Josef Newgarden ruled the streets of St. Pete Sunday afternoon in IndyCar’s season opening race, leading 92 of the 100 laps to secure his third St. Pete win and first street course win for Team Penske after Penske went winless on street courses in 2023.
Josef Newgarden takes third St. Pete victory
Rest of race recap
Full race results/points standings
3 min read
Newgarden converted his pole starting position to an over seven second lead over runner up Pato O’Ward come the checkered flag, with the win only ever looking in doubt when the No. 2 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet machine lost three spots on pit road during the first pit stop cycle of the day but quickly gained them back and the lead after the restart.
Josef Newgarden and his No. 2 Chevrolet Team Penske team celebrate winning the 2024 GP of St. Pete (Photo by Joe Skibinski/Penske Entertainment)
Newgarden said: “I had a lot of fun today. I think it’s so deserving for the work they (Team Penske) put in. We’ve worked really hard to close the gap. We didn’t have the speed we needed on road and street courses last year, at least on a consistency basis, and today we brought that speed.”
It was Newgarden’s 30th IndyCar Series win, passing Team Penske legend Rick Mears for 13th on the all-time IndyCar Series wins list.
Team Penske and Chevrolet have appeared to have got their street course package back on track, with all three Penske cars finishing in the top five with 2022 St. Pete winner McLaughlin finishing third and two-time St. Pete winner Will Power finishing fourth.
Last year Honda won all five street course races. Sunday saw Andretti Global’s Colton Herta, who won the 2021 edition of the race, be the highest finishing Honda in fifth.
Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward was Newgarden’s closest contender throughout the race, keeping Newgarden within two seconds of him until the final twenty laps where he extended it to an eight second lead while O’Ward had to drive with his rearview mirrors to keep the late charging McLaughlin and Power behind to hold on to the runners up position.
Josef Newgarden leads with Pato O’Ward giving chase (Photo by Joe Skibinski/Penske Entertainment)
O’Ward said: “I think it’s a very solid foundation to what is going to be a very tight, very competitive rest of the year.”
Power and McLaughlin, on the softer alternate tyre were able to charge down O’Ward despite the No. 5 Arrow McLaren driver being on the harder primary tyre. Power had yet to take the alternate green lined tyre before his final pit stop, so as per IndyCar rules of having to run at least two laps on each tyre compound, Power was forced to take the softer tyre.
Rest of race recap
Josef Newgarden and Felix Rosenqvist led the 27-car field to green with Newgarden comfortably leading the opening stint.
The start of the St. Pete GP (Photo by Joe Skibinski/Penske Entertainment)
Chip Ganassi Racing’s Marcus Armstrong brought out the first caution of the race on lap 26 when he locked up his No. 11 Ridgeline Honda in turn 10 slamming it into the outside tyre wall, taking himself out of the race.
Sting Ray Robb brought out the second of three cautions on lap 35 when he parked his No. 41 A.J. Foyt Enterprises Chevrolet in the turn one escape road. Christian Lundgaard who had inherited the lead after not pitting during the previous caution due to pitting earlier in the race for a puncture, handed the lead back to Newgarden, who had raced past Rosenqvist and Herta to work back up to second prior to the caution.
Last year’s St. Pete winner Marcus Ericsson had to retire early from the race on lap 53 due to a mechanical failure. Ericsson had been running seventh before the failure.
Romain Grosjean’s late lunge on rookie Linus Lundqvist for 12th place on lap 68 saw the caution fly again as Lundqvist went spinning into the turn 10 outside tyre wall.
Lundqvist’s Chip Ganassi Racing team was able to replace his rear wing but would finish the race three laps down. Grosjean would later retire with gearbox failure after completing his drive through penalty for avoidable contact.
The next event is The $1 Million Challenge, a special, non-points race at 12:30 p.m. ET Sunday, March 24 at The Thermal Club near Palm Springs, California.
Full race results/points standings
Josef Newgarden 54
Pato O’Ward 40
Scott McLaughlin 35
Will Power 32
Colton Herta 31
Alex Palou 28
Felix Rosenqvist 26
Alexander Rossi 24
Scott Dixon 22
Rinus VeeKay 20
Santino Ferrucci 19
Kyle Kirkwood 18
Callum Ilott 17
Kyffin Simpson 16
Pietro Fittapaldi 15
Graham Rahal 14
Tom Blomqvist 13
Agustin Canapino 12
Jack Harvey 11
Christian Lundgaard 10
Christian Rasmussen 9
Colin Braun 8
Rinus Lundqvist 7
Romain Grosjean 6
Marcus Ericcson 5
Sting Ray Robb 5
Marcus Armstrong 5
Featured Image: Josef Newgarden celebrates winning the 2024 GP of St. Pete (Photo by Chris Jones/Penske Entertainment)
The traditional NTT IndyCar Series season opener, the Grand Prix of St. Pete in Florida, gets underway this Sunday with a 27-car grid including five rookies, with Josef Newgarden and Felix Rosenqvist locking out the front row for Sunday’s 100-lap race.
