in Turn 4. The fifth and final caution flew on lap 264 for 10 laps when the No. 20 of Ed Carpenter brought out the caution in Turn 2.

    There were seven lead changes among five drivers, while the race ran one hour and 56 minutes.

    The series next visits Mid-Ohio on July 28 for the Honda Indy 200, which will air on NBC and the Advance Auto Parts INDYCAR Radio Network at 3:30 p.m. ET. Rossi dominated last year’s event, but considering the race has seen six different winners in six races, it’s likely that there could be a different winner in 2019.

  • Pagenaud out-duels Rossi to win 103rd Indy 500

    Pagenaud out-duels Rossi to win 103rd Indy 500

    INDIANAPOLIS — All the talk about Simon Pagenaud entering the Month of May was his slow start to the season and that he’d be out of his ride at Team Penske if things didn’t turn around. After sweeping the Month of May, he’s now the points leader.

    On the final restart of the 103rd running of the Indianapolis 500 with 13 laps to go, Pagenaud pounced on race leader Alexander Rossi to take the lead heading into Turn 1. Rossi replied in kind the following lap, and Pagenaud took it and held it for the next seven laps. Coming to three to go, Rossi drafted and passed him on the front stretch to retake the lead. On the backstretch with two to go, Pagenaud followed suit, took it from Rossi for good, snaked his way down the backstretch on the final lap to break Rossi’s draft and score his fourth career victory at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

    “It’s been such an intense race. I believe we led the most laps of the race. The car was just on rails. The yellows came out perfectly. The stars are aligned. Man, wow, I’m seeing myself on TV with this. It’s pretty amazing. It’s a dream come true, a lifetime of trying to achieve this. So I’m just speechless. It’s just incredible.”

    It’s his 12th career NTT IndyCar Series victory in 127 career starts. He led a race high of 116 laps.

    2016 race winner Rossi finished runner-up and earned his 14th career podium in 56 career starts.

    In the end, the difference was “horsepower.”

    “That’s unfortunately the way it is,” he said. “(Pagenaud) did a great job. Obviously, he was on pole and led the most laps, but I think we had the superior car. We just didn’t have enough there at the end.”

    2017 race winner Takuma Sato, who was at one point a lap down, rounded out the podium (10th of his career).

    “My race, one stage it looked really tough,” Sato said. “We got some little issues after the first pit stop, so we had to come back, and then I think it got a lap down in 31st place.

    “But I think we had to do head down the job and recalculate. Our team did a great job to stretch the field and then get back to the pack. I think it took more than 100 laps. But I think it was brilliant, and after the restart, it was very exciting. Pato, P6, P5, P4 and finally got P3, and then I got everything I had. Obviously I have on board Alex, but we were just flying all over the place with the temperature, and it was a great battle. It is a little bit of a pity that we couldn’t challenge for the win, but we got third under some very difficult circumstances, I think.”

    Josef Newgarden and defending race winner Will Power rounded out the top five.

    Ed Carpenter, Santino Ferrucci, 2014 race winner Ryan Hunter-Reay, 2013 race winner Tony Kanaan and Conor Daly rounded out the top 10.

    Race summary

    Simon Pagenaud led the field to green shortly before 1 p.m. Pagenaud led the first 32 laps before making his first stop of the day on Lap 33. Four different drivers took over the race lead before it cycled back to Pagenaud.

    This pattern of lead changes during green flag pit cycles continued until Lap 151, when Newgarden slingshot past Pagenaud entering Turn 3 to make the first on track pass for the lead of the race. He held serve until he pitted with 29 laps to go. During this pit cycle, a five-car wreck brought out the fourth caution of the race and set up the run to the finish.

    What else happened

    Colton Herta brought out the first caution of the race on Lap 6 when his car stalled on the access road in Turn 4.

    Kyle Kaiser brought out the second caution on Lap 73 when he got loose, overcorrected and hit the wall in Turn 4.

    Marcus Ericsson brought out the third caution on Lap 138 when he spun on entry and hit the inside pit wall.

    Who had a good day

    Santino Ferrucci earned his career best finish of seventh.

    Who had a bad day

    Scott Dixon, who entered the race second in points, was caught up in the five-car wreck with 22 laps to go and suffered front wing damage.

    Nuts and bolts

    The race lasted two hours, 50 minutes and 39 seconds, at an average speed of 175.794 mph. There were 29 lead changes among 10 different drivers and four cautions for 29 laps.

    Pagenaud leaves with a one point lead over Newgarden.

    IndyCar returns to action on Saturday on the streets of Belle Isle in Detroit, as part of the two-race weekend double-header Detroit Grand Prix.

  • Rossi comes up short in Indy 500 bid

    Rossi comes up short in Indy 500 bid

    INDIANAPOLIS — Alexander Rossi was asked what made the difference in the end that cost him in his duel with Simon Pagenaud in the closing laps of the 103rd Indianapolis 500.

    He said it was the horsepower differential between Chevrolet and Honda and the straight-line speed.

    “Obviously the 22 guys fully deserve it,” Rossi said. “They were on pole. He led probably 70 percent of the laps. Yeah, I mean, he was a deserving winner for sure.”

    The last caution particularly hurt him, as he was going to cycle out to the lead at the conclusion of the green flag pit cycle, having passed Pagenaud for said spot.

    “We were doing a lot better on fuel mileage than (Pagenaud) was, so that was the first kind of nail in the proverbial coffin.”

