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  • Newgarden retains championship hopes with fifth IndyCar victory of 2022 at Gateway

    Newgarden retains championship hopes with fifth IndyCar victory of 2022 at Gateway

    After finishing outside of the podium in the previous three NTT IndyCar Series scheduled events, Josef Newgarden drew himself back into championship contention after winning the rain-delayed Bommarito Automotive Group 500 at World Wide Technology Raceway on Saturday, August 20.

    The two-time IndyCar champion from Hendersonville, Tennessee, led twice for 78 of 260-scheduled laps and utilized an executed pit strategy along with an overtake on teammate Scott McLaughlin for the lead with 36 laps remaining to perfection as he muscled away from McLaughlin and David Malukas to capture his fifth checkered flag of the 2022 IndyCar season and draw within striking distance of teammate Will Power for the lead in the championship standings.

    With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Friday, Will Power, who earned his 67th IndyCar career pole and tied Mario Andretti for the most pole in the series all-time, led the field to the green flag after posting a pole-winning, two-lap average speed of 182.727 mph. Joining him on the front row was his championship rival Marcus Ericsson, who posted a two-lap average speed of 182.070 mph.

    When the green flag waved and the race commenced, Power rocketed with an early advantage ahead of Ericsson, Scott McLaughlin and the field as he went on to lead the first lap. Meanwhile, Alex Palou was being overtaken by Takuma Sato and Devlin DeFrancesco as he fell back to ninth while Pato O’Ward challenged Scott Dixon for fifth place.

    Through the first 10 scheduled laps, Power was leading by eight-tenths of a second over Ericsson followed by McLaughlin, Josef Newgarden and Pato O’Ward while Dixon, Takuma Sato, DeFrancesco, Palou and Alexander Rossi were in the top 10. David Malukas was in 11th followed by Colton Herta, Felix Rosenqvist, Conor Daly and Jack Harvey while Simon Pagenuad, Callum Ilott, Romain Grosjean, Graham Rahal and Kyle Kirkwood were in the top 20. Helio Castroneves, rookie Christian Lundgaard, Rinus VeeKay, Dalton Kellet, Ed Carpenter and Jimmie Johnson completed the 26-car field.

    Ten laps later, Power continued to lead by nine-tenths of a second over Ericsson while McLaughlin, Newgarden and O’Ward remained in the top five. Dixon, winner of the previous IndyCar event at Nashville Street Circuit, remained in sixth while Sato, DeFrancesco, Palou and Rossi retained their spots in the top 10.

    Another 10 laps later, Power, who was catching Jimmie Johnson to lap him, remained as the leader by six-tenths of a second second over Ericsson and more than a second over teammate McLaughlin. Teammate Newgarden trailed by more than a second in fourth while O’Ward retained fifth while more than two seconds behind.

    At the Lap 45 mark, Power, who lapped Johnson earlier, kept his No. 12 Verizon 5G Dallara-Chevrolet out in front by half a second over Ericsson’s No. 8 Bryant Dallara-Honda and seven-tenths of a second over teammate McLaughlin’s No. 3 Odyssey Battery Dallara-Chevrolet. The No. 2 PPG Dallara-Chevrolet piloted by Newgarden remained in fourth while the No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP Dallara-Chevrolet piloted by O’Ward retained fifth.

    A few laps later, Jack Harvey was the first competitor to pit under green while back on the track, O’Ward overtook Newgarden for fourth place. Meanwhile, Power retained the lead ahead of Ericsson and McLaughlin.

    Past the Lap 50 mark, Rinus VeeKay pitted along with his teammate/owner Ed Carpenter, who was a lap behind the leaders. Then near the Lap 60 mark, names like Dixon, Simon Pagenaud, Ilott and Castroneves pitted along with Sato, Lundgaard, Herta and Kirkwood. By then, VeeKay, who was serving a penalty on pit road for speeding during his initial stop, parked his No. 21 BitNile Dallara-Chevrolet in his pit stall due to an electrical issue, an issue that knocked him out of race-winning contention.

    By Lap 65 and with the first cycle of green flag pit stops complete, Power cycled his way back to the lead followed by teammate McLaughlin, O’Ward, Ericsson and Newgarden. Dixon was in sixth while Sato, Palou, Harvey and DeFrancesco were in the top 10.

    Through the first 75 scheduled laps, Power remained as the leader by four-tenths of a second over teammate McLaughlin and nearly eight-tenths of a second over O’Ward while Ericsson and Newgarden remained in the top five. Meanwhile, Callum Ilott was serving a 30-second penalty on pit road for making contact with his crew member that stemmed from his previous pit stop while exiting his pit stall. 

    At the Lap 100 mark, Power was leading by approximately half a second over teammates McLaughlin and Newgarden while O’Ward and Ericsson were in the top five. Sato, Dixon, Palou, Harvey and DeFrancesco were in the top 10 while Rossi, Malukas, Herta, Daly, Rosenqvist, Rahal, Pagenaud, Grosjean, Kirkwood and Lundgaard occupied the top 20. By then, Castroneves and Ed Carpenter pitted under green as Jimmie Johnson was mired back in 22nd. 

    At the halfway mark on Lap 130 and with the second round of green flag pit stops occurring, Takuma Sato, who pitted earlier while on a differing strategy, was leading by more than two seconds over Power, the first competitor on fresh tires, followed by McLaughlin, OWard and Grosjean while Ericsson, Newgarden, Dixon, Palou and Harvey were in the top 10. By then, Rossi, who coasted his car to pit road after running out of fuel, remained stalled on pit road as he was unable to re-fire his car. 

    Then on Lap 144, the first caution flew when Jack Harvey shot up the racetrack and scrubbed the outside wall in Turn 4. During the caution period, some including the race leader Sato along with McLaughlin and Newgarden pitted while the rest led by Power remained on the track.

    When the event restarted on Lap 157, Power briefly led the field entering the first turn until O’Ward rocketed his No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP Dallara-Chevrolet into the lead through Turns 1 and 2. 

    With 100 laps remaining, O’Ward was out in front by four-tenths of a second over Power followed by Ericsson, McLaughlin and Newgarden while Palou, Dixon, Sato, Herta and Malukas were in the top 10. Meanwhile, Graham Rahal was in 11th followed by Felix Rosenqvist, DeFrancesco, Grosjean and Conor Daly while Kirkwood, Pagenaud, Castroneves, Lundgaard and Dalton Kellett were in the top 20 ahead of Johnson.

    A few laps later, Newgarden, who pitted prior to the restart, used the fresh Firestone tires to his advantage as he rocketed from fifth to third while overtaking McLaughlin and Ericsson. He then blasted by teammate Power for the runner-up spot before overtaking O’Ward for the lead with 95 laps remaining.

    With 85 laps remaining, Newgarden was leading by nearly seven seconds over O’Ward while teammate McLaughlin trailed by more than seven seconds. Power and Ericsson were in the top five while Palou, Dixon, Sato, Malukas and Herta were in the top 10.

    Fifteen laps later and with 70 laps remaining, Newgarden continued to lead by more than four seconds over teammate McLaughlin, who had overtaken O’Ward for position as Power and Ericsson were in the top five. By then, another round of green flag pit stops ensued as Palou and Dixon pitted.

