Dixon still in IndyCar title fight despite Indy 500 gaffe
Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Marcus Ericsson instead won the race and, because the Indy 500 is worth double points, Ericsson was suddenly thrust into the IndyCar championship race. But if Dixon had not been speeding, he'd have maybe scored the win, or at minimum finished higher than 21st. Ericsson received 109 points for the victory; Dixon earned just 33 in a crushing disappointment that may have ultimate implications on the championship. “It's great to talk about after your accomplishments, but I've got six, I don't have seven,” Dixon told AP. They view Team Penske as a three singular efforts with the only team orders being that the best driver wins.
wftv.comPenske's Will Power in tight title fight with no team orders
But there are plenty of Power fans — and probably Power himself — who believe the Australian could have had some breathing room in this title fight had Team Penske done him any favors. Power definitely did not have a car as good as McLaughlin's, but challenger Dixon was closing fast behind him in both the race and title fight. If Team Penske had called for “team orders” and asked McLaughlin to cede the lead to Power, he'd have 10 additional points over Dixon and Newgarden. The call Dixon considered a “no-brainer” never came and now Power must finish no lower than third to clinch the title. Team Penske has weaved through the team orders issue since Sunday at Portland, while Dixon admits that Chip Ganassi Racing races with the greater organization in mind.
wftv.comWill Power ties Mario Andretti's IndyCar pole record at 67
MADISON, Ill. — (AP) — IndyCar points leader Will Power won the pole for the Saturday night race at World Wide Technology Raceway and tied Mario Andretti for series pole record. In all, 11 drivers remain mathematically eligible to win the championship with three races remaining. Power's fourth pole of the season was the one he's been chasing since 2020, when he finally realized that Andretti's mark was within reach. But now that Power has tied the record, he's turning his attention solely toward the championship fight. Newgarden is the defending race winner and 22 points behind Power in the standings in fourth.
wftv.comDixon eyes record-tying 7th championship after Nashville win
More important, Dixon jumped to second in the points standings and trails series leader Will Power by six points with three races remaining. O'Ward came to Nashville fifth in the standings but dropped to seventh and likely out of the championship picture with a 24th-place finish. But like teammate Dixon, Ericsson had a poor qualifying effort and struggled to come through the field from 18th. He'll enter the Xfinity Series race on The Roval at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Oct. 8, driving for Big Machine Racing. Andretti is coming off the championship in the second season of Tony Stewart's Superstar Racing Experience all-star series.
wftv.comRested Newgarden seeking IndyCar lead at home in Nashville
Newgarden is passionate about IndyCar in Nashville and last year packed his schedule with pre-race appearances to promote the event debut. The guayule natural rubber is located within the sidewall. Bridgestone race tire engineers decided to use the guayule rubber in the entire sidewall because that area is made up of the most natural rubber. This allows Firestone to maintain the same quality and performance as the existing race tire. Bridgestone plans to incorporate guayule natural rubber into more of its race tires starting in 2023.
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.comNewgarden continues Penske dominance at Iowa with 4th win
IndyCar Iowa Auto Racing Will Power, of Australia, drives during an IndyCar Series auto race, Saturday, July 23, 2022, at Iowa Speedway in Newton, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall) (Charlie Neibergall)NEWTON, Iowa — (AP) — Josef Newgarden extended the Team Penske dominance at Iowa Speedway, winning the first race of a weekend doubleheader Saturday for his fourth victory at the shortest track on the IndyCar schedule. Newgarden raced to his series-best fourth victory of the season and moved from fourth to second in the tight IndyCar championship fight. Indianapolis 500 winner Marcus Ericsson finished eighth and had his lead in the standings sliced to 15 points over Newgarden. Alas, he faded to 11th in the closing sequence as only five drivers finished on the lead lap.
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.comRossi fastest at Road America to earn first pole since 2019
Rossi will start from the pole Sunday at Road America, site of his last IndyCar Series victory 44 races ago on June 23, 2019. We’ll enjoy it, but we’ve got a job to do.”The American became the eighth different pole winner through eight qualifying sessions, the most parity since 1961 for IndyCar. There were nine different pole winners that season. Simona de Silvestro, making her first start of the season, qualified 27th and last in the field as she adapts to her first IndyCar road course race since 2015. We’re not doing anything different,” Rossi said.
wftv.comIndyCar silly season swings into Belle Isle's final race
Indycar Indy 500 Auto Racing Marcus Ericsson, of Sweden, poses for pictures on the observation desk of the Empire State Building in New York, Tuesday, May 31, 2022. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig) (Seth Wenig)DETROIT — (AP) — The milk has barely been washed out of Indianapolis 500 winner Marcus Ericsson’s firesuit and the IndyCar season has gone wild. Belle Isle was a doubleheader the last eight years and Ericsson won on Saturday last season, with O'Ward winning on Sunday. It is just a single Sunday race this weekend, the final time the event will be held on Belle Isle. A speeding penalty on pit road decimated Dixon's shot at a second Indy 500 victory after he'd dominated nearly the entire build-up to the race.