Start of the 2023 GP of St. Pete (Photo by Chris Jones/Penske Entertainment).
Race preview/qualifying
Full qualifying results
3 min read
IndyCar returns to St. Petersburg, Florida for it’s season opener in what will be the 21st running of the Grand Prix of St. Pete; a 100-lap, 180 mile race around the streets of downtown St. Pete and the Albert Whitted Airport with the race starting at 12pm ET/4pm UK time.
The 14-turn temporary street circuit never fails to bring the action as last year’s race was won in the final laps as Pato O’Ward’s car temporarily lost power, allowing Marcus Ericsson to drive by and take the checkered flag three laps later.
Marcus Ericsson leads Pato O’Ward in the 2023 GP of St. Pete (Photo by Chris Jones/Penske Entertainment)
Saturday’s qualifying saw Team Penske’s two-time St. Pete winner Josef Newgarden put his No. 2 PPG Chevrolet on pole with a 59.5714 second lap.
Newgarden said: “I get jacked up every time I show up for an IndyCar race. This is a rockstar team.”
One of Newgarden’s main goals for the 2024 season was to secure a pole position, It is Newgarden’s third St. Pete pole, having gone without a pole in the 2023 season, last being on pole for the 2022 Detroit Grand Prix at Belle Isle.
Josef Newgarden in the No. 2 PPG Chevrolet for Team Penske at St. Pete (Photo by Joe Skibinski/Penske Entertainment)
Felix Rosenqvist, now racing for Meyer Shank Racing after being replaced at Arrow McLaren, joins Newgarden on the front row, having done a 59.5772 lap.
Rosenqvist said: “We don’t want to get carried away; the race is a different challenge. But we had a feeling from practice, from rolling off the truck, and that’s great.”
Rosenqvist broke the track record in the Group of 12 qualifying session with a lap of 59.2706 to advance to the Firestone Fast Six, beating Will Power’s 59.3466 lap in the Group of 12 session in 2022.
Six-time IndyCar champion Scott Dixon could only manage an 11th starting place. Dixon is still winless at St. Pete after 19 previous attempts.
Will Power also failed to make the fast six, with an eighth-place effort. Power had secured nine of the last 14 poles at St. Pete, also being a two-time winner, winning in 2010 and 2014, with Newgarden winning the 2019 and ’20 race respectively.
Tom Blomqvist was the best of the rookies, qualifying 17th with a lap time of 59.9968, driving for Meyer Shank Racing
Graham Rahal, Colton Herta, Scott McLaughlin, and Marcus Ericsson also have wins at St. Pete; 2008, 2021, 2022, and 2023 respectively.
Different for this years’ race is the turn three repave, removing heavy bumps that means drivers can now go flat out through the corner.
Also different is the use of lighter chassis components on the cars including a new 3D-printed titanium aeroscreen top frame, saving seven pounds, as well as the switch to a magnesium gearbox casing and bellhousing. This is all in preparation for the arrival of the 2.2-litre twin-turbocharged V6 engines with hybrid technology this summer.
Catch the 2024 Grand Prix of St. Pete on Sunday at 12pm ET/4pm UK time.
Full qualifying results
Josef Newgarden
Felix Rosenqvist
Pato O’Ward
Colton Herta
Romain Grosjean
Marcus Ericsson
Rinus VeeKay
Will Power
Scott McLaughlin
Marcus Armstrong
Scott Dixon
Christian Lundgaard
Alex Palou
Santino Ferrucci
Alexander Rossi
Callum Ilott
Tom Blomqvist (R)
Kyle Kirkwood
Linus Lundqvist (R)
Agustin Canapino
Christian Rasmussen (R)
Graham Rahal
Kyffin Simpson (R)
Sting Ray Robb
Colin Braun (R)
Pietro Fittipaldi
Jack Harvey
Featured Image: 2023 GP of St. Pete (Photo by Chris Owens/Penske Entertainment)
Ryan Blaney made the sweep happen for Team Penske for the first time with both United States crown jewel races on Memorial Day Weekend, the Indy 500 and Coca-Cola 600 being won by Team Penske. Blaney led 163 of the 400 laps of Monday’s rain-delayed Coca-Cola 600, won stage three, and took the chequered flag to end a 59-race drought, claiming his eighth Cup Series win.