    At the Lap 200 mark and with 60 laps remaining, Newgarden was leading by three seconds over teammate McLaughlin followed by Malukas, Sato and Rahal. By then, Arrow McLaren SP teammates O’Ward and Rosenqvist pitted under green.

    By Laps 206 and 207, teammates Newgarden and McLaughlin pitted under green as Malukas made his way into the lead followed by Sato, Rahal and Herta. Once Newgarden returned to the track, however, he was quickly overtaken by teammate McLaughlin for position.

    On Lap 212, Malukas, who was the initial leader, pitted under green along with Herta and Rahal. Once Rahal pitted on Lap 213, McLaughlin emerged with the lead followed by teammate Newgarden. Meanwhile, O’Ward was in third followed by Power and Malukas.

    Then with 47 laps remaining, the caution flew due to weather conditions and potential rain looming near the circuit. Four laps later, the field led by McLaughlin was brought down to pit road and the race was red-flagged as the rainy conditions continued and began to increase with lightning reported near the track.

    Following an extensive rain delay, the red flag was withdrawn and the field returned under cautious pace under the lights. During the caution period, names like Palou, Dixon, Johnson, Conor Daly, Ericsson and Kirkwood pitted while the rest led by McLaughlin remained on the track.

    With 36 laps remaining, the race proceeded under green. At the start, McLaughlin retained the lead through the first two turns, but Newgarden executed his move entering Turn 3 as he reassumed the top spot. 

    Down to the final 30 laps of the event, Newgarden was leading by nearly four-tenths of a second over teammate McLaughlin while third-place O’Ward trailed by more than two seconds. Power was in fourth followed by Malukas while Sato, Ericsson, Dixon, Palou and Rahal were in the top 10.

    Ten laps later, Newgarden stabilized his advantage to half a second over teammate McLaughlin while David Malukas started to close in and challenge third-place O’Ward for the final podium spot. Meanwhile, Sato completed the top five while Power fell back to sixth.

    Another four laps later, Malukas capitalized on a strong run through Turns 1 and 2 to overtake O’Ward and move into third place while Newgarden continued to lead by half a second over teammate McLaughlin.

    With 10 laps remaining, Newgarden slightly increased his advantage to nearly seven-tenths of a second over teammate McLaughlin while third-place Malukas trailed by more than a second as he started to track McLaughlin for the runner-up spot. Meanwhile, Sato started to close in and challenge O’Ward for fourth place while Power remained in sixth, one spot ahead of title rivals Ericsson and Dixon.

    Down to the final five laps of the event, Newgarden stabilized his advantage to six-tenths of a second over McLaughlin while Malukas was only three-tenths of a second behind McLaughlin for the runner-up spot. 

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Newgarden remained as the leader by eight-tenths of a second over teammate McLaughlin and a hard-charging Malukas. In turn 1, Malukas executed a bold pass to the outside of McLaughlin to move into the runner-up spot. Despite his late charge, it was not enough to close in on Newgarden as Newgarden cycled back to the frontstretch and streaked across the finish line for his fifth checkered flag of the season.

    In addition to claiming his fifth victory of the 2022 season, Newgarden recorded his fourth victory at Gateway, the eighth of the season for Team Penske, the 10th of the season for Chevrolet and his 25th career win in the NTT IndyCar Series. The victory also vaulted Newgarden from fourth to second in the standings as he now trails teammate Will Power by three points with two scheduled events remaining and in his quest to win his third IndyCar title.

    Photo by Simon Scoggins for SpeedwayMedia.com.

    “All I can say is that, I think, this No. 2 car crew has been very patient with me,” Newgarden said on USA Network. “I’ve lost my cool probably a couple of times closed doors out of frustration for us. We’ve had small miscues, timing-wise. That’s not really anybody’s fault. Just sometimes wrong time, wrong place. I feel like that’s been happening a lot this year. It kind of happened again tonight. We put ourselves in position. It’s time to close and there was just a barrier that got in front of us again, but fortunately, we were able to get back out. I was so happy we could finish this race. Scott McLaughlin wanted to win, too. I love that about him. We each want to win, but he drove me super fair at the end, and we had a good fight. It’s a big night for everyone at Team Penske.””

    While Newgarden celebrated in Victory Lane, David Malukas celebrated in pit road with his crew as he achieved his maiden podium in the IndyCar circuit by settling in second place while McLaughlin, who was leading prior to the red flag period, ended up in third place.

    “We ended getting around O’Ward and then, we ended up getting past the lapped car and [the crew] said, ‘You see [McLaughlin] in front and I just see two Penskes [cars] and I was like, ‘Oh my god! They’re Penskes!’” Malukas said. “They were tough to even get any sort of suck to get close to them. Unfortunately, two laps to go, that was the lap I decided to do the outside lane, and it worked so well. So if I’d done it a bit sooner, maybe we could have had done something for Newgarden. Overall that’s a win for me, a win for the team. They deserve that so much…It feels so good to finally get [a podium]. There’s still two more races to go. It’s only up from here.”

    “That’s racing,” McLaughlin said. “That’s oval racing. We love it. Want more of it. Good points for us today. The car felt awesome. Glad we put on a show for the fans. A lot of people stayed out tonight, so it’s fantastic. We’re going to the moon. I’m feeling good. I’m loving IndyCar. Really proud of everything. I’m just really proud to be able to do it for the team. Pit stops have been unreal. I’m working with some really good people. Excited for what the future holds.” 

    Pato O’Ward fended off Takuma Sato to finish fourth while points leader Power settled in sixth ahead of Ericsson, Dixon, Palou and Rahal, all of whom finished in the top 10 on the track.

    There were 13 lead changes for 10 different leaders. The race featured two cautions for 22 laps.

    With two races remaining in the 2022 schedule, Will Power continues to lead the standings by three points over teammate Josef Newgarden, 14 over Scott Dixon, 17 over Marcus Ericsson, 43 over Alex Palou, 54 over Scott McLaughlin and 58 over Pato O’Ward.

    Results.

    1. Josef Newgarden, 78 laps led

    2. David Malukas, four laps led

    3. Scott McLaughlin, 12 laps led

    4. Pato O’Ward, 10 laps led

    5. Takuma Sato, 22 laps led

    6. Will Power, 128 laps led

    7. Marcus Ericsson, one lap led

    8. Scott Dixon

    9. Alex Palou

    10. Graham Rahal, two laps led

    11. Colton Herta, one lap down

    12. Devlin DeFrancesco, one lap down

    13. Romain Grosjean, one lap down, two laps led

    14. Jimmie Johnson, one lap down

    15. Helio Castroneves, one lap down

    16. Felix Rosenqvist, one lap down, one lap led

    17. Kyle Kirkwood, two laps down

    18. Dalton Kellett, two laps down

    19. Christian Lundgaard, two laps down

    20. Simon Pagenaud, three laps down

    21. Callum Ilott, three laps down

    22. Ed Carpenter, four laps down

    23. Conor Daly, 16 laps down

    24. Jack Harvey, 21 laps down

    25. Alexander Rossi, 34 laps down

    26. Rinus VeeKay – OUT, Mechanical

    Next on the 2022 NTT IndyCar Series schedule is the penultimate event of the season at Portland International Raceway for the Grand Prix of Portland. The event is scheduled to occur on September 4 at 3 p.m. ET on NBC.

