MARIO ANDRETTI

Daniel Suárez became the first Mexican-born driver to win a NASCAR Cup Series race on Sunday on Sonoma Raceway.

Marco Andretti eased into semi-retirement after the 2020 season and now races only the Indianapolis 500 for his family-owned team.

Colton Herta stopped an early slide, overcame two late pit stops and eventually pulled away from Simon Pagenaud on Saturday to win the wild, wacky and wet IndyCar Grand Prix.

IndyCar Indianapolis Auto Racing Scott McLaughlin, of New Zealand, drives into the second turn during practice for the IndyCar auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Friday, May 13, 2022. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy) (Michael Conroy)INDIANAPOLIS — (AP) — Will Power used the final lap of qualifying Friday to move past five drivers and take the pole for the IndyCar Grand Prix. "But I’m not surprised that it’s Will on the pole.”Two-time race winner Josef Newgarden, Power's teammate, starts third after limiting himself to one hard lap in the third and final qualifying group. FRUSTRATING DAYNobody was more upset about their qualifying position than defending race winner Rinus VeeKay or six-time series champ Scott Dixon. Before Saturday's race, the 22-year-old emerging star will turn laps in IndyCar's two-seat car piloted by 1969 Indianapolis 500 winner Mario Andretti.

Will Power used the final lap of qualifying Friday to leapfrog five other drivers and win the pole for the IndyCar Grand Prix.

By the time Sunday's race began, he felt a lot better about his chances of returning the Andretti name to F1. The Andretti effort to field an American team was the talk of F1's first-ever race in Miami. Andretti maintains he's committed to a true effort, and argues an American team with an American driver can only add to F1's financial worth. “A very credible racing team with a credible brand, with the right resources, I think is additive to the sport,” Brown said. “An American team will directly generate interest in the U.S., and therefore, revenue,” Rossi said.

Michael Andretti spent his weekend at the inaugural Miami Grand Prix attempting to drum up support for his bid to expand the Formula One grid for an American team.

Ferrari stormed to the front of the grid for the inaugural Miami Grand Prix as Formula One championship leader Charles Leclerc and teammate Carlos Sainz Jr. locked up the front row in Saturday qualifying.

It’s been 40 years since Formula One last ventured into Sin City for back-to-back Las Vegas races staged in the parking lot of the Caesars Palace hotel.

Michael Andretti has filed an application with the FIA to field a Formula One team starting in 2024.

Jarett Andretti carved his own path in motorsports alongside his father, where the two began in sprint cars with aspirations to build a bigger program they could take to the next level. John Andretti and his son eventually set their sights on sports cars and building a program that would someday race in the Rolex 24 at Daytona. Jarett Andretti started from the pole Saturday in the LMP3 class and held the lead for roughly three hours before turning the car over to his teammate.

Foyt and Al Unser embraced their fierce competition on the racetrack. “So sad to hear about the passing of Al Unser SR," Michael Andretti wrote on Twitter. Al Unser Jr. won the 500 twice and they were the first father-son tandem to reach victory lane at Indianapolis. Like Al Unser, Andretti competed against his son, and like Al Unser Jr., Michael Andretti also competed against other family members including his own son, Marco. “I remember we were in Springfield, Illinois, and Michael, Jeff (Andretti) and Al Jr. were playing in the mud as kids.

Mario Andretti and A.

Mario Andretti, A.J. Foyt and Al Unser embraced their fierce competition on the racetrack. When Little Al was absent from Indy during the IRL-CART split, his two cousins — Johnny and Robby — kept the family tradition intact by making seven Indy starts before Unser Jr. returned in 2000.

Al Unser, one of only four drivers to win the Indianapolis 500 a record four times, died Thursday following years of health issues.

Before he headed onto the track for the biggest race of his career, Kyle Larson heard Mario Andretti praise him as one of the most well-rounded drivers in all of motorsports.

(AP Photo/Darron Cummings) (Darron Cummings)AUSTIN, Texas — (AP) — The red-hot rivalry between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton returned to the race track with a flip of the finger and an insult. It was mere minutes into the second practice when Verstappen and Hamilton found themselves side-by-side entering the long straight at the starting grid. But even without Herta there still may be an American driver on the way. Williams said Friday it signed 20-year-old Logan Sargeant to its driver development academy after three seasons in Formula 3. F1 hasn’t had an American driver since Alexander Rossi’s brief stint with Manor at the end of 2015.

The IndyCar Series speeds into its season finale at Sunday riding a myriad of gains that have America's top open-wheel series feeling confident about its future.

Josef Newgarden is the toast of Nashville.

There was a special gathering in Indianapolis this week: Helio Castroneves, A.

The Indianapolis 500 has welcomed back 135,000 fans, the most at any sports event in the world since the pandemic began 18 months ago.

The Indianapolis 500 will open its gates to 135,000 spectators on Sunday for the largest sports event since the start of the pandemic.

Scott Dixon was bothered all weekend with clogged ears and sinuses but didn't let it bother him when it came time to qualify for the Indianapolis 500.