Blaney victorious
William Byron one-place short
Kyle Larson spins
Elliott hooks Hamlin
Rest of race recap
Full race results
Points standings
CONCORD, NORTH CAROLINA – MAY 29: Ryan Blaney, driver of the #12 BodyArmor Cherry Lime Ford, takes the checkered flag to win the NASCAR Cup Series Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 29, 2023 in Concord, North Carolina. (Photo by Logan Riely/Getty Images)
Blaney said: “I might shed a tear. You start to get to feel like you can’t win anymore when you don’t win in a while. It kind of gets hard. So just super thankful to the 12 guys for believing in me. What a weekend with Newgarden and Roger winning at Indy and us winning the 600. I mean that’s just so cool.”
Blaney had to fend off a series of late race cautions and a fast Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron with Blaney lining up alongside Byron with 20 laps to go for what was the final restart, finishing the race over half a second in front.
Ryan Blaney, driver of the #12 BodyArmor Cherry Lime Ford, celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 29, 2023 in Concord, North Carolina. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
Blaney replicated fellow Team Penske teammate Josef Newgarden’s celebration from Sunday’s Indy 500, where Josef Newgarden passed reigning Indy 500 champion Marcus Ericsson on the backstretch in a one-lap shootout, by leaping into the crowd in the frontstretch grandstand to take in the moment with the fans.
Ryan Blaney, driver of the #12 BodyArmor Cherry Lime Ford, celebrates with fans after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 29, 2023 in Concord, North Carolina. (Photo by Logan Riely/Getty Images)
Blaney’s dad, Dave Blaney, only ever NASCAR national series win came at Charlotte Motor Speedway in the Xfinity Series in 2006. His dad joined Ryan in victory lane.
William Byron one-place short
Byron after being up front all race long, including leading 91 laps and winning stage one, comes up one place short. Byron had the edge in the first stage and regained the lead several times under yellow throughout the race thanks to a fast pit crew and No. 1 pit stall but Blaney’s short run speed was better overall, getting by Byron for the final time inside of 30 laps to go.
Ryan Blaney, driver of the #12 BodyArmor Cherry Lime Ford, William Byron, driver of the #24 Liberty University Patriotic Chevrolet, and Chase Briscoe, driver of the #14 Mahindra Tractors Ford, race during the NASCAR Cup Series Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 29, 2023 in Concord, North Carolina. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
Byron said: “Really happy for Ryan. He really deserves it. He’s a good dude. Cool to see him get a win. The car was great tonight. Just not quite good enough. Pit crew was phenomenal on pit road. Just needed a little bit more.”
Larson’s bid for a second Coca-Cola 600
Kyle Larson, who attended Sunday’s Indy 500 with Tony Kanaan’s Arrow McLaren IndyCar team, after completing his IndyCar test, in preparation for his 2024 Indy 500 effort, found himself out of contention when on lap 375, he spun coming off turn two taking out himself, Ty Gibbs, who had a career day running inside the top 10 for much of the second half of the race, Christopher Bell and others, ending his chances of winning his second Coca-Cola 600 again.
Larson after being in the mid-pack in the early going had been inside the top five in the latter stages of the race prior to his spin. Larson’s crash set up the final 20 lap green flag run.
Chase Elliott hooks Denny Hamlin
Deep into the second stage of the 600 Chase Elliott hooked Denny Hamlin in the right rear sending him hard into the wall on the frontstretch at speeds over 150mph in retaliation to Hamlin squeezing Elliott into the wall for consecutive laps, ending both their races and leading Chase Elliott to being given a one race ban by NASCAR on Tuesday.
Denny Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 Sport Clips Haircuts Toyota, spins after an on-track incident with Chase Elliott during the NASCAR Cup Series Coca-Cola 600 (Photo by David Jensen/Getty Images)
Elliott, who needs a win to make the playoffs, due to being out of action for several weeks due to a fractured tibia from snowboarding earlier in the season, claimed he had lost steering of his car after hitting the wall.
Hamlin later in the race posted telemetry on social media showing that Elliott’s steering had not been damaged in any way meaning he had complete control of where to aim his race car implying he had been intentionally taken out.
A similar incident occurred last year at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, between Bubba Wallace and Kyle Larson when, following Laron squeezing Wallace into the turn four wall, Wallace turned down into Larson’s car at high speed on the frontstretch taking both cars out of the race with Wallace physically showing his displeasure to Larson out of the car also. Wallace received a one race ban.
It is not the first time Hamlin and Elliott have have ran into each other as in 2017, Hamlin dumped Elliott in the playoff race at Martinsville.
Rest of race recap
After qualifying was rained out, William Byron based on having the highest average score determined by championship position, last week’s race finishing position, and fastest lap, led the field to green on a grey filled sky afternoon at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
William Byron, driver of the #24 Liberty University Patriotic Chevrolet, leads the field to the green flag to start the NASCAR Cup Series Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 29, 2023 in Concord, North Carolina. (Photo by Logan Riely/Getty Images)
Seven-time Cup Series champion and Legacy Motor Club co-owner Jimmie Johnson, who was making his second start of the season, was running 25th but lost control of his No. 84 Chevrolet coming off turn two deep into stage one sending his car to the garage.
