OLIVER ASKEW

Alex Palou earned the first pole of his IndyCar career and put himself in position to reclaim the championship lead headed into Sunday’s race at Portland International Raceway.

Josef Newgarden has earned the pole position for Sunday’s IndyCar race at Road America as he attempts to help Team Penske earn its first win of the season.

Ed Carpenter isn’t comfortable as a team owner putting too many restrictions on his drivers — not even a breakout young star thick in the championship race.

Rinus VeeKay was on a 75-mile training ride when he lost control of his bicycle, flew over the handlebars and landed so hard on his left shoulder that the impact also cracked his helmet.

(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.

Oliver Askew got a late call from former team Arrow McLaren SP to be the replacement driver for Felix Rosenqvist in Sunday's IndyCar race at Bell Isle.

The start-and-stop uncertainty of this IndyCar season has not bothered Pato O'Ward, leader of a young fleet of drivers new to the series but capable of keeping up with the veterans. Had the pandemic not decimated the IndyCar schedule, O'Ward might have built some momentum to have already earned his first series win. O'Ward was entered in one Formula 2 race then Red Bull moved him to Japan's Super Formula category. They asked me to come to Austria like five, six days before the race," O'Ward said. Sam Schmidt's race team had been overhauled via a partnership with McLaren, and McLaren boss Zak Brown moved fast to grab O'Ward.

Two-time and defending champ Josef Newgarden, who won the second race of the Iowa doubleheader, has yet to turn 30. Pagenaud, who like Newgarden drives for Team Penske, won the first Iowa race on Friday night. The natural ebb and flow of sports dictates there must be a wave of youngsters waiting to replace them. Not surprisingly, Ferrucci was fired by his Trident Racing team. Take the doubleheader this weekend, where Herta and VeeKay were in contention Friday night before a caution flag waved.