MARIO ANDRETTI

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.