    On the final restart with 13 laps to go, Pagenaud pounced on him coming to the line and took the lead heading into Turn 1. He was able to match him for a few laps, and even took the lead with three laps to go. But with two to go, Pagenaud overtook him for the final time and won.

    “We didn’t have the speed out front,” he said. “I mean, I was flat for the last 15 laps, and there’s not much more you can do.”

    Bad luck basically sums up the day for Rossi at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. In addition to the untimely caution, he suffered a slow stop because the fuel pump wouldn’t connect to his car. Then came his battle with the lapped car of Oriol Servia, who blocked him for multiple laps.

    “I think it was one of the most disrespectful things I’ve ever seen in a race car, to be honest,” he said. “He’s a lap down and defending, putting me to the wall at 230 miles an hour. It’s unacceptable. It’s unacceptable for him, and it’s unacceptable that INDYCAR allowed it to happen as long as they did.”

    At the end of the day, it was an excellent race to the win that he and Pagenaud put on. Maybe in time, he said he could take solace in that aspect.

    “Ultimately it was a good day for the team,” he said. “You know, I think that we put a huge focus all month as we always do on the race car. The car was by far the best in the field in terms of what we could do and pass at will when I needed to. I didn’t see anyone else doing that. So a huge testament to the whole Andretti Autosport organization for really my fourth year here giving me a car that was capable of winning.

    “So that’s a great thing, and I’m very, very thankful for that.

    “But as I said, leading up to this many times, once you’ve won this thing once, the desire to win just ramps up exponentially every year, so it sucks to come this close and really have nothing that we as a team could have done differently. I’m proud of them. I’m proud of the effort that they always put in, and yeah, when we get No. 2, it’s going to be probably a huge explosion of emotions because we all want it really bad.”

    He leaves Indianapolis third in points, trailing new points leader Pagenaud by 23.

  • Windscreen coming to IndyCar in 2020

    Windscreen coming to IndyCar in 2020

    INDIANAPOLIS — Ever since Justin Wilson’s death at Pocono Raceway in 2015, windscreens on race cars in the NTT IndyCar Series was an inevitability. Five years later, that inevitability becomes a reality.

    In the midst of Carb Day festivities at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, IndyCar announced that Red Bull Advanced Technologies will develop a windscreen, dubbed the Aeroscreen (though IndyCar President Jay Frye implied during the announcement that a different name is coming) as a means to enhance driver cockpit protection. The Aeroscreen makes its debut in 2020.

    “…we’ll have a prototype in probably 30 days, and we’ll have real pieces in another 60 days,” Frye said. “Get them on cars this summer to test, and then at some point we’re going into the off-season around November so we’ll have one for each entry.”

    According to the press release announcement, it will be “a polycarbonate laminated screen that includes an anti-reflective coating on the interior of the screen, an anti-fogging device through an integral heating element and possibly tear-offs…” It’ll be supported by a titanium framework, similar to the Halo design currently used in Formula 1.

    Scott Dixon says the piece that comes down in front of the driver’s view is “something you won’t notice too much.”

    “It’s very similar to the addition that we have right now as far as line of sight for the driver,” he said. “But I think it — until we get it into running conditions through the summer months, we’ll obviously pick up some differences. But I think this adds more to it. It’s structurally more sound. It is higher, creates obviously more room for error, as well. So I think it’s just a far better piece that has been improved from the original concept.

    The “addition” that Dixon’s referring to is the Advanced Frontal Protection (AFP), the three-inch trapezoid placed just in front of the driver that’s designed to deflect debris, such as tires, away from a drivers head.

    What happens to the AFP in 2020?

    “The AFP device comes off, and the frame for this screen just bolts on to it, so it’s in the same spot,” Frye said. “So that’s already been done. So the cars are already equipped to take on this frame by taking off the AFP device.”

    The Aeroscreen — in development since 2016, as Red Bull was working with the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) — is similar in design to those tested in 2016 at ISM (Phoenix) Raceway. The proposed design, however, is taller in the rear to provide greater protection to the drivers head.

    “So part of our work has been to study previous crashes in the IndyCar Series and to detect where the helmet position was during those crashes,” said Ed Collings, Red Bull Advanced Technologies head of composites and structures. “One of the important parts of our design is that we don’t put a very rigid structure in a position where the helmet could make contact in a high-G instant. So in order to deliver that, we’ve created an exclusion zone where this device, this protection system does not come into — doesn’t enter that zone so it wouldn’t impede the driver’s head. So it’s important that we haven’t introduced any compromises by adding this assembly on to the car.”

    Unlike the windscreen tested in 2016, this design might produce a little drag on the cars. While IndyCar will test to see if that difference can be mitigated, the safety value outweighs the drag factor.

    While it deviates a ways away from the “traditional open cockpit look” that’s a hallmark of open-wheel racing, aesthetics were taken into consideration and IndyCar thought Red Bull’s design “looked very cool.”

    “Remember when we did this car a couple years ago, we would put out sketches of the car to the fans to see what their opinion was, and then we’d put out a rendering of the car, so this car, remember we kind of reverse-engineered it where we did esthetics first and the performance was second,” Frye said. “So obviously we put all that effort into the aero kit, so we wanted to make sure the screen matched that, and they’ve done a phenomenal job. It looks, I think you see, it has a fighter jet kind of look to it, so we’re excited about that.”

    The designing of a windscreen came as a result of Wilson’s death at Pocono in 2015, when he was struck in the head by a nose cone that came off Sage Karam’s wrecked car.