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.

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.

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.

IndyCar Nashville Auto Racing Christian Lundgaard comes through a turn during a practice session for the Music City Grand Prix auto race Saturday, Aug. 6, 2022, in Nashville, Tenn. Grosjean qualified second for Andretti Autosport, which had three drivers eliminated in the first round of qualifying. Lundgaard was a career-best third for Rahal Letterman Lanigan, which advanced all three of its drivers to the top 12. Lundgaard overcame a penalty in the second round and locked a tire in the final round and still managed to qualify third. Prior to Herta's spin, Andretti Autosport rookie Devlin DeFrancesco also spun to bring out a yellow that chewed up three of the 10 scheduled minutes in the qualifying group.

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.

IndyCar Iowa Auto Racing Will Power, of Australia, drives during practice for an IndyCar Series auto race Friday, July 22, 2022, at Iowa Speedway in Newton, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall) (Charlie Neibergall)NEWTON, Iowa — (AP) — Will Power swept both poles for the IndyCar doubleheader at Iowa Speedway to move within one of Mario Andretti's all-time record. The Iowa haul put Power at 66 poles for his career; Andretti's record is 67 poles. I was thinking about them all season,” Power said. ___More AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing and https://twitter.com/AP_SportsCopyright 2022 The Associated Press.

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.

(AP Photo/Darron Cummings) (Darron Cummings)LEEDS, Ala. — (AP) — Rinus VeeKay led an upset in IndyCar qualifying to position himself to race for the win at Barber Motorsports Park. The first round on Saturday bounced both Will Power, a two-time winner at Barber, and six-time IndyCar champion Scott Dixon. It's a track that Penske drivers have dominated — Josef Newgarden leads all active drivers with three wins at Barber and goes into Sunday on a two-race winning streak. ROSSI REBOUNDThe Andretti cars were clearly fast through practices but suffered a serious setback when Rossi destroyed his car in a Saturday morning crash. Crew members from all four of Andretti's teams were thrashing away, and after qualifying fifth Rossi acknowledged the organization saved his weekend.

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

Rinus VeeKay led an upset in IndyCar qualifying to position himself to race for the win at Barber Motorsports Park. The Dutchman was the surprise pole-winner for Sunday's race following a qualifying session that saw most of IndyCar's top names fail to advance through the rounds. The first round on Saturday bounced both Will Power, a two-time winner at Barber, and six-time IndyCar champion Scott Dixon.

IndyCar Testing Auto Racing Alexander Rossi, left, and Delvin Defrancesco look at pit lane before testing at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Thursday, April 21, 2022, in Indianapolis. Instead, drivers raced toward the top of the speed chart on a busy second and final day of testing on the historic 2.5-mile oval. Thirty-one of the 32 drivers entered in the Indianapolis 500 next month participated with speeds topping out above 229 mph. Everyone wanted to see whether track officials solved the warmup lane problem that caused three race winners to spin and led to two crashes Wednesday. NASCAR officials red-flagged the race so track workers could remove the curbing before the 200-mile race was completed.

Jimmie Johnson posted the fastest lap of his career Thursday.

Jimmie Johnson posted the fastest lap of his career Thursday as IndyCar drivers got back to work Thursday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Boles said track workers spent five hours dragging tires through the apron in hopes of providing more grip.

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 Texas Auto Racing Rinus Veekay passes Alexander Rossi on the fourth turn during the first practice round of the IndyCar Series auto race at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas on Saturday, March 19, 2022. Texas has hosted IndyCar since the track opened in 1997 but its existing contract, done by Eddie Gossage, who retired as general manager last year, expires after the race Sunday. But the bigger problem is a track reconfiguration and accommodations done for NASCAR made Texas a poor fit for IndyCar. Jimmie Johnson, the winningest driver at Texas with seven wins in NASCAR, qualified 18th in his IndyCar oval debut. Haas was the worst team in F1 last year but Magnussen qualified seventh in Bahrain for the season-opening race.

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.

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. Texas has hosted IndyCar since the track opened in 1997 but its existing contract, done by Eddie Gossage, who retired as general manager last year, expires after the race Sunday. IndyCar was up against the NCAA Tournament being played 30 minutes away from the Fort Worth track, but there also was a noticeable lack of promotion or activation in the fifth-largest market in the country.

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

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — (AP) — Scott McLaughlin circled qualifying as the area he had to improve upon in his second season of IndyCar. McLaughlin beat Team Penske teammate Will Power, one of the best qualifiers in series history, to win the pole Saturday for the season-opening race through the downtown streets of St. Petersburg. The pole is the first for McLaughlin, who moved from racing supercars in Australia to IndyCar last season, but never got the results he expected. “I know it’s only qualifying, but I love qualifying,” McLaughlin said. Grosjean's car actually drove under Sato, who took the seat that Grosjean vacated at Dale Coyne Racing after one season in IndyCar.

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.

MADISON, Ill. — (AP) — The IndyCar championship flipped leaders Saturday night when Alex Palou was collected in a three-car accident that included teammate Scott Dixon. The Spaniard quickly picked his way through the field and was up to 10th on a restart just 65 laps into the 260-lap race. But he tapped the rear of six-time and reigning champion Scott Dixon, causing Dixon to spin up the track in a crash that collected VeeKay, Palou and Dixon. With Palou out early at Gateway, the 22-year-old Mexican was in position to take the points lead at the end of the race. “It was very important to me to get a pole,” said Power, who isn't convinced he can catch Andretti's mark.

