McLaren plucks away Ganassi sponsor and Kanaan for Indy 500
The tit-for-tat war between Zak Brown and Chip Ganassi took another turn Tuesday when Arrow McLaren SP announced it had signed both a Ganassi sponsor and Tony Kanaan to drive the Indianapolis 500. Kanaan will be sponsored by NTT DATA for his 22nd Indy 500, and the technology and business solutions provider will also be the primary sponsor for Felix Rosenqvist for 10 races on the No. NTT Data had been a Ganassi sponsor since 2013 and was the primary sponsor for 2020 champion Alex Palou, who spent most of the IndyCar season locked in a battle to move from Ganassi to McLaren in 2023. But Palou's sponsor is headed to McLaren early; Palou can't drive an Indy car for McLaren before he makes his official move in 2024. Also, McLaren team president Taylor Keil has left the organization and is expected to be announced as a Ganassi executive as soon as his non-compete clause expires.
wftv.comMotorsports Gone Mad: Silly season spins out of control
Minutes later McLaren said it had signed Palou. With only four races remaining in the most watched IndyCar season in decades and a six-driver championship fight, the entire paddock is fixated on this contractual drama and who drives where next season. PATO O'WARD: Under contract to McLaren in IndyCar, expected to test in F1 next season. ALEXANDER ROSSI: Signed to leave Andretti Autosport and join McLaren IndyCar lineup next season. It’s not for the public to know.”But will he drive for another IndyCar team if Palou takes his spot at McLaren?
wftv.comRosenqvist fights for job with pole-winning run at Indy
IndyCar Toronto Auto Racing Felix Rosenqvist, of Sweden, races to a third place finish during an IndyCar auto race in Toronto, Sunday, July 17, 2022. The Swede earned his second pole of the season with a run of 1 minute, 10.2265 seconds in Friday qualifying. It's the second pole of the season for Rosenqvist, who is making the case for keeping his ride in IndyCar with Arrow McLaren SP. Brown has four current IndyCar drivers signed — Rosenqvist, Pato O'Ward, Alexander Rossi and reigning champion Alex Palou — for three seats. O'Ward, who won Sunday at Iowa Speedway, qualified third and rushed to hug teammate Rosenqvist after Rosenqvist edged him for the pole.
wftv.comScott Dixon ties Mario Andretti with 52nd career IndyCar win
IndyCar Toronto Auto Racing Scott Dixon of New Zealand drives during qualifying at the 2022 IndyCar Toronto, in Toronto, Saturday, July 16, 2022. Dixon qualified second and spent the day running up front, despite creative fuel and tire strategies as teams jockeyed for track position early in the race. Dixon quickly opened a 2-second gap over Herta and the rest of the field and never relinquished it in cruising to his fourth win at Toronto, where IndyCar returned for the first time since 2019, and his 52nd win overall. Herta, who tested for McLaren in Formula 1 earlier in the week, finished second for Andretti Autosport. Sato has just one top 10 since the season opener at St. Petersburg during a difficult first year with Dale Coyne Racing.
wftv.comMcLaughlin picks up victory in front of his visiting parents
IndyCar Mid Ohio Auto Racing Scott McLaughlin, center, celebrates in Victory Circle after winning an IndyCar auto race at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio, Sunday, July 3, 2022. (AP Photo/Tom E. Puskar) (Tom E. Puskar)LEXINGTON, Ohio — (AP) — Scott McLaughlin on Sunday picked up his second career IndyCar victory, which may go down as one of the most special wins of his career. It took four to see their only son drive his Team Penske entry to victory lane. “I really wanted to get a win here with Mom and Dad,” said McLaughlin, who had won three consecutive V8 Supercars championships in Australia. Simon Pagenaud won the last IndyCar race held in Canada before a two-year pandemic pause.
wftv.comIndyCar's depth creating plenty of unpredictable outcomes
Ericsson is second in the standings – three points behind leader Will Power – heading into Sunday's race at Road America. Scott McLaughlin won the opener at St. Petersburg, Pato O'Ward won at Barber and Colton Herta won on the Indianapolis road course. But he won his first pole since 2019 in qualifying and is trying Sunday at Road America to end his drought. This will be de Silvestro’s first IndyCar start of the season and 70th of her career. It will mark the first time Road America has been repaved since between the 1994 and 1995 seasons.