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.comSweden's Ericsson gives Ganassi another Indy 500 victory
IndyCar Indy 500 Auto Racing Marcus Ericsson, of Sweden, celebrates after winning the Indianapolis 500 auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Sunday, May 29, 2022. “Moved here, put my whole life into trying to become an IndyCar and mainly Indianapolis 500 champion. Ericsson is the first Swede to win the Indy 500 since Kenny Brack in 1999 and the second in 106 runnings of the race. Johnson finished 28th in his Indy 500 debut. So, you know, we were lucky to have five good cars and five good drivers.”___More AP Indy 500 coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/indianapolis-500 and https://twitter.com/AP_SportsCopyright 2022 The Associated Press.
wftv.comSwedish driver Ericsson gives Ganassi another Indy 500 win
IndyCar Indy 500 Auto Racing Marcus Ericsson, of Sweden, makes a pit stop during the Indianapolis 500 auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Sunday, May 29, 2022. (AP Photo/AJ Mast) (AJ Mast)INDIANAPOLIS — (AP) — Marcus Ericsson had to leave Formula One to become a global superstar — a goal achieved Sunday when the Swedish driver won the Indianapolis 500. It is the fifth Indy 500 victory for team owner Chip Ganassi, who caught a ride to the victory podium on the side of Ericsson's car. Ericsson is the second Swede to win the Indy 500 in 106 runnings, joining 1999 winner Kenny Brack. ___More AP Indy 500 coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/indianapolis-500 and https://twitter.com/AP_SportsCopyright 2022 The Associated Press.
wftv.comEricsson takes Indy GP's top spot amid start time change
IndyCar Indianapolis Auto Racing Marcus Ericsson, of Sweden, heads into the first turn during practice for the IndyCar auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Friday, May 13, 2022. He qualified 18th for Saturday's race, which will start about 30 minutes earlier than originally scheduled. Race organizers moved the start time because of the possibility of late afternoon rain. Ericsson eclipsed rookie Callum Illot late in the session, breaking what had been Chevrolet's dominant performance in Friday's qualifying. ___More AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing and https://twitter.com/AP_SportsCopyright 2022 The Associated Press.
wftv.comNewgarden passes McLaughlin in final turn to steal Texas win
Indy Car Texas Auto Racing Racers vie for position at the beginning of the NTT IndyCar Series XPEL 375 at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas, on Sunday, March 20, 2022. (AP Photo/Larry Papke) (Larry Papke)FORT WORTH, Texas — (AP) — Josef Newgarden used the nonexistent high line to pass Scott McLaughlin in the final turn at Texas Motor Speedway and steal the IndyCar race his teammate had dominated. The Sunday win gave Team Penske back-to-back victories to open the season and 600 overall wins across all its platforms. It's jeopardized the future of IndyCar at Texas, which has hosted the series since 1997 and its existing contract expired Sunday. It was the highest IndyCar finish for Johnson, a seven-time NASCAR champion and the all-time winningest driver at Texas with seven wins.
wftv.comNewgarden passes McLaughlin in final turn to steal Texas win
Roger Penske met Josef Newgarden in victory lane with six crisp hundred dollar bills to gift the race winner. Newgarden used the nonexistent high line to pass Scott McLaughlin in the final turn Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway and steal the IndyCar race his teammate had dominated. It was the 600th overall victory for Roger Penske across all of his platforms.
news.yahoo.comErratic driving upends IndyCar's championship race
Alex Palou stood in the darkened infield watching a replay of the crash that had knocked him out of the final oval event of the season and, consequently, swallowed the last of his lead in the IndyCar standings. The rest of the field roared on without him Saturday night at World Wide Technology Raceway after Palou was caught in a three-car accident triggered by yet another sketchy restart. Sloppy racing and botched restarts have been a problem all season in IndyCar — remember, eventual race winner Marcus Ericsson drove up and over Sebastien Bourdais even before the field got to the restart line at Nashville earlier this month — and a rash of impatient and overaggressive driving has jumbled the championship fight.
news.yahoo.comMusic City launches a smash hit event in IndyCar return
With apologies to Detroit, Music City morphed into Motor City as IndyCar stormed into town and proved again downtown streets and bridges and zipping around NFL stadiums are where the series needs to race. IndyCar drivers were treated as celebrities almost on par as the country music stars that call the city home wherever they went -- and they were seemingly everwhere. James Hinchcliff rode his electric scooter to the track every day and was called out by fans on the sidewalk. “These were race fans. The Cup Series had not raced in the Nashville area since 1984 when the last premier series event was held at Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway.
wftv.comEricsson soars to victory in inaugural Music City Grand Prix
The 30-year-old Swede won as darkness fell in Nashville with six-time IndyCar Dixon making a late run. But Ericsson got a break when Herta clobbered his car into the tire barriers with five laps left, ending his dominant weekend. He was gaining on Ericsson and had a potential go-ahead pass on the horizon when he crushed his car. Johnson destroyed his car in the morning practice session for his second wreck of the weekend and was forced to use a backup car. The team fields cars this season for Pato O’Ward, who was second in the points standings headed into Sunday’s Music City Grand Prix, and Felix Rosenqvist.
wftv.comNewgarden snaps streak on 50th anniversary of 1st Penske win
Josef Newgarden snapped his streak of late race misfortunes to win for the first time this season, earning the first IndyCar victory of the year for Team Penske on the same weekend the storied organization celebrated the 50th anniversary of its first win.
Ericsson scores 1st IndyCar win at action-packed Belle Isle
IndyCar Detroit Auto Racing Marcus Ericsson, right, of Sweden, celebrates with team owner Chip Ganassi after winning 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) — Marcus Ericsson raced to his first IndyCar victory Saturday in the action-packed opener of the doubleheader at the Raceway at Belle Isle Park. The Swede became the seventh driver to win through seven IndyCar races this season, and he's the fourth first-time winner this year. The seven different winners through seven races ties an IndyCar record set in 1958 and matched in 2000 and 2017. Ericsson benefitted from the second red-flag stoppage, this one with six laps remaining when Romain Grosjean crashed in Turn 9.
wftv.comPostponed 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."