His Legacy Motor Club teammates Erik Jones, who was running inside the top-15, and Noah Gragson, both hit a piece of debris at the end of stage one, that punctured their radiators, sending them to the garage, taking them out of contention for having a solid points day.
William Byron just held off Christopher Bell and Ryan Blaney to win stage one.
There was a temporary stop to the race after a rain shower swept through the area bringing out the red flag. A quick cleanup with the jet driers and racing resumed.
Late in stage two but prior to Elliott’s incident with Hamlin, Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski got together coming out of turn two bringing out the caution. Busch spun out but would recover quickly finding himself in the top by stage three.
Chris Buescher took over the lead with eight laps to go in stage two and went on to win stage two.
Ryan Blaney won stage three but Byron leapfrogged Blaney on pit road to reclaim the lead for the start of the final stage. Blaney took the lead back on the restart.
Drivers pit during the NASCAR Cup Series Coca-Cola 600 (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
With less than 80 laps to go, Tyler Reddick, who was running inside the top five, performed a phenomenal save coming off turn four after the car got away from under him.
Halfway through the final stage, Kevin Harvick, in his final full-time season, brought out a caution after spinning out off turn four before getting it straightened it out. Kyle Larson had just passed Busch for second.
Inside of 50 laps to go, Stenhouse Jr. shot Allmendinger up the track in turn 4 up into Logano sending Allmendinger for a spin and made light contact with Harrison Burton. Logano grazed the wall.
Toyota’s took the rest of the top five spots with Joe Gibbs Racing’s Martin Truex Jr, the 2019 Coca-Cola 600 winner finishing third, and 23XI Racing in Bubba Wallace and Tyler Reddick finishing fourth and fifth.
The next race for the NASCAR Cup Series is the Enjoy Illinois 300 race at World Wide Technology Raceway this Sunday with the green flag flying at 3:30pm ET.
Bubba Wallace, driver of the No. 23 Dr Pepper Strawberries & Cream Toyota, Harrison Burton, driver of the No. 21 DEX Imaging Ford, and Aric Almirola, driver of the No. 10 Smithfield Ford, race during the NASCAR Cup Series Coca-Cola 600 (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
Featured Image: Ryan Blaney, driver of the #12 BodyArmor Cherry Lime Ford, celebrates after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 29, 2023 in Concord, North Carolina. (Photo by Logan Riely/Getty Images)
Will Power ran an intelligent race allowing title rival and teammate Josef Newgarden past on lap 46, settling for third place in the race to ensure locking up the championship by 16 points while Álex Palou stormed out to a 30 second lead over Newgarden by the end to win the Firestone Grand Prix at Laguna Seca.
Will Power managing his race (Photo by Joe Skibinski/Penske Entertainment)
Will Power led the opening 14 laps before a roulette of strategies began playing out on pit road. Palou took the lead away from Power on lap 27 while Newgarden squeezed past Power for second heading into the corkscrew on lap 46.
In the closing stages a train of cars threatened to undo Power’s championship hopes with Arrow McLaren SP’s Felix Rosenqvist leading it but Power held on and created enough distance to ward off any threat and take the last spot on the podium and earn his second IndyCar championship.
Will Power (front) running 2nd trying to hold off Felix Rosenqvist, Pato O’Ward and Josef Newgarden in the corkscrew (Photo by James Black/Penske Entertainment)
Power post-race said: “I just knew I had to absolutely get the most out of those stints and not lose any more positions.”
The 41-year-old Australian won just one race this season, that being the final Detroit Grand Prix at Belle Isle compared with championship runner up Josef Newgarden’s five wins but his 12 top-five finishes, being three more than any other driver, bolstered him to his second NTT IndyCar Series championship, giving Team Penske their 17th IndyCar championship.
Roger Penske (left) and Will Power (right) celebrating Team Penske’s 17th IndyCar Championship and Power’s 2nd (Photo by Chris Owens/Penske Entertainment)
Power speaking to NBC said: “I had to drive the thing today. It was on the edge, very loose. Man, what a relief. What a relief to get that done.”
Will Power won his first championship in 2014 also with Team Penske.
Will Power celebrating his second NTT IndyCar Series Championship with the Astor Cup trophy (Photo by James Black/Penske Entertainment)
Newgarden did nearly all he could to steal the championship away from Power on the final weekend but a crash in qualifying saw him start 25th compared to Power taking his 68th pole position, gaining a bonus championship point, and surpassing Mario Andretti’s record for all-time poles.