  • 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.

  • Takuma Sato scheduled for 200th IndyCar career start at Texas

    Takuma Sato scheduled for 200th IndyCar career start at Texas

    With a new season of NTT IndyCar Series competition underway, Takuma Sato is primed to reach a milestone start in his 12th full-time in America’s premier open-wheel series. By taking the green flag in this weekend’s XPEL 375 at Texas Motor Speedway, the newly named driver of the No. 51 Dale Coyne Racing with Rick Ware Racing Dallara-Honda will achieve career start No. 200 in the IndyCar circuit. 

    A native of Tokyo, Japan, Sato made his inaugural presence in IndyCar competition in 2010 when he signed with KV Racing Technology. By then, he had campaigned in seven full-time seasons in Formula One competition (2002-2008) between Jordan, BAR and Super Aguri. Driving the No. 5 Dallara-Honda for KV Racing Technology, Sato started 10th but finished 22nd in his IndyCar debut after being involved in an opening lap multi-car wreck. Sato competed the entire 17-race schedule, where he earned his first top-10 career result in ninth place at Edmonton City Centre Airport in July before settling in 21st place in the final standings,

    Remaining at KV Racing Technology for the 2011 IndyCar season, Sato earned three top-five results, a season-best fourth-place result at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in August and his maiden two poles (Iowa Speedway and Edmonton in July) before finishing in 13th place in the final standings.

    Following his first two years in IndyCar competition with KV Racing Technology, Sato joined Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing for the 2012 season. After finishing no higher than eighth during the first three scheduled events, Sato claimed his maiden podium after finishing third at the Streets of Sao Paulo, Brazil. During the following event, the 96th running of the Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, he was running within striking distance of Dario Franchitti for the victory. At the start of the final lap, Sato made his move beneath Franchitti, but both made contact and resulted with Sato spinning and crashing into the wall, which ended the event under caution. While Franchitti went on to win, Sato ended up in 17th place. For the remaining 10 events of the season, Sato claimed a career-best result of second place at Edmonton in July before finishing in 14th place in the final standings. 

    In 2013, Sato joined forces with A.J. Foyt Enterprises after departing Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. After finishing no higher than eighth during the first two events, he claimed his maiden IndyCar victory at California’s Long Beach Street Circuit in April after leading 50 of 80 scheduled laps. The victory, which occurred in his 52nd career start, made Sato the first Japanese competitor to win in the IndyCar circuit. Sato then came close in capturing back-to-back victories of the season at Sao Paulo until he was overtaken by James Hinchcliffe on the final lap and final corner, which relegated him back to second place. Despite briefly taking over the points lead, a series of inconsistent results resulted with Sato finishing in 17th place in the final standings. 

    From 2014 to 2016, Sato earned a single podium result, which was a runner-up result in the second of a Belle Isle doubleheader weekend in May, a total of two poles and a best points result of 14th place in 2015. By then, he surpassed 100 career starts in the IndyCar Series.

    Following a four-year run with A.J. Foyt Enterprises, Sato joined Andretti Autosport to pilot the No. 26 Honda on a full-time basis in 2017. Through the first five events of the season, his best on-track result was fifth place during the season-opening Streets of St. Petersburg in March. Then during the 101st running of the Indianapolis 500, Sato overtook Max Chilton for the lead with nine laps remaining and fended off three-time Indy 500 champion Helio Castroneves to claim his second IndyCar career victory and become the first Japanese competitor to win the Indy 500. He then went on to claim two poles during the final 11 scheduled events before finishing in the top 10 in points for the first time in his career in eighth place.

    Despite the success at Andretti, Sato reunited with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing to pilot the No. 30 Honda for the 2018 season. After enduring a season-long up-and-down run, where his lone highlight was claiming a podium result (third place) at Iowa Speedway in July, he claimed his third IndyCar career victory in the series’ decade-long return to Portland International Raceway in September. Ultimately, he concluded the season in 12th place in the final standings.

    The 2019 IndyCar season was where Sato earned multiple victories in an IndyCar season for the first time in his career. He claimed an early victory at Alabama’s Barber Motorsports Park in April and earned two additional podiums during the following 10 scheduled events before winning at Gateway’s World Wide Technology Raceway in August. With a career-high two victories and career-high four podiums to the 2019 season, Sato capped off the season in ninth place in the final standings.

    During the shortened 2020 season amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Sato claimed his second Indianapolis 500 victory in August following a late battle against five-time IndyCar champion Scott Dixon. To add a second-place result at Gateway during the following event, he concluded the season in a career-best seventh place in the final standings and with a career-best average-finishing result of 11.3. 

    The 2021 season marked the first time Sato went winless and failed to secure a podium result as the Japanese veteran picked up a season-best fourth place during the first of a Belle Isle doubleheader weekend in June before finishing in 11th place in the final standings and earning an average-finishing result of 12.2.

    The 2022 IndyCar season marked a new beginning for Sato, who joined Dale Coyne Racing with Rick Ware Racing following a four-year run with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. He is coming off a 10th-place run in his first event with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing at the Streets of St. Petersburg.

    Through 199 previous IndyCar starts, Sato has achieved six victories, 10 poles, 14 podiums and an average-finishing result of 14.3.

    Sato is scheduled to make his 200th NTT IndyCar Series career start in the XPEL 375 at Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday, March 20, at 12:30 p.m. ET on NBC.

  • Takuma Sato joins Dale Coyne Racing with Rick Ware Racing for 2022 IndyCar season

    Takuma Sato joins Dale Coyne Racing with Rick Ware Racing for 2022 IndyCar season

    Dale Coyne Racing with Rick Ware Racing announced that Takuma Sato will be joining the organization as a full-time driver of the team’s No. 51 Dallara-Honda for the 2022 NTT IndyCar Series season.

    Sato, a 44-year-old native from Tokyo, Japan, is a two-time winner of the Indianapolis 500 with six victories, 14 podiums, 10 poles and 902 laps led in 198 career starts (12 seasons) in the IndyCar circuit. He is coming off four full-time seasons with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, where he achieved his second Indy 500 victory in 2020 along with four victories, one pole, eight podiums and a career-best seventh-place result in the final standings in 2020. His first Indy 500 victory occurred in 2017 when he competed for Andretti Autosport and became the first Japanese competitor to win the 500.

    “I am extremely excited that we were able to work out a deal with Dale, Rick and everyone at Dale Coyne Racing,” Sato said. “With Honda an integral part of Dale Coyne Racing, it seemed like a great fit. The team has proven year after year that they are very competitive on all types of circuits. Particularly the speed that team has shown in recent years at the Indy 500 were very impressive. I am really looking forward to working with my new environment and can’t wait to get started.”

    Sato replaces Romain Grosjean and Pietro Fittipaldi, both of whom shared the No. 51 Honda throughout the 16-race schedule in 2021. Grosjean is set to compete as a full-time IndyCar competitor for Andretti Autosport while Fittipaldi will remain as a test and reserve competitor for Uralkali Haas F1 Team for the upcoming season.