IndyCar Indy 500 Auto Racing Will Power, of Australia, waits in the pit area for his car during practice for the Indianapolis 500 auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Friday, May 21, 2021. His spot in the Indianapolis 500 was at stake and Power, one of the greatest qualifiers in IndyCar history, was not going to miss the show. The 2018 Indianapolis 500 winner was one of five drivers fighting for a spot in the final row of the May 30 race. A Team Penske car never should have been on the bubble, and yet on Sunday, Power desperately tried to avoid becoming the first Roger Penske driver sent home from the Indy 500 since 1995. Indy 500 qualifying at its worst.”___More AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Will Power saved Roger Penske from embarrassment at Indianapolis Motor Speedway by locking his car into the Indianapolis 500 field.

Team Penske had an uncharacteristically slow first day of Indianapolis 500 qualifying and Will Power will have to avoid being bumped from the 33-car field when the lineup is finalized.

Three-time Indianapolis 500 winner Bobby Unser has died.

Kyle Busch celebrated his 36th birthday by winning a two-lap sprint to the finish at Kansas Speedway.

Colton Herta has rebounded from a first-lap crash in the IndyCar season opener to win the pole on the downtown streets of St. Petersburg.

Mario Andretti is not unlike so many others around the world touched by the coronavirus pandemic.

Scott Dixon opens the IndyCar season in search of the motorsports milestone mark of seven championships.

Newgarden won the season finale, using a spectacular two-car pass for the lead in a valiant effort to win a second consecutive title. Dixon has won two of the last three championships, a run interrupted last year when Newgarden won his second title. Newgarden tied Dixon with his series-best fourth win of the season but Newgarden was in too large of a hole to catch his rival. It came to a close in front of a sold-out 20,000 spectators, the largest crowd of the season for IndyCar. There was nothing Newgarden could do, even on a day he did everything he had to, to deny Dixon a sixth championship.

(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.

INDIANAPOLIS – Will Power will start from the pole Saturday at Indianapolis after posting the fastest lap in morning qualifying. It's his fifth pole this season and the 61st career pole, which is second all-time behind Mario Andretti (67). “We made a lot of changes last night," Power said, explaining he was not satisfied with Friday's car. And when Newgarden won Friday's race , with Dixon finishing ninth, the lead was trimmed to 40 points with two races remaining. “It will take more horsepower we'll use more in these conditions, where as in July it would have been easy to do a two-stop race," Power said.

FILE - 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. Jimmie Johnson will transition from NASCAR to IndyCar with Chip Ganassi Racing in a partnership that could pair two of the most dominant drivers of this generation on one team. (Jimmie Johnson Racing II, Inc. via AP, File)CHARLOTTE, N.C. Jimmie Johnson will transition from NASCAR to IndyCar with Chip Ganassi Racing in a partnership that could pair two of the most dominant drivers of this generation on one team. If funding is secured, Johnson would be teammates with five-time IndyCar champion Scott Dixon. Both were instrumental in piquing Johnson's interest in IndyCar and Dixon assisted Johnson at the July test.

Sato held off Dixon last Sunday for his second Indy 500 victory in four years. Dixon had 20 laps to chase Sato down, but a late caution ended the race under yellow. Sato returned to the track in third, passed O'Ward with a bold outside move then set his sights on Dixon. Dixon beat Sato by 0.1404 seconds for his fourth win of the season and 50th overall and praised his Chip Ganassi Racing team. That was a textbook Scott Dixon race.

Marco Andretti sits in his pit box before the start of qualifications for the Indianapolis 500 auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Sunday, Aug. 16, 2020. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)INDIANAPOLIS Marco Andretti has won the pole for the Indianapolis 500 in a lightning-fast first step toward snapping the infamous Andretti Curse at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Mario Andretti won his third and final pole for the Indy 500 in 1987, when grandson Marco was an infant. Mario Andretti scored the only Indy 500 win for the family in 1969; Michael Andretti fell short in 16 tries and the Aug. 23 race will be Marco Andretti's 15th attempt. Andretti will sit on the front row alongside two former Indy 500 winners.

Race driver Scott Dixon, of New Zealand, celebrates with the trophy after winning the IndyCar auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Saturday, July 4, 2020. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)INDIANAPOLIS Scott Dixon finally made his second trip to Indianapolis Motor Speedway's victory lane. Dixon finished runner-up in each of the last three races on the track's 14-turn, 2.439-mile road course. It's so good to be standing here, racing at Indianapolis Motor Speedway," Dixon said after pumping his fist in a mostly empty and silent renovated winner's circle. Otherwise, it was a relatively easy drive for Dixon, whose 48 IndyCar wins rank third behind A.J.

In this photo provided by Chris Owens/INDYCAR Series, Scott Dixon, left, jumps off his car toward team owner Chip Ganassi as the two celebrate Dixon's IndyCar auto race win at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas, Saturday, June 6, 2020. (Chris Owens/INDYCAR Series via AP)FORT WORTH, Texas FORT WORTH, TexasThrough all of the uncertainty and unknowns after more than eight months since the last IndyCar race, Scott Dixon and another pair of former champs relied on their experience for podium finishes. NBC Sports said Sunday that the Saturday night prime-time telecast drew nearly 1.3 million viewers, making it the most-watched IndyCar race outside the Indianapolis 500 on any network since 2016. It was the biggest audience for an NBC telecast of any IndyCar race away from the Brickyard. I mean, it felt like a normal IndyCar race to me.