WILL POWER

The long and unpredictable NASCAR season comes to an end Sunday with a championship race fitting for a year that saw unprecedented parity and never a clear title favorite.

Ross Chastain skyrocketed to motorsports infamy for wall-riding his way into NASCAR’s championship race with a video-game style move that has overshadowed the finale and his fellow title contenders.

Colton Herta has signed a four-year contract extension with Andretti Autosport that ties the American racer to the IndyCar team through 2027.

Will Power won his second IndyCar championship on Sunday with a third-place finish at Laguna Seca Raceway.

Scott Dixon knows IndyCar’s tightest championship race in nearly 20 years would have probably been long decided if not for a rare gaffe by The Iceman in the Indianapolis 500.

What’s 10 points worth.

The FIA is reportedly considering offering American driver Colton Herta an exemption to receive the Super License he needs to compete in Formula One.

David Malukas put on a show Saturday night in IndyCar's final oval race of the season.

Will Power has tied Mario Andretti for the most poles in IndyCar series history.

Jimmie Johnson added ovals to his IndyCar schedule this season and the circuits have been his strength.

Scott Dixon passed Mario Andretti for second on IndyCar’s all-time win list with a victory Sunday in the messy Music City Grand Prix.

Scott McLaughlin won the second pole of his IndyCar career in rain-delayed qualifying for the Music City Grand Prix.

Josef Newgarden finished a disappointing 10th in the debut Music City Grand Prix on the downtown streets of his Nashville hometown.

Alexander Rossi snapped a 49-race losing streak that dated all the way back to the 2019 IndyCar season by winning at one of his favorite tracks.

Felix Rosenqvist continues to fight for his seat in the IndyCar Series with a pole-winning run on the road course at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Josef Newgarden kept the focus simple all week.

Josef Newgarden collapsed in the motorhome lot following his late crash Sunday at Iowa Speedway and was taken to a Des Moines hospital by helicopter for evaluation.

Josef Newgarden extended the Team Penske dominance at Iowa Speedway, winning the first race of a weekend doubleheader for his fourth victory at the shortest track on the IndyCar schedule.

Will Power swept both poles for the IndyCar doubleheader at Iowa Speedway to move within one of Mario Andretti’s all-time record.

Scott McLaughlin has picked up his second career IndyCar victory, which may go down as one of the most special wins of his career.

The IndyCar championship race faces a major shakeup at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, where the top title contenders struggled and Pato O’Ward won the pole to match a series mark set in 1961.

Josef Newgarden earned a $1 million bonus that rewards his versatility by winning on Sunday at Road America.

Competitive balance has defined the opening portion of this IndyCar season.

Alexander Rossi won the pole for Sunday’s race at Road America as he tries to snap a 44-race victory drought at the track where he earned his last victory.

Joey Logano jockeyed for the lead with Kyle Busch in overtime, got around him for good just before the white flag flew and cruised to the victory Sunday in the NASCAR Cup Series debut at World Wide Technology Raceway.

Will Power closed the Belle Isle era with a Team Penske victory on Sunday by winning the final Detroit Grand Prix on the island park to reclaim the IndyCar points lead.

NASCAR is still alive and well in Charlotte.

IndyCar officials will spend the next few days collecting information and gathering advice about improving aeroscreen visibility for races held in the rain.

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.

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

Alexander Rossi destroyed his car in Saturday morning practice at Barber Motorsports Park.

Jimmie Johnson posted the fastest lap of his career Thursday.

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.

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.

Scott McLaughlin got his first IndyCar Series victory in the season-opening race through the downtown streets of St. Petersburg, Florida.

Helio Castroneves considers the IndyCar opener in St. Petersburg among his favorite races.

Roger Penske picked up a third Daytona 500 win last weekend on his 85th birthday.

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.

The IndyCar championship flipped leaders Saturday night when Alex Palou was collected in an early three-car accident that moved Pato O’Ward to the point following O’Ward’s runner-up finish to winner Josef Newgarden at World Wide Technology Raceway.

AJ Allmendinger took advantage of two frightening multi-car crashes, the leader getting spun out and a penalty — all in the last five laps — to win the Brickyard 200.

Will Power took the lead early Saturday, then watched it shrink over the final half of the race before holding on to win another Indianapolis Grand Prix.

Marcus Ericsson survived the perilous city streets of Nashville on Sunday and won the inaugural Music City Grand Prix.

IndyCar may have a hit on its hands if the first few days were an indicator of the enthusiasm from fans and drivers of the race.

Josef Newgarden is the toast of Nashville.

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.

IndyCar will celebrate Independence Day in the middle of Ohio.

Alex Palou sailed past Josef Newgarden with two laps remaining Sunday to win at Road America and reclaim the IndyCar points lead.

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.

Pato O’Ward has become IndyCar’s first repeat winner of the season by charging through the field on a final restart to snatch the victory away from Josef Newgarden at the Raceway at Belle Isle Park.