    Prior to making his inaugural presence in IndyCar competition in 2010 with KV Racing Technology, Sato, whose racing career started with karting, campaigned in seven seasons in Formula One (2002-2008). Making 90 career starts, he notched his first and only podium in F1 competition in the 2004 United States Grand Prix at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where he finished in third place while driving for Lucky Strike BAR Honda team. He went on to conclude the 2004 F1 season in a career-best eighth place in the final driver’s standings.

    Following his debut season in IndyCar in 2010, Sato spent another season with KV Racing before joining Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing in 2012, where he earned two podium results. He then swapped to A.J. Foyt Enterprises in 2013, where he earned his first career victory in IndyCar competition at the Streets of Long Beach, California, in April. He would continue to compete with A.J. Foyt Enterprises through 2016 before campaigning in his first and only full-time season with Andretti Autosport in 2017. Sato’s transition to Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing in 2018 marked a reunion for the driver and the team, which spanned through this season until it was announced in early October that the Japanese competitor will not be remaining with the team for the 2022 season.

    “Takuma has shown that he is one of the best drivers to ever race in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES,” Dale Coyne, team co-owner, said. “Winning the famed Indianapolis 500 twice, we look forward to competing with our package of a good car with a great driver in the ‘500’ next year. All of us on our team welcome the very talented Mr. Sato into our fold for 2022.”

    “I am excited to have Takuma join the Dale Coyne Racing with RWR family for 2022,” Rick Ware, team co-owner, added. “Takuma’s experience within motorsports is extensive, not just in the United States, but around the world. With Takuma’s experience, and vast knowledge of the cars, we are really looking forward to stepping up the program and having a successful season, and maybe even add another Indianapolis 500 win to his list of achievements.”

    With a new team to call home for the upcoming IndyCar season, Sato is also primed to achieve a milestone start in what will be his 13th season in IndyCar competition. By competing in the Genesys 300 at Texas Motor Speedway on March 20, he will make his 200th career start in the IndyCar circuit.

    Sato is set to make his debut with Dale Coyne Racing with Rick Ware Racing at the Streets of St. Petersburg in St. Petersburg, Florida, for the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg and to commence the 2022 NTT IndyCar Series season on February 27.

  • Sato’s two 500 wins places him in legend status at Indy

    Sato’s two 500 wins places him in legend status at Indy

    It’s easy to establish Takuma Sato as a good, but not great NTT IndyCar Series driver. He came into the series in 2010 and floundered a little with KV Racing and Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing at first. Sure, he earned the respect and admiration of us all in his valiant 2012 Indy 500 effort, attempting to pass eventual winner Dario Franchitti in the first turn of the last lap only to go full send into the wall. But he didn’t find Victory Lane until 2013’s Long Beach event driving for A.J. Foyt Racing.

    He didn’t win again until his brief stay at Andretti Autosport in 2017, when he claimed his first Indy 500, and the next season saw him back at RLL, where he’s finally flourished by winning four more times since. He’s steadily gotten better – not great, but better – and there’s a very real chance he could find himself in title contender territory before too long.

    In a sense, he’s like NASCAR’s Sterling Marlin in that he excels at certain places but has won elsewhere on occasion. However, Indy is to Sato what Daytona was to Marlin – a racetrack where he can truly shine.

    For starters, there’s the two victories in the 500, as well as the 2012 attempt. However, there’s also is spirited 2019 effort, where the results will show that he finished third behind Simon Pagenaud and Alexander Rossi. But what the cards won’t show initially is that a second pace-lap issue forced him to go a lap down, and at one point he was running in dead last. However not only was Sato able to get himself back on the lead lap, he even contended for the lead as late as lap 176 of the 200-lap event.

    These show that he’s acclimated well to the speedway no matter who he is driving for. However, there’s also the fact that not only is he the first non-Caucasian driver to win the 500 and multiple times to boot (one of only 20 drivers to do so), he’s the first driver from the continent of Asia to do so. His victories have been a great way to bring other ethnicities into the sport, and they help shine a positive light on the sport of IndyCar.

    There’s also the matter of how quickly Sato has taken to open wheel racing. On one hand, there’s 2008 Indy 500 winner Scott Dixon, who has been winning races and championships since before Sato burst onto the scene in 2010. Graham Rahal earned his first series win in 2008 at St. Petersburg. In contrast, Sato was a champion cyclist before beginning his Formula One career in 2002, with a lukewarm career there before racing full-time in IndyCar in 2010.

    None of these statistics place him in the same category as say, Dixon or Will Power, or for that matter even Rahal, Unser, Foyt, or even Mario Andretti territory. He’s far from that at this point in his career considering he only holds six IndyCar wins and a best points finish of eighth in 2017. But unlike Andretti, Dixon, or Power, Sato is a two-time Indy 500 champion. That puts him in an elite category of open wheel stars over the last 100+ years. Put that together with how much he’s matured over the last 10 years and the far-reaching effects of his wins in the 500, and it’s easy to see that there’s more that goes into a legend than just statistics.

    For all we know Sato may just continue to be a perennial challenger, occasionally making his way to Victory Lane here and there. He’s fearless behind the wheel, there’s no doubt about that. That hasn’t translated into great results, but a win is a win. Those stay in the record books for years to come. The effects of those wins? Those last longer and reach further. There’s no a shadow of a doubt that for the time being, Sato is definitely an Indy 500 legend.

  • Takuma Sato takes two in Indy 500

    Takuma Sato takes two in Indy 500

    Three years removed from his first Indianapolis 500 win, Takuma Sato and Rahal Letterman Lanigan had hopes of repeating that same victory of what was an unusual Indy 500. Sato was the least talked about heading into Sunday’s race. Most of the talk was centered around last year’s race winner Simon Pagenaud who was looking to repeat, and famous racing star Marco Andretti who qualified on the pole breaking a streak of 30 plus years since the last time an Andretti was on the front row.

    There was one driver that Sato had to beat late in the going and that was New Zealander Scott Dixon, who in the latter stages of the race had the fastest car of anyone. Sato made his move after the last round of green flag pit stops, and passed Dixon on the front straightaway with 15 to go. From there, all he had to do was hold the Chip Ganassi Racing driver off, and make sure there were no mistakes. Despite lap traffic in the way, Sato held the lead for those final 15 laps in what would be his second Indianapolis 500 victory.

    “Obviously, we pitted (a lap) short from (Scott Dixon) Dixie,” Sato said. “The fuel strategy was a bit tight. I saw Scott was coming right through out of Turn 4, and he was screaming coming at me. And I just held him off. Thank you so much.” About winning at age 43, he said, “This was the entire Rahal Letterman Lanigan team. HPD and Honda gave us a lot of power, a lot of fuel mileage, and my boys. They sacrifice a lot. I can’t thank all of the people.”

    The 2020 Indy 500 will be one to remember for a very long time. This was the first time in years that the event was held with no fans due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Originally, Roger Penske (Owner of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, NTT IndyCar Series) had hoped the speedway would host a 50% capacity. However, as the event drew closer, the number dwindled to 25%, and eventually, Mr. Penske was forced to run the race without fans due to Indiana’s state regulations regarding the virus.