Newgarden started off aggressive gaining five positions on the opening lap before going long and switching to the softer red tyre that saw him move all the way up to seventh by lap 34. On pit strategy, Newgarden briefly took the lead for a few laps on lap 69 when Palou pitted but could not match Palou’s overall pace.
Post-race Newgarden said: “Even yesterday, with the heartache there, we came back, we fought, and we nearly got there. I’m proud of the effort. We’re going to come back stronger next year.”
Josef Newgarden racing in the Firestone Grand Prix at Laguna Seca (Photo by James Black/Penske Entertainment)
Palou had blistering pace all race long but narrowly escaped trouble when leaving his pit box on his second stop as he scraped the rear of Rosenqvist’s car as he left his pit box.
IndyCar, despite it appearing to be an unsafe release, declared no action would be taken. This otherwise would have led to a penalty that could have unraveled Palou’s race. He had already overcome a six-place grid penalty for an unapproved engine change that saw him start the race 11th.
Apart from making contact with Rosenqvist on pit road, Palou seem unfazed that he was still being sued by his own team owner, unsure where he will be racing next year.
Palou had a 20 second lead over Newgarden with 20 laps to go and led 67 of the 95 laps in total to earn his fourth career win and first win of the season for Chip Ganassi Racing.
Álex Palou out front in the Firestone Grand Prix at Laguna Seca (Photo by Joe Skibinski/Penske Entertainment)
Palou said: “Today was awesome. Strategy was on point. It’s good to finish a season with a win. We had some power there and good fuel mileage.”
Álex Palou celebrating in victory lane with his team (Photo by Travis Hinkle/Penske Entertainment)
Palou’s and Power’s teammates and remaining championship contenders did not appear to have anything for them and Newgarden.
Dixon and Ericsson struggled to keep from dropping out of the top 15 and attempted to work their way up the order by going off strategy but Dixon found himself down in 23rd after pitting while Ericsson came out 15th just past the 30 lap mark.
Scott Dixon racing in the Firestone Grand Prix at Laguna Seca (Photo by Chris Owens/Penske Entertainment)
The same can be said for Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin as he found himself in 20th after pitting on lap 53 while Dixon was 24th.
Their strategy and pace did come to some fruition as McLaughlin, Ericsson, and Dixon found themselves nose to tail by lap 63 with McLaughlin playing defence for his Penske teammates up front.
Scott McLaughlin (left) keeping Scott Dixon (right) at bay (Photo by Travis Hinkle/Penske Entertainment)
By the end, McLaughlin impressively worked all his way up to finish sixth but not before having multiple scraps with Ericsson that saw the Swede take to the sand on multiple occasions. Ericsson also made an incredible save in the corkscrew after contact with Colton Herta. Ericsson finished ninth while Dixon finished 13th.
Dixon, McLaughlin, and Ericsson would finish third, fourth, and sixth respectively in the championship.
Dixon will have to wait to another year to attempt to become a seven-time IndyCar champion tying A.J. Foyt for the most championships, while McLaughlin has excelled in just his second season with three wins this year while Marcus Ericsson won this year’s Indianapolis 500, an outstanding achievement that has changed his life forever.
Scott McLaughlin travelling down the hill at the corkscrew (Photo by Travis Hinkle/Penske Entertainment)
Away from the championship battle, it was a bittersweet day for British rookie Callum Ilott who had qualified second for the race and for the opening laps held his position. He was still running inside the top 10 after the first stint but as he was leaving the pit exit he a mechanical failure and stopped just past the Andretti hairpin, ending his day and brought out the only full course yellow of the race on lap 39.
Will Power (front) and Callum Ilott (left behind Power) lead the field to green for the Firestone Grand Prix at Laguna Seca
It would be Denmark’s Christian Lundgaard who would be the highest finishing rookie in fifth. Lundgaard also wins the Rookie Of The Year competition finishing on 323 points, beating David Malukas by 18 points who finished 13th in the race.
Christian Lundgaard entering the corkscrew during the Firestone Grand Prix (Photo by Travis Hinkle/Penske Entertainment)
Jimmie Johnson had a breakout day for his IndyCar road course programme being competitive all race-long, including making aggressive passes in the corkscrew and would finish 16th.
Jimmie Johnson racing in the Firestone Grand Prix at Laguna Seca (Photo by Chris Owens/Penske Entertainment)
Full race results: 1st Álex Palou, 2nd Josef Newgarden, 3rd Will Power, 4th Felix Rosenqvist, 5th Christian Lundgaard, 6th Scott McLaughlin, 7th Romain Grosjean, 8th Pato O’Ward, 9th Marcus Ericsson, 10th Alexander Rossi, 11th Colton Herta, 12th Scott Dixon, 13th David Malukas, 14th Rinus VeeKay, 15th Devlin DeFrancesco, 16th Jimmie Johnson, 17th Simon Pagenaud, 18th Graham Rahal, 19th Helio Castroneves, 20th Jack Harvey, 21st Kyle Kirkwood, 22nd Simona de Silvestro, 23rd Takuma Sato, 24th Conor Daly, 25th Dalton Kellett, 26th Callum Ilott.