Marcus Ericsson raced to his first IndyCar victory Saturday in the action-packed opener of the doubleheader at the Raceway at Belle Isle Park.

Jimmie Johnson is struggling at the Raceway at Belle Isle Park, which is just his second career street course and fourth career IndyCar race.

Scott Dixon was again atop the leaderboard for the final practice before the Indianapolis 500.

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 slammed the brakes on IndyCar’s current youth movement by winning his fourth Indianapolis 500 pole by a mere 0.03 seconds in qualifying.

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.

A trio of Indianapolis 500 winners led opening day of practice and temporarily silenced the sudden youth movement.

Alex Palou and Will Power will start on the front row for the IndyCar Series' first oval race this season.

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.

Alex Palou scored his first career IndyCar victory in his debut race with Chip Ganassi Racing by winning the series opener at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama.

Pato O'Ward set a track record at Barber Motorsports Park to win the pole for the IndyCar season-opening race.

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

FILE - Roger Penske looks over the track from the grandstand at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, in this Thursday, July 2, 2020, file photo. There will be fans at this year's Indianapolis 500, Penske said Monday, March 22, 2021, but how many remains a moving target based on pandemic restrictions. (AP Photo/Jenna Fryer, File)A fully vaccinated Roger Penske is hard at work at Indianapolis Motor Speedway preparing for a full season of racing that will include spectators at his showcase event. There will be fans at this year's Indianapolis 500, Penske said Monday, but how many remains a moving target based on COVID-19 restrictions. Penske noted Monday that the positivity rate for COVID-19 for Marion County, where Indianapolis Motor Speedway is located, was 3.1%.

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.

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.

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.

RICHMOND, Va. – Brad Keselowski entered NASCAR's playoffs certain he has as good a chance at the Cup championship as favorites Kevin Harvick and Denny Hamlin. His confidence was correct as Keselowski indeed won Saturday night at Richmond, the second playoff race, and advanced into the second next round. Harvick, the title favorite, won last week’s opener to earn the automatic berth into the second round. Harvick, Hamlin and Keselowski are the only drivers locked into the next round of the playoffs. Harvick finished seventh.

The Pagoda is seen before a practice session for the Indianapolis 500 auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Saturday, Aug. 15, 2020, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)INDIANAPOLIS Andretti Autosport claimed the top of the speed chart midway through Indianapolis 500 qualifying, with former race winners Ryan Hunter-Reay and Alexander Rossi leading a strong Honda showing. Teammate Hunter-Reay was waiting on pit lane to make his run when Rossi radioed feedback from his four laps. Hunter-Reay made a quick adjustment then bumped Rossi with a qualifying run of 231.330 mph. We knew we had the speed, Hunter-Reay said.

Scott Dixon, of New Zealand, pulls out fo the pits during a practice session for the Indianapolis 500 auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2020, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)INDIANAPOLIS Scott Dixon, already off to a tremendous start to the IndyCar season, quickly set the pace on the first day of practice for the Indianapolis 500. Dixon turned a lap of 224.047 mph (360.57 kph) around Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the two-hour session for veterans. He has won the Indy 500 once in his career. The day was scheduled to conclude with a 150-minute open practice session.

Josef Newgarden leads Will Power, of Australia, right, during the IndyCar Series auto race, Saturday, July 18, 2020, at Iowa Speedway in Newton, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)NEWTON, Iowa Josef Newgarden led nearly wire-to-wire Saturday night to win the IndyCar race at Iowa Speedway, giving team owner Roger Penske a sweep of the doubleheader and his fourth victory across three series this weekend. Team Penske has 13 drivers completing in five series across two continents this weekend. The two Penske entries in the IMSA race at Sebring struggled earlier Saturday. The veteran driver did the same thing in Race 1, leaving black marks on the wall about 30 yards apart.

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.

IndyCar Rev Group Grand Prix winner Alexander Rossi enters Victory Lane Sunday, June 23, 2019, at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wis. Road America allowed fans back in for its events starting last month. Fans this weekend will get temperature checks at gates and receive masks and hand sanitizer as they enter. The only drivers to open an IndyCar season with at least three straight victories are A.J. Drivers believe the Road America course wont be as grueling with all of its straightaways despite its 14 turns.

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.

FILE - In this June 10, 2017, file photo, Will Power, of Australia, pumps his fist as he crosses the finish line under yellow to win an IndyCar auto race at Texas Motor Speedway, in Fort Worth, Texas. IndyCar is getting ready for an all-in-one-day season opener on the fast track in Texas, more than 2 months after drivers were set to roll on the streets of St. Pete. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez, File)FORT WORTH, Texas Scott Dixon, Alexander Rossi and the rest of the IndyCar drivers were in sunny Florida around spring break ready to start the season. Instead of the streets of St. Pete, the pandemic-delayed season will get started at the fast 1 1/2-mile track in Texas with an all-in-one-day opener. Practice, qualifying and the 200-lap race will be held Saturday, the same day that IndyCar has chartered planes to carry teams back and forth between Indianapolis and Texas Motor Speedway.