    Nonetheless, the Indy 500 carried on and as usual was an exciting 200-lap event.

    Pole sitter Marco Andretti started out front but was quickly passed by Scott Dixon in his No. 9 DHL Honda machine. Dixon was looking for his second Indy 500 victory. There was some tight action on the very first lap as well. Ed Carpenter in his own No. 20 Ed Carpenter Racing entry made contact with the Turn 1 wall. Carpenter would have to come down pit road for service and fix the front wing due to a potentially broken a-arm.

    Not too long after the incident, the first yellow flag would fly for James Davison in the No. 51 Rick Ware Racing vehicle. Davison’s right-front tire exploded on the backstretch, causing him to slow dramatically and eventually, his right-front would catch on fire. Fortunately for Davison, he exited out of the car under his own power, but was out early and credited with a last-place finish. Under the caution, multiple drivers were already using differing pit strategies. Will Power, Simon Pagenaud, Charlie Kimball, Fernando Alonso, Helio Castroneves, Sage Karam and Max Chilton, among a few others, made a pit stop.

    Back up front, Dixon led the field to the Lap 12 restart and there was a 13 lap green-flag run before the second caution flew on Lap 25. Marcus Ericsson’s No. 8 entry got loose going into Turn 1 and hit one of the SAFER barriers. Like Davison, Ericsson’s race was done early, and he would wind up finishing 32nd in the running order. During that same yellow, the leaders, including Dixon, made their first pit stop of the race. By doing so, this put the drivers who made a pit stop earlier up front. Meaning, rookie of the year contender Oliver Askew was the leader. But, Pagenaud took the top spot and led until his second stop on Lap 45.

    While Pagenaud pitted, Dixon cycled into the lead again and was out in front of Alexander Rossi by less than a second.

    The race seemed as though it would enter a long green-flag run, running approximately 52 laps. Pit stops also took place during that run and almost every driver was on a different type of strategy. However, Dixon continued to set the pace, even after his stop. Before the caution flag on Lap 83, Sato saw his first moments near the leader as Dixon led him by a whopping margin of 11 seconds.

    As mentioned, the yellow on Lap 83 slowed things down a bit, and Dalton Kellett in the No. 41 made contact with the Turn 3 wall. There was also a scary incident between Conor Daly and rookie Oliver Askew that ensued at Lap 92 off the restart. Daly’s car hit the concrete off Turn 4 which made him spin out and damage his No. 47 vehicle. Then Askew took a hard hit on the inside pit lane wall just before the entry off pit road. Despite the hard hit, both drivers were uninjured after the incident. Even so, Askew mentioned in his interview to NBC, that ‘he was a little shaken up from the crash.’

    Then from Lap 106 to Lap 122, an exciting battle for the lead ensued between competitors Rossi and Dixon. The pair of drivers swapped the lead multiple times on each of those laps. Dixon would fall behind Rossi to save fuel in second, while Rossi led the race. The two drivers used the same strategy back and forth until a yellow on Lap 122. The caution was for another rookie Alex Palou. The Spanish native made contact with a SAFER barrier by the end of Turn 1. Palou’s No. 55 received right-side damage and unable to continue the race.

    Meanwhile, things heated up on pit road that impacted Indy 500 winner Sato. Rossi’s Andretti AutoSport entry had an unsafe release and he slightly hit Sato’s car when leaving his pit box. Two other drivers also had issues with the same move, as Ferrucci and Herta had contact with each other as well. Unfortunately for Rossi, he received a penalty from IndyCar Series officials for that unsafe release and was sent to the back of the field.

    On the initial restart, Rossi passed five cars but his momentum and efforts were crushed on Lap 144 when his No. 27 NAPA AutoParts Honda got loose off Turn 2 and hit the backstretch wall. Rossi would be scored out of the race and credited with a 27th place finishing position.

    After the yellow, Sato passed Dixon on Lap 160, a few laps before he made his final green flag pit stop. Sato happened to make his pit stop one lap earlier then Dixon and while Sato had a clean stop, Dixon had a somewhat slow pit stop, which allowed Sato to close in on the back straightaway.

    With Dixon trying to hold off Sato when the laps started to wind down, leaders Zach Veach and Max Chilton were hoping for a caution that would have favored them. Unfortunately, they had to make a pit stop, giving the top two spots to Dixon and Sato. Once Veach pitted, Sato inherited the lead and just had to focus on his race pace.

    There were a few last chance hopes though for Dixon when lap traffic started to get in the way. But, once Sato cleared them he checked out by 1.1 seconds. With four laps to go, Sato’s winning moment came as his teammate Spencer Pigot, unfortunately, hit the tire barriers prior to entering pit road. There were not enough laps or time for IndyCar to display the red flag and therefore, Sato won his second Indy 500 under yellow flag conditions.

    The Japanese driver became the sixth oldest driver to win at 43-years, six months, and 26 days old. In addition, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing achieved their second Indy 500 victory as well. Sato became the 20th different driver to have two race wins of the Indy 500.

    Dixon finished second for the third time in his first Indy 500 outing since 2012.

    “This is a hard one to swallow,” Dixon said. “On fuel mileage, I really can’t see how they were going to make it. We pitted a lap later, and the numbers they had to get, it was going to be very difficult. I thought they were going to throw a red flag, which would have been interesting for the last four or five laps. Huge congrats to Sato. He drove his pants off today. Rahal Letterman Lanigan, they were super fast, obviously 1-3. A good day for Honda. A massive thank you. Proud to be powered by HPD and Honda, and it’s nice to get some points. But it’s hard when it slips away like that.”

    A few other notables, Pigot was transported to a local hospital, and was awake and alert.

    Pato O’ Ward earned the Rookie of the Race award by being the highest finishing rookie placing sixth.

    There were seven cautions for 52 laps and 21 lead changes among 11 different leaders. Sato led twice for 27 laps en route to his sixth career NTT IndyCar Series victory.

    Official Results following the 2020 Indy 500.

    1. Takuma Sato, led 27 laps
    2. Scott Dixon, led 111 laps
    3. Graham Rahal
    4. Santino Ferrccui, led one lap
    5. Josef Newgarden
    6. Pato O’Ward
    7. James Hinchcliffe, led one lap
    8. Colton Herta, led one lap
    9. Jack Harvey
    10. Ryan Hunter-Reay
    11. Helio Castroneves
    12. Felix Rosenqvist, led eight laps
    13. Marco Andretti
    14. Will Power, led two laps
    15. Zach Veach, led 14 laps
    16. JR Hildebrand
    17. Max Chilton
    18. Charlie Kimball
    19. Tony Kanaan, 1 lap down
    20. Rinus VeeKay, 1 lap down
    21. Fernando Alonso, 1 lap down
    22. Simon Pagenaud, 2 laps down, led 14 laps
    23. Ben Hanley 2 laps down
    24. Sage Karam, 2 laps down
    25. Spencer Pigot, OUT, Accident
    26. Ed Carpenter
    27. Alexander Rossi, OUT, Contact, led 17 laps
    28. Alex Palou, OUT, Contact
    29. Conor Daly, OUT, Contact
    30. Oliver Askew, OUT, Contact, led led four laps
    31. Dalton Kellett, OUT, Contact
    32. Marcus Ericsson, OUT, Contact
    33. James Davison, OUT, Mechanical

    Up Next: The NTT IndyCar Series heads to World Wide Technology at Gateway on Saturday, August 29, with NBCSN on the air at 3 p.m. ET.