Top 10 in championship standings: 1st Will Power (560), 2nd Josef Newgarden (544), 3rd Scott Dixon (521), 4th Scott McLaughlin (510), 5th Álex Palou (510), 6th Marcus Ericsson (506), 7th Pato O’Ward (480), 8th Felix Rosenqvist (393), 9th Alexander Rossi (381), 10th Colton Herta (381).
Featured Image: Will Power and his No. 12 Team Penske celebrating the championship title with the Astor Cup trophy (Photo by Joe Skibinski/Penske Entertainment
Will Power put his Team Penske Verizon Chevrolet on pole in Friday afternoon’s qualifying session, tying Mario Andretti for most all-time IndyCar poles with 67.
With a two-lap average of 182.727 he cleared his championship rivals and Team Penske teammates for the top spot for Saturday’s Bommarito Automotive Group 500 at World Wide Technology Raceway and secured his fourth pole of the season.
Will Power qualifying (Photo by Sean Birkle/Penske Entertainment)
Power received the complementary bonus point for securing pole, giving him a now seven point championship lead over Scott Dixon with just three race remaining.
Speaking to NBC Power said: “This is a big victory for me, to reach the 67 number and equal such a legend of the sport in Mario Andretti. I just can’t believe that I’m right there with Mario because there’s been no one like him.”
It could very well have been Power’s teammate Josef Newgarden who would have taken his second pole of the season but a mistake in turns three and four on lap one causing him to downshift, meant he had to settle for only third with a two-lap average of 181.629.
On the radio Newgarden said, “I goofed the first one” and later said to NBC “I wish I could have a redo.”
Josef Newgarden discussing qualifying with his team (Photo by Chris Owens/Penske Entertainment)
Joining Power on the front row is 2022 Indy 500 winner Marcus Ericsson who also broke the 182mph mark with a 182.070 two-lap average after using all of the race track to do it.
Marcus Ericsson out on track (Photo by James Black/Penske Entertainment)
Power’s other teammate Scott McLaughlin qualified fourth. Ericsson’s teammates Palou and Dixon qualified fifth and sixth respectively.
It proved to be a frustrating qualifying for Arrow McLaren SP with Felix Rosenqvist spinning out on his qualifying attempt while Pato O’Ward felt he was too conservate on his.
Rosenqvist spun coming out of turn two on lap one in an effort to keep his car off the wall, and ended up tagging the inside tyre barrier before coming to a stop.
O’Ward qualified seventh with is first lap holding him back to a two-lap average of 180.303.
Takuma Sato impressively qualified eighth after the 2019 winner of the race, used up all of the race track saying he “had to pedal it” due to experiencing oversteer.
Takuma Sato qualifying (Photo by Sean Birkle/Penske Entertainment)
Romain Grosjean was the best of the Andretti Autosport cars qualifying ninth, continuing his good record at the track after a strong IndyCar oval debut at WWT Raceway last year.
Grosjean however has to take a nine-place grid penalty for Saturday’s race due to an unapproved engine change and will consequently start 18th.
A happy Romain Grosjean sat on the pit wall (Photo by Chris Owens/Penske Entertainment)
Andretti teammate Devlin DeFrancesco left off from where he did in practice and qualified 10th. Alexander Rossi qualified 11th. The last of the Andretti crew Colton Herta, had to contend with a wiggle in turns three and four on his qualifying run, resulting in a 12th starting spot.
The field of cars lined up on pit road readying to go out to qualify (Photo by Chris Owens/Penske Entertainment)
The Ed Carpenter Racing cars were uncharacteristically slow, with Conor Daly, Rinus VeeKay and Ed Carpenter qualifying 16th, 23rd and 25th respectively with Carpenter saying he was not happy with the setup of the car.
Jimmie Johnson only managed 21st after putting it down to needing more track time since he had not raced at the track since 2002 in the NASCAR Xfinity series, whereas at Texas and Iowa he had more experience and time to adjust to the track.
Jimmie Johnson out on track during practice (Photo by James Black/Penske Entertainment)
Full qualifying results: 1st Will Power, 2nd Marcus Ericsson, 3rd Josef Newgarden, 4th Scott McLaughlin, 5th Álex Palou, 6th Scott Dixon, 7th Pato O’Ward, 8th Takuma Sato, 9th Romain Grosjean, 10th Devlin DeFrancesco, 11th Alexander Rossi, 12th Colton Herta, 13th David Malukas, 14th Simon Pagenaud, 15th Jack Harvey, 16th Conor Daly, 17th Graham Rahal, 18th Hélio Castroneves, 19th Christian Lundgaard, 20th Kyle Kirkwood, 21st Jimmie Johnson, 22nd Callum Ilott, 23rd Rinus VeeKay, 24th Dalton Kellett, 25th Ed Carpenter, 26th Felix Rosenqvist.