wftv.comEricsson's 500 win helps fuel Swedish momentum in IndyCars
(AP Photo/Michael Conroy) (Michael Conroy)INDIANAPOLIS — (AP) — Felix Rosenqvist sensed Swedish race fans started following IndyCars earnestly again in 2019. Marcus Ericsson's Indianapolis 500 victory will only fuel the momentum. After becoming the second 500 winner from Sweden, Ericsson's homecoming later this summer could be fit for a king. “I don’t think you realize yet what this means for your career, but you will find out in time.”While Ericsson's victory sweeps Sweden, it's a boon for the series, too. That could open the door to even more Swedes as Ericsson's 500 win gives him IndyCar's top spot as the new points leader.
wftv.comINDY DAY 2: Chips, dip and paper boats on washout day
When they realized they were missing Juan Pablo Montoya, Rosenqvist summoned the third Arrow McLaren SP driver for the Indianapolis 500 to the motorhome for chips and dip. That was the most excitement on Day 2 of preparations for the 106th running of the Indy 500. Wilson couldn't participate in Tuesday's veteran session because he'd yet to pass a refresher test required to run the Indy 500 on May 29. His effort is with friend Don Cusick, who debuted Cusick Motorsports in last year's Indy 500 with Wilson. Because I was certain that ticket was going to win,” Lundgaard said.
wftv.comIndyCar and Texas try to save relationship with strong race
IndyCar Texas Auto Racing Rinus Veekay passes Alexander Rossi on the fourth turn during the first practice round of the IndyCar Series auto race at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas on Saturday, March 19, 2022. Texas has hosted IndyCar since the track opened in 1997 but its existing contract, done by Eddie Gossage, who retired as general manager last year, expires after the race Sunday. But the bigger problem is a track reconfiguration and accommodations done for NASCAR made Texas a poor fit for IndyCar. Jimmie Johnson, the winningest driver at Texas with seven wins in NASCAR, qualified 18th in his IndyCar oval debut. Haas was the worst team in F1 last year but Magnussen qualified seventh in Bahrain for the season-opening race.
wftv.comFelix Rosenqvist earns much-needed pole at slick Texas track
IndyCar Texas Auto Racing Rinus Veekay passes Alexander Rossi on the fourth turn during the first practice round of the IndyCar Series auto race at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas on Saturday, March 19, 2022. Jimmie Johnson, the all-time winningest driver at Texas with seven wins in NASCAR, qualified 18th in his IndyCar oval debut. For Rosenqvist, it was his second career pole since joining IndyCar in 2019. It makes a high line that is far too slick and dangerous for the IndyCar drivers. Very few drivers dared to even coast into the second lane during Saturday morning practice.
wftv.comIndyCar and Texas try to save relationship with strong race
IndyCar's long relationship with Texas Motor Speedway is at a crossroads headed into the 35th race at the track that has always embraced the open-wheel series. Texas has hosted IndyCar since the track opened in 1997 but its existing contract, done by Eddie Gossage, who retired as general manager last year, expires after the race Sunday. IndyCar was up against the NCAA Tournament being played 30 minutes away from the Fort Worth track, but there also was a noticeable lack of promotion or activation in the fifth-largest market in the country.
news.yahoo.comNewgarden wins Long Beach pole in tight IndyCar title race
LONG BEACH, Calif. — (AP) — The IndyCar championship race tightened ahead of the Grand Prix of Long Beach after a messy qualifying session put contenders Alex Palou and Pato O’Ward in the middle of the pack. Josef Newgarden, a distant third in the standings but still mathematically in the mix for the title, seized the opportunity and won the pole for Sunday’s season-ending race. His cushy lead and incredible consistency this season have O’Ward and Newgarden both admitting they need near-miracles to deny Palou the crown. O’Ward was furious and believed some ahead of him should have been penalized, which would have advanced him into the final qualifying round. “But I doubt I'll get an explanation.”Palou sat atop his pit box with his Chip Ganassi Racing team and watched the final qualifying shootout.
wftv.comAskew gets call from old team as emergency replacement
(AP Photo/Paul Sancya) (Paul Sancya)DETROIT — (AP) — Oliver Askew, like most race car drivers, never goes to a track without his helmet — one never knows when a team might need an emergency driver. So he was ready when Arrow McLaren SP needed a replacement for Felix Rosenqvist on Sunday at the Raceway at Belle Isle Park. Rosenqvist was hospitalized following a violent crash a day earlier; Askew drove 12 races last year in the No. Arrow McLaren SP has been vague on what caused Rosenqvist to crash at what the driver estimated to be 100 mph into a tire barrier. Arrow McLaren SP said only that an investigation of the crash "eliminated driver error or any issues related to Chevrolet systems and software, including involving the throttle system.