  • Sato holds off Carpenter in thrilling finish at Gateway

    Sato holds off Carpenter in thrilling finish at Gateway

    After facing criticism throughout the week due to the Pocono crash, Takuma Sato was able to fend off a hard-charging Ed Carpenter at the line in a thrilling finish at World Wide Technology Raceway.

    “Just the support, thank you to all the IndyCar fans, everyone around the world, “Sato said to NBCSN. “The team, the people made this happen. The last couple of days was tough, we kept our heads down, did our job and obviously was a little lucky, but we were fast, so it was great.”

    Championship points leader Josef Newgarden started on the pole. The race already had a caution for the 7 of Marcus Ericsson spin. From there, there was a long green-flag run before the first round of pit stops began on Lap 46 with Sato making a stop that was followed by Simon Pagenaud and Will Power. Power was in the wall on Lap 53, which ended his night and he wound up with a disappointing last-place finish.

    “I just put it like an inch in the marbles, out last, cold tires,” Power said. “Straight to the wall, like ice, it would take off so bad. Such a good car man. I had a very bad vibration, very bad. It wasn’t ideal, but we were still hanging on with faith. We had a good car.”

    Also under the caution, Scott Dixon came down pit road for a problem with his radiator. The problem later turned out to be water coming out of the radiator, which sent him to the garage so the team could fix the issue. However, Dixon called it quits late in the race, as the margin of laps was too significant to make up. He would wind up 20th.

    After the caution, there was a change in the race up front, which saw Canadian James Hinchcliffe and rookie sensation Santino Ferrucci battle for the lead, until Ferrucci took control of the race on Lap 83. Just a few laps later, the next round of pit stops occurred on Lap 96.

    As green-flag pit stops were taking place, the third caution came out on Lap 120 again for Ericsson who was in the wall. Ferrucci cycled out as the leader with Marco Andretti making his scheduled pit stop under yellow. A restart would take place but another caution flew on Lap 132 for Spencer Pigot. Pigot hit the wall after a battle with Charlie Kimball, as Kimball pinched Pigot down. The incident was under review by IndyCar officials but no action was taken.

    Despite the long green flag runs, whenever there was a caution, there would be thrilling restarts that took place diving into Turn 1 with the cars so spread out. This happened between Zach Veach and Sebastian Bourdais. The leaders began to pit again on Lap 174 with Rossi, Hinchcliffe, Colton Herta, Simon Pagenaud and Newgarden.

    After the stops, Hinchcliffe and Pagenaud made slight contact with each other. Pagenaud called for blocking, however, IndyCar officials reviewed the incident with no action taken.

    Race leader Ferrucci finally made his stop on Lap 188 from the lead but he had a slow stop which cost him some time on the track. However, he would catch a lucky break when there was another caution on Lap 190 for Bourdais who hit the wall on the straightaway. Sato pitted from the lead under caution which was a lucky break for him, as well.

    That would be the final caution of the race as the leaders would battle it out under a green flag stint. Some interesting developments took place with 20 to go for Rossi, as he could not make it all the way on fuel and had to make a pit stop. Graham Rahal also had a problem with his car that forced him to retire from the event.

    Ferrucci was trying to make a comeback happen with less than 20 to go until he got way high up the track and had to check up with eight to go in Turn 1. This ultimately cost him a shot for the win.

    The action didn’t stop there as a battle for the win ensued up front. Carpenter was trying to run down Sato late in the race. On the last lap, Carpenter made one last try on Sato before falling short at the line with Sato barely finishing in front of him for the win at Gateway.

    “We went three-wide or four-wide, and we gently touched with (James) Hinchcliffe, I don’t remember,” Sato said to NBCSN about his race early. “It was tough, I lost the moment twice. We made it happen today, a really big thank you to the team, an incredible team.”

    Carpenter finished in the second position by inches to Sato in the thriller.

    “Yesterday was one of the hardest days I’ve had in a car,” Carpenter described to NBCSN. “Just confusing. Both teams, the 20 and 21, we were never good yesterday. We just kept our heads down and we didn’t have to change much to get into the window. We were really good on the long runs tonight, that’s what was good for us. Just needed a little more time to get to Takuma.”

    This was Sato’s second win of the season and his first since Barber Motorsports Park earlier this season. The victory marked his fifth career win in IndyCar. The margin of victory was 0.0399 between Sato and Carpenter at the line.

    Up Next: The NTT IndyCar Series heads to Portland next Sunday for the Grand Prix of Portland, live on NBC at 3 p.m. ET.

    Official Results

    1. Takuma Sato
    2. Ed Carpenter
    3. Tony Kanaan
    4. Santino Ferrucci
    5. Simon Pagenaud
    6. Conor Daly
    7. Josef Newgarden
    8. Ryan Hunter-Reay
    9. Colton Herta
    10. Marco Andretti
    11. Felix Rosenqvist
    12. James Hinchcliffe, One lap down
    13. Alexander Rossi, One lap down
    14. Zach Veach, One lap down
    15. Charlie Kimball, One lap down
    16. Marcus Ericsson, One lap down
    17. Matheus Leist, Two laps down
    18. Graham Rahal, Retired
    19. Sebastian Bourdais, Retired
    20. Scott Dixon, Retired
    21. Spencer Pigot, Retired
    22. Will Power, Retired
  • The Final Word – A day of three iconic races, and the return of an iconic 3 to Victory Lane

    The Final Word – A day of three iconic races, and the return of an iconic 3 to Victory Lane

    One day, three iconic events for racing fans. All you needed was a fine alarm clock or, better still, a fine recording device.

    It all began early Sunday morning along the coast of Monte Carlo and the Monaco Grand Prix. I am not a big fan of driving fast and little passing, but Monaco is a different breed. Fabulous architecture and big expensive craft that fill the marina are the background for a street race that has the competitors driving just a bit above the recommended speed limit for you and me. Simply put, they go fast on a road not built to go fast, be it alone or among 20 other speed demons.

    You get the idea that concentration might be a real attribute. Gazing at a beautiful building or Leo DiCaprio trying to save the planet on one of those monstrous sized yachts might not be helpful in winning. Sebastian Vettel won it for Ferrari this weekend, and was happy about it. Teammate Kimi Räikkönen was second and he did not appear happy at all. When you start on the pole, you expect to win, but his day went to the pits in the pits. As for Lewis Hamilton, he started 12th and finished seventh. Did I not mention that passing was at a premium?

    From the land of champagne the day took us next to the land of milk and the Indianapolis 500. Indy was built for speed, though I am not sure they had these kind of speeds in mind back in 1909 when they opened the facility. Fernando Alonzo has a win at Monaco, along with 31 other Formula One victories and a pair of championships. On Sunday, he was an Indianapolis rookie. While Alonzo and Andretti teammate, last year’s winner Alexander Rossi, swapped the lead between them, pole winner Scott Dixon made it just past the quarter mark when he went to pieces. Jay Howard bounced off the wall right into Dixon’s path, and the ride he went on would make most of us truly appreciate the soft safe confines of our sofa. Then, he stepped out of the wreckage and walked away. Amazing.