Will Power and Marcus Ericsson will lead the field to green for the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 at WWT Raceway flies Saturday at 6pm ET.
Featured Image: Will Power celebrates earning the P1 Pole Award with his crew (Photo by Chris Owens/Penske Entertainment)
Josef Newgarden got ahead of polesitter Alexander Rossi in the first pit exchange on lap 16, partly due to Rossi getting held up by Newgarden’s teammate Scott McLaughlin as he came into his pit box as Rossi was attempting to leave. Newgarden then led the rest of the 55 lap race to win the Sonsio Grand Prix at Road America for the second time but and win the one million dollar PeopleReady Force for Good Challenge bonus, half of which would be going to Newgarden’s charities of choice.
It was not an assured victory though, as Rossi kept Newgarden honest throughout the stints until a five second gap had been made before pitting in what was a three-stop race for both drivers. In the final stint however Rossi had closed the gap to 2.8 seconds with eight to go.
Newgarden then had to manage two late race restarts after O’Ward’s engine failure and Castroneves’ 360 spin-and-stall brought out full course yellows. Newgarden’s last restart saw him get a big launch over Rossi and comfortably took the chequered flag for his third victory of the season.
The No. 2 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet of Josef Newgarden racing in the Sonsio Grand Prix (Photo by Chris Owens/Penske Entertainment)
Speaking to NBC’s Marty Snider in victory lane Newgarden said: “For me it’s just the best series in the world. I just love IndyCar.”
When Newgarden was asked about whether he feared he would lose the race on a late race restart like he did in 2017 and 2021 when Scott Dixon and Álex Palou won, Newgarden said he was focused on the road ahead and getting a good launch.
In just the first eight races in the 2022 NTT IndyCar Series championship, Newgarden has completed the PeopleReady Force for Good challenge by winning on each type of race track. To win the one million dollars, a driver had to win on a street course, an oval and a road course within the season.
Josef Newgarden celebrates with one millon dollar cheque (Photo by Chris Owens/Penske Entertainment)
Half of the money is being split between Newgarden’s two nominated charities, the SeriousFun Children’s Network and Wags and Walks Nashville.
Alexander Rossi would end up finishing third as on the final restart, Rossi would not get as good a launch as he had previously and Marcus Ericsson, the 2022 Indy 500 winner, would charge by him on the front straightaway and clear him going into turn one with three laps to go. Ericsson was unable to chase Newgarden down for the win.
Alexander Rossi leading at the start of the race (Photo by Chris Owens/Penske Entertainment)
Ericsson had got ahead of Rossi briefly on lap 17 after jumping him in the pit cycle before Rossi got back of ahead of him for second after he dipped wheels on the grass in the turn seven to eight straight.
Ericsson retakes over the championship lead from Will Power after finishing second with a total of 293 points. The runner up position did not come without drama though for Ericsson, as on a lap four restart, Ericsson made contact with Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Palou in turn three. As he went to the inside and turned in, he made contact with Palou’s left front tyre, braking the toe link, forcing the defending race winner out of the race.
Álex Palou stuck in the turn three sand after his toe link broke after contact with teammate Marcus Ericsson (Photo by James Black/Penske Entertainment)
Speaking with NBC’s Kevin Lee, Ericsson said he was really sorry to Palou but it was a “nice racing move” and that “it was a really good race, p2, great day for the championship.”
Marcus Ericsson running second behind Josef Newgarden (Photo by Chris Owens/Penske Entertainment)
Colton Herta would finish fifth, after running inside the top ten for nearly all of the race and coming through the field from 11th to 6th in the opening stint. With just over a lap to go, Herta had been all over the back of Rossi for third but slipped up in the final corners, allowing Romain Grosjean to get the run on him to take over fourth instead.
Colton Herta (left) and Romain Grosjean (right) battling side by side (Photo by Chris Owens/Penske Entertainment)
Will Power had a truly challenging race that began with Devlin DeFrancesco slamming into the back of him on lap eight as they headed towards turn three, spinning Power out and ended up losing his front wing as he hit the wall. Power was able to continue, and DeFrancesco received a stop-and-go penalty for the incident.
Power found himself at the back of the pack, and was only able to work his way up to a best of 18th before VeeKay shoved Power off in turn four with two laps to go, relegating him to 20th. Power came home 19th but only dropped one place in the championship, now 27 points behind Ericsson. Power maintained his more composed and mild-mannered approach to the 2022 season when NBC’s Marty Snider asked Power about DeFrancesco with Power saying: “he’s a young man.”