wftv.comRosenqvist hospitalized after crash into wall at Belle Isle
IndyCar Detroit Auto Racing Felix Rosenqvist races during the first race of the IndyCar Detroit Grand Prix auto racing doubleheader on Belle Isle in Detroit Saturday, June 12, 2021. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya) (Paul Sancya)DETROIT — (AP) — Felix Rosenqvist was hospitalized overnight following a wall-smashing crash Saturday early in the IndyCar race on Belle Isle. The throttle appeared to stick in Rosenqvist's car as he entered the sixth turn at the Raceway at Belle Isle Park. “I hear he’s OK after that nasty crash,” Ericsson said. “I heard about that incident in the Euros, that was very scary when we had the news just before the race,” Ericsson said.
wftv.comRosenqvist in hospital after crash into wall at Belle Isle
IndyCar Detroit Auto Racing Felix Rosenqvist races during the first race of the IndyCar Detroit Grand Prix auto racing doubleheader on Belle Isle in Detroit Saturday, June 12, 2021. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya) (Paul Sancya)DETROIT — (AP) — Felix Rosenqvist was taken to a Detroit hospital following a wall-smashing crash Saturday early in the IndyCar race on Belle Isle. The throttle appeared to stick in Rosenqvist's car as he entered the sixth turn at the Raceway at Belle Isle Park. He seemed to struggle to catch his breath, and IndyCar's safety team placed Rosenqvist in a neck brace while extricating him. Billows added that IndyCar's preliminary evaluation did not reveal any “muscular or skeletal damage.”___More AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/apf-AutoRacing and https://twitter.com/AP_SportsCopyright 2021 The Associated Press.
wftv.comIndyCar back in St. Pete seven months later to finish season
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – IndyCar opened the second week of March giddy to finally start its season. The entire industry left St. Pete in March unsure how IndyCar could survive. Yet here IndyCar is, back on the St. Pete streets preparing to crown a champion in Sunday's season finale. Now this cruel 2020 season closes right back at St. Pete, the only street course to survive the schedule disruptions and where it all fell apart in March. Askew missed two races but returned for St. Pete, his final race in another unpopular firing by Arrow McLaren.
Dixon's struggles open door to Newgarden for IndyCar title
(AP Photo/Darron Cummings)INDIANAPOLIS – Scott Dixon looked invincible in the first half of this IndyCar season. Now, the Iceman needs everything he can muster to clinch his sixth IndyCar title. And Dixon hasn't just completed every lap of every race this season, he's led in points every day of this strange, abbreviated season. As always, the (IndyCar) points title comes down to the last race." If Dixon does claim the title, he and Foyt both would have won their sixth crowns at age 40.
NASCAR champ Johnson enamored with IndyCar after test
In this image provided by Jimmie Johnson Racing II, Inc., Seven-time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson poses with an IndyCar during testing with Chip Ganassi Racing on the road course at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Tuesday, July 28, 2020, in Indianapolis. Johnson is interested in competing in the IndyCar Series when he retires from full-time NASCAR competition at the end of this season. (Jimmie Johnson Racing II, Inc. via AP)Jimmie Johnson finally fulfilled his childhood dream of driving an Indy car with a test session Tuesday. When the seven-time NASCAR champion finished turning laps, he was sold on figuring out how to race next year in the IndyCar Series. He also noted that his IndyCar future is contingent on finding sponsorship and hoped a successful first test will spark conversations about funding.
Dixon, Ganassi out to continue IndyCar domination in Iowa
The IndyCar series will welcome fans for the first time of the year during the REV Group Grand Prix doubleheader Saturday and Sunday, July 11-12, at Road America in Plymouth, Wisconsin. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings, File)NEWTON, Iowa Few people can appreciate the level of success that Chip Ganassi Racing drivers Scott Dixon and Felix Rosenqvist have had during the IndyCar team's pandemic-challenged 30th anniversary season more than Tony Kanaan. Then consider the 45-year-old Kanaan sees the 39-year-old Dixon in the gym almost every day, each pushing each other to stay fit and young. Dixon went on to win his third straight race after triumphs at Texas and on the road course at Indianapolis. All of it will take place Friday, with the first lap determining where drivers start in the opening race and the second lap where they start the second.
Postponed Indy 500 puts short-track drivers in spotlight
A fan watches as cars practice on a short dirt track at Gas City I-69 Speedway, Sunday, May 24, 2020, in Gas City, Ind. The roaring engines and flying dirt pellets briefly brought Gas City I-69 Speedway back to life Sunday. Seventy-five miles away, the Indianapolis 500 was devoid of a crowd, the singing of Back Home Again in Indiana," even A.J. I went to my first Indianapolis 500 in 1969, and I love the 500," track promoter Jerry Gappens said. We're not the Indianapolis 500 but at least we have racing and that's a good sign."