    It was riveting action from the Midwest. It was a great day for Andretti’s boys, at least for a time. A pit problem cost Rossi and sent him back in the pack to stay. A blown engine removed Ryan Hunter-Reay from the equation. Near the end, it was Alonzo’s turn to clear away the mosquitoes. That left only Takuma Sato from the Andretti stable in contention, but that was all they needed. Sato beat out three-time champ Hélio Castroneves to give Andretti Autosport its second straight, third in four years, and fifth overall Indianapolis 500 victory. Sato becomes the first Japanese driver to win the classic in a race that was must-see television from start to finish.

    Then it was time to move on to NASCAR’s endurance test, Charlotte’s World 600. Not that everyone was busy all night, as an Earnhardt changed the course of this one. The Intimidator’s grandson, Jeffrey, blew up, tossing a large metal part onto the track. That collected Chase Elliott, who caught fire and slowed down to nothing. That was enough to cause Brad Keselowski to skid in at high speed to pile drive Elliott, and with that, we had three less cars to worry about. We did not have to worry about the weather, we were told. A storm was going to pass to the north of the track. They must have moved the track, because it poured during that second stage and put a red flag to proceedings for 100 minutes. It rained hard. It rained long. For a moment, I thought the action had returned to Europe for the Venetian gondola races. Honestly, if you had been thinking about mowing the lawn, you were in luck. You had the time to do so.

    Happily, the clouds parted and the track dried. Not so happily, Trevor Bayne broke an axle leaving the pits, that cost him five laps. Meanwhile, Kasey Kahne had a rear end failure, tagging the wall to end his day. As for Kyle Larson, he tagged the wall which moved things in his right front. It later gave up the ghost, went into the pearly outside fence, and his car was bound for automotive heaven. All this, and still 150 miles to go.

    As they counted down the final laps, it was fuel strategy versus performance. Jimmie Johnson and Austin Dillon looked to win it on stretching their petrol. Martin Truex Jr., who had been the best car on the night, along with Kyle Busch, were hoping their better entries would equate into victory. With 20 miles left, we still did not know how this would play out.

    With three miles to go, Johnson ran dry. Dillon had the lead. Busch got by Truex but on this day time ran out before the fuel did. Dillon took his grandfather’s team to Victory Lane. For Richard Childress, it marked the first win for his grandson. It also marked the first for the No. 3 since his friend, Dale Earnhardt, won for him at Talladega back on October 15, 2000.

    A great day for auto racing. A great way to end it.

  • Scott Dixon and Team Ganassi Make Indy History at Pocono with Win; Podium Finish

    Scott Dixon and Team Ganassi Make Indy History at Pocono with Win; Podium Finish

    Scott Dixon, driver of the No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, made history at Pocono Raceway in the IZOD IndyCar Series as the eighth different winner in eleven races, scoring his 30th career win, as well as the 200th win for Honda and the 100th team finish for team Target.

    “Going into this morning, I was not thinking we could win,” Dixon said. “The team definitely hasn’t given up and you’ve got to hand it to Honda as well.”

    “The fuel mileage was the key today and we still had speed up front without having to save all the time.”

    “I don’t know what to say,” Dixon continued. “It’s the 100th win for Target as well which is just so fantastic.”

    “It’s been a long drought, almost a year, so it’s fantastic to be back in winner’s circle.”

    With the return of IndyCar Racing to Pocono Raceway for the first time since 1989, Team Ganassi also made history, finishing one, two, three for the first time ever in any form of competition, including IZOD IndyCar Series, CART, NASCAR or GRAND-AM.

    With teammate Scott Dixon in Victory Lane, Charlie Kimball, behind the wheel of the No. 83 NovoLog FlexPen Honda for Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing, finished second, and teammate Dario Franchitti, behind the wheel of the No. 10 Energizer Honda for Target Chip Ganassi Racing, finished third.

    “The whole Chip Ganassi Racing crew, as evidenced by the 1-2-3 finish, was focusing on race day knowing that’s when it mattered,” Kimball, who matched his career best finish of second, said. “Throughout today, the guys made it better on each pit stop and the car just got quicker and quicker.”

    “A lot of credit to Honda, they gave us the fuel mileage and speed today.”

    “The Honda today, it’s so good on fuel mileage and that really, really helped us,” Franchitti, the third place finisher, said. “We went for a very aggressive downforce so every lap was an adventure.”

    “It was a good day.”

    “I had no idea we’d finish one, two, three after coming back late from Daytona,” Chip Ganassi, team owner, said. “When I got out of bed this morning, I wouldn’t have guessed this.”

    “I actually forgot that the next win would have been our 100th; it’s been so long since we’ve had a win,” Ganassi continued. “It’s a really great place to do it – in Pennsylvania, my home state.”

    “It’s great for the Series to have a 1-2-3 finish,” Ganassi said. “Honda needed a boost.”

    “The drivers did a great job and the team did a great job,” Ganassi continued. “Hopefully we’ve turned the corner.”

    Will Power finished fourth in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet. This was Power’s third top-five finish of the season.

    “I didn’t realize Charlie (Kimball) was for position,” Power said. “It was quite tough to pass.”

    “It was physical but a lovely track,” Power continued. “There was a good crowd and it was a good race.”

    “But it was an awesome day for Verizon.”

    Josef Newgarden, driving the No. 67 SFH Racing/Rotondo Weirich for Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing, rounded out the top-five, matching his best IndyCar Series finish of fifth in Sao Paulo.

    “We had a great day,” Newgarden said. “To get representable results, I’m super pleased for all our guys.”

    “Pocono is incredible,” Newgarden continued. “I wasn’t even born that time they had the last race here.”

    “We’ve got to come back here because it’s an IndyCar track,” Newgarden said. “I’m super pleased for our group.”

    The race was not without drama as James Hinchcliffe, driver of the No. 27 GoDaddy Chevrolet, wrecked on the very first lap.

    “I’m not entirely sure what happened,” Hinchcliffe said. “We’ll have to take a look at it.”

    “The car just snapped loose on me,” Hinchcliffe continued. “We went a bit aggressive on setup because we had an understeering car all week, and we didn’t want that in the race.”

    “Maybe we overstepped it a bit; I’m not quite sure,” Hinchcliffe said. “It’s a 400-mile race so to go out on Lap 1 is just devastating.”

    “It’s really unfortunate.”

    Another pair of unhappy campers was Ryan Hunter-Reay, driver of the No. 1 DHL Chevrolet, and Takuma Sato, behind the wheel of the No. 14 ABC Supply Co/A.J. Foyt Racing Honda, who collided on pit road.

    “I think I misjudged it,” Sato said. “Extremely sorry.”

    “It was my fault.”

    “I couldn’t believe it,” Hunter-Reay said. “I thought a plane crashed in there.”

    “I didn’t expect it would have been Sato,” Hunter-Reay continued. “We had a great car to challenge for the win and then get creamed from behind.”