It pushed Power past Bobby Unser and Helio Castroneves. “It was very important to me to get a pole,” said Power, who isn't convinced he can catch Andretti's mark. Pato O'Ward, who trails championship leader Alex Palou headed into Saturday's night race outside of St. Louis, qualified fifth. Palou qualified 12th but will actually start 21st because of a nine-spot penalty for an unapproved engine change. It's the third unapproved engine change this season for Palou and second this month.

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.

The Australian, who started second, beat Romain Grosjean by 1.1142 seconds for his first win of the season. “Finally, finally,” Power shouted on the radio after crossing the yard of bricks and ending a 13-race victory drought. Grosjean, the Swiss-born driver from France who won the pole in the season's other road race at Indy, matched his second-place finish from May's race on the same course. After being the first driver onto pit row just 10 laps into the race, Dixon wound up finishing 17th in a race that had only two yellow flags. UP NEXTThe series returns to action next Saturday in suburban St. Louis — its third straight race weekend since taking a one-month break.

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.

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.

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

(AP Photo/Darron Cummings) (Darron Cummings)INDIANAPOLIS — (AP) — Scott Dixon ran to the top of the board in the final practice before the Indianapolis 500 and called it a day with 45 minutes remaining in the session. “Hopefully it runs this good in the race,” Dixon said after his lap at 228.323 mph put the six-time IndyCar champion in control of Friday’s practice. That’s it, it’s over.”Rain disrupted the traditional “Carb Day” practice but IndyCar was able to get cars on track for almost two hours later Friday afternoon. Seeing the struggles, not him, but the team are going through for qualifying pace,” Dixon said. Conor Daly, meanwhile, was fourth fastest on the day in yet another strong showing for Ed Carpenter Racing.

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

The 2018 Indy 500 winner will be one of five drivers vying for the final three spots in the field Sunday when qualifying is completed. Power's struggles were the worst of a Team Penske group that has lagged behind the competition all week at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Power had qualified in the first three rows of the Indy 500 in 11 of the last 12 years. “For sure that Penske thing is weird.”Scott McLaughlin, the IndyCar rookie making his Indy 500 debut, was fastest among the Penske drivers at 17th. I’ve been in this position enough times before,” said Carpenter, a three-time Indy 500 pole-winner.

IndyCar Indy 500 Auto Racing Will Power of Australia climbs into his car during practice for the Indianapolis 500 auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Tuesday, May 18, 2021. Experience mattered once again, and a trio of former Indianapolis 500 winners led the way. Simon Pagenaud, Scott Dixon and Tony Kanaan, all former Indy 500 winners, were sixth, eighth and 10th on the speed chart, while two-time winner Juan Pablo Montoya ranked 12th in his first Indy 500 practice since 2017. “And you know, we'll see.”The changing of the guard in the IndyCar Series is happening at breakneck speed with three first-time race winners this season and four winners aged 24 or younger. There was a strong first strike from Hunter-Reay, an Indy 500 winner and past series champion who is off to a terrible start to the season.

The kids were at last quieted when Indianapolis Motor Speedway opened for practice. Experience mattered once again, and a trio of former Indianapolis 500 winners led the way. Will Power ran 226.470 miles per hour Tuesday in a Chevrolet for Team Penske, followed next by Ryan Hunter-Reay and Takuma Sato.

Then a caution with two laps remaining at Charlotte Motor Speedway cluttered Elliott's clear path to the win and gave Keselowski an opening. Now Keselowski returns to Charlotte Motor Speedway for a Wednesday night race and a shot at consecutive victories. That was the situation we were put in.Both Keselowski and Busch could empathize with Elliott's heartbreak at Charlotte. Keselowski spoke with Elliott as the two switched spots in front of a laptop during the post-race Zoom media availability. But Elliott's team has been the most consistent late in races and Wednesday brings another chance for the driver to finally get his first win of the season.

His Hendrick Motorsports team bounced back with a competitive Chevrolet in the 600 that Elliott drove to the front late in the race. Theres no other choice.KESELOWSKI SHOWS HIS WORTHA Daytona 500 victory is the only crown jewel race Keselowski is missing on his resume. "I hope to continue to compete at a very high level and be able to win races for a long time. Weve got a race win at a major on a team thats really just starting to click together. I hope it does because this is my 30th win at the Cup level with Team Penske.

FILE - This May 26, 2019, file photo shows Simon Pagenaud, of France, celebrating after winning the Indianapolis 500 IndyCar auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, in Indianapolis. The Indy 500 has been rescheduled for Aug. 23, 2020, and won't be run on Memorial Day weekend as scheduled for the first time since its return in 1946. On Sunday, he'd chase a second straight Indianapolis 500 victory. Instead, he is spending the Memorial Day weekend quietly at home, far away from deafening engines and roaring crowds. Fans just might park around Indianapolis Motor Speedway this weekend and celebrate their annual traditions anyway.