    “He unplugged his brain entirely,” Hunter-Reay said. “It’s just so frustrating when someone comes from nowhere completely unglued.”

    Hunter-Reay admitted that the hard hit on pit road exacerbated an injury with which he has been struggling.

    “I have to go get my thumb x-rayed now,” Hunter-Reay said. “That made it worse than it was before.”

    “It is what it is and we’ll deal with it.”

    The most upset driver, however, was hometown hero and third generation driver Marco Andretti. The driver of the No. 25 RC Cola Chevrolet for Andretti Autosport finished tenth after leading a race high 88 laps and sitting on the pole.

    This was the fifth race this season in which Andretti led and the fourth oval race he has led. Yet he still remains winless for the 2013 season.

    “I’m so frustrated right now,” Andretti said after the race. “We were so dominant.”

    “I’m just absolutely gutted,” Andretti continued. “I just sat there and watched the lead go away from me and it ripped my guts out.”

    Helio Castroneves, driver of the No. 3 Hitachi Team Penske Chevrolet, finished eighth and extended his points lead to 23 over Ryan Hunter-Reay after the Pocono IndyCar 400 Fueled by Sunoco.

    “For us getting a lot of points in the championship is fantastic,” Castroneves said. “It was a tough race.”

    “It was a lot of thinking and I’m terrible at thinking!” Castroneves continued. “It’s one of those races that nobody knows what to do.”

    “It was crazy and quite exciting,” Castroneves said. “At the end of the day, it was a great day for championship and that’s what we’ve got to think.”

  • Marco Andretti, Dario Franchitti and Takuma Sato Take on Tricky Triangle

    Marco Andretti, Dario Franchitti and Takuma Sato Take on Tricky Triangle

    Although legends the likes of A. J. Foyt, Rick Mears, Al Unser and Mario Andretti have raced there, it has been since 1989 that an open-wheel race occurred at Pocono Raceway.

    But on this July 4th holiday weekend, the IZOD IndyCar Series returns to Pocono with drivers like Marco Andretti, Dario Franchitti and Takuma Sato, who hope to add their names to the list of winners at the track known as the ‘Tricky Triangle.’

    “So far, so good,” Marco Andretti, driver of the No. 25 RC Cola Chevrolet for Andretti Autosport, said after the first test session at Pocono. “I have to give credit to IndyCar for the aero and Firestone for the tire choice.”

    Andretti, a third generation racer who considers this is ‘home’ track, will make his first start at Pocono and his 125th career start.

    Although Andretti admits that he does go to his grandfather for advice, especially with his familiarity with the ‘tricky’ track, he said that this time he had to make it his own.

    “At this level of the sport, we have to learn by driving,” Andretti said. “My grandfather is supportive…but only if I’m quickest.”

    Andretti said that so far the triangle has been a bit ‘tricky’ from his perspective. But he is loving every minute of it, at least so far.

    “The trickiest part is getting the balance between turns one and three,” Andretti said. “You can make the car good in one corner and then not the others.”

    “That’s the cool part about this track.”

    Fellow competitor Dario Franchitti, driver of the No. 10 Energizer for Target Chip Ganassi Racing, echoed Andretti’s excitement at racing returning to Pocono, in spite of being on ‘Scotland time.’ He had been up bright and early at 6:00 am at Pocono after visiting his homeland for a weekend of rest and relaxation.

    “It’s great to be here at Pocono,” Franchitti said. “It’s a great rack.”

    “These cars are bloody quick right here.”

    Franchitti also agreed with Andretti that the triangle is a bit tricky, especially trying to negotiate the three very different corners.

    “It’s a tough place to figure out,” Franchitti said. “The tunnel turn – I don’t know what it will be like with ten cars in front of me.”

    “But I really hope there will not be ten cars in front of me.”

    Franchitti admitted that his season has been one of struggles, both on the road courses and the ovals. And when one of the media followed up with a question about his brief stint in NASCAR, Franchitti said that was equally as painful as his season so far.

    “I went to the dentist and had work without anesthesia and I broke my back,” Franchitti said. “It was less painful than NASCAR.”

    “This season has been tough,” Franchitti continued. “We haven’t got it together on road courses and we have struggled on the ovals.”

    “We went down the wrong development path with parts and it’s been a difficult year so far.”

    Takuma Sato, driving the No. 14 for A.J. Foyt Racing, echoed the excitement of his fellow drivers in making his first appearance ever at Pocono Raceway. And he even had an opportunity to enjoy the beautiful scenery on his way into the track.

    “I’m very excited to be at Pocono,” Sato said. “It’s always interesting to be in a new venue, especially with the long history here.”

    “On the way to the track, it took me a half hour but it’s a nice drive,” Sato continued. “I like the nature.”

    Sato agreed with his fellow competitors that the three-cornered race track is indeed one of the most ‘tricky’ that he has ever experienced.

    “It’s quite a challenging track,” Sato said. “Quite tricky in Turn One.”

    “It took me awhile to get the right lines and figure out how to do it.”

    “Turns One and Three are challenging for both the driver and the engineers,” Sato said. “By myself I’m doing a good job but I’m not sure about in the pack.”

    “There is a huge balance shift between those two conditions.”

    Like Andretti, Sato has a mentor who has vast knowledge of the track in A.J. Foyt. So, did he garner any advice from him prior to taking to the track at the ‘Tricky Triangle?’

    “We talked about it knowing he is a master here,” Sato said of his mentor and owner Foyt. “But it’s a different time.”

    “He did give me tips about setting up the car,” Sato continued. “I’ll speak to him later today and tomorrow.”

    Sato was also incredibly analytical when it came to breaking down each of the three turns at the ‘Tricky Triangle.’

    “Turn One is like Fontana because of the banking and that you have to go through all the seams,” Sato said. “In Turn Two, you have to be careful because it is easy and flat.”

    “Turn Two is like a little kink for me and there is no need to count it as a corner,” Sato continued. “Turn Three is Milwaukee-style, with no banking and a high speed.”

    “There is a sensation of the cars that feels weird and challenging too,” Sato said. “It is a good corner.”

    Two of the three drivers were also asked to react to another change just announced by INDYCAR race director Beaux Barfield, the return of the three-wide start to the race. So, what did they think of that change?

    Marco Andretti definitely had some thoughts on the three-wide start, the types of which have been utilized for the Indy 500 since 1921 and also at Pocono Raceway in the 1970s and 1980s for the ‘triple crown’ legs.

    “That one is really for the fans,” Andretti said. “I’m all about tradition so I love it.”

    “I’m just hoping we can get it sorted out by Turn One.”

    Dario Franchitti agreed that the three-wide race start may be quite interesting at the ‘Tricky Triangle.’

    “Three wide won’t be an issue at first because it’s so wide,” Franchitti said. “But Turn One narrows up quickly, so that will be the tricky part.”

    Probably the driver with the highest expectations placed upon him at the ‘Tricky Triangle’, however, is hometown ‘son’ and hero Marco Andretti. While he feels a win would be spectacular at his home track, he really just wants to get that ‘W’ in the worst way.

    “The monkey is on my back anyway for a win,” Andretti said. “We’re on the right track.”

    “But a win here would be extra special.”