Arrow McLaren SP’s Felix Rosenqvist would finish an impressive sixth after completing an alternative fuel-saving two stop strategy. Rosenqvist chose to pit early under the second caution of the day that came out on lap nine for Power’s crash, and then stretched his stint until pitting on lap 26 with Graham Rahal also doing the same. With caution laps at the ending stage of the race, and 91 seconds of push to pass, Rosenqvist was able to hold sixth to the checkered flag. Rahal would finish eighth.
Felix Rosenqvist racing in the Sonsio Grand Prix (Photo by Chris Owens/Penske Entertainment)
Christian Lundgaard was the highest finishing rookie of the race in what proved to be a strong day for the Rahal Letterman Lanigan organization, with Rahal and Jack Harvey finishing 13th. The first half of the race saw Lundgaard gain several positions with good pace after starting 13th.
The start of the race like the end of the race saw multiple cautions, with Jimmie Johnson bringing out the first on the opening lap after Tatiana Calderón squeezed out Johnson on the run down to turn two as she came up behind her A.J. Foyt Racing teammate Dalton Kellett with Johnson spinning off into the grass. He was able to continue and finished 24th.
Jimmie Johnson going off in the sand (Photo by Chris Owens/Penske Entertainment)
The Sonsio Grand Prix was the first IndyCar race since 2015 to have two female drivers in the field. Alongside Tatiana Calderón , was veteran IndyCar driver Simona De Silvestro, who was doing her first of three races for this season. De Silvestro finished 21st and Calderón finished 25th.
Simona De Silvestro racing in the Sonsio Grand Prix (Photo by Joe Skibinski/Penske Entertainment)
The IndyCar series now takes leave for its summer break before returning on July 3rd for the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio.
Full race results: 1st Josef Newgarden, 2nd Marcus Ericsson, 3rd Alexander Rossi, 4th Romain Grosjean, 5th Colton Herta, 6th Felix Rosenqvist, 7th Scott McLaughlin, 8th Graham Rahal, 9th Scott Dixon, 10th Christian Lundgaard, 11th Callum Ilott, 12th Simon Pagenaud, 13th Jack Harvey, 14th Conor Daly, 15th Takuma Sato, 16th David Malukas, 17th Rinus VeeKay, 18th Devlin DeFrancesco, 19th Will Power, 20th Kyle Kirkwood, 21st Simona De Silvestro, 22nd Hélio Castroneves, 23rd Dalton Kellett, 24th Jimmie Johnson, 25th Tatiana Calderón, 26th Pato O’Ward, 27th Álex Palou.
Top 10 in points standings: 1st Marcus Ericsson (293), 2nd Will Power (266), 3rd Josef Newgarden (261), 4th Pato O’Ward (248), 5th Álex Palou (246), 6th Scott Dixon (224), 7th Alexander Rossi (218), 8th Felix Rosenqvist (203), 9th Scott McLaughlin (199), 10th Simon Pagenaud (197).
Featured Image: Josef Newgarden celebrates his 2nd Road America win and for winning the one million dollar People Ready Force for Good Challenge (Photo by James Black/Penske Entertainment)
Hondas outnumbered Chevrolets in the Firestone fast six four to two, but Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden with the clock having run out, beat Takuma Sato’s time by one tenth of a second to take his 16th IndyCar Series career pole and earn back to back poles at Belle Isle Park in Detroit with a lap time of 1.15.2153.
Speaking to NBC’s Marty Snider, Newgarden said: “I was about hitting the wall every lap, or every corner I should say. That was a good pole.”
Josef Newgarden celebrating the pole with his team (Photo by Joe Skibinski/Penske Entertainment)
Newgarden was the sole Penske driver to make the Firestone fast six and becomes the seventh different pole winner in seven races so far in this year’s championship. Newgarden said the bigger challenge for them is to convert the pole into a win on Sunday, something they have yet to do at Belle Isle although he did win the first of two 2019 races after starting second.
The fast six was all about the smaller teams as all four of the Daly Coyne Racing and Meyer Shank Racing cars made the fast six. Rookie David Malukas continued his strong performance for Dale Coyne Racing from practice to top the opening session of qualifying in group two and topped the charts again halfway through the fast 12 session with a time that put in him in the fast six for the very first time.
David Malukas qualifying around Belle Isle (Photo by Joe Skibinski/Penske Entertainment)
In the fast six, Malukas on a flying lap lost the back end in turn five and had to back out but still set a fast lap later to qualify sixth being only three tenth off fifth place Pato O’Ward. Speaking to NBC, Malukas said: “What an amazing car.”
His Dale Coyne Racing teammate Takuma Sato qualified second after an impressive run when he went to the top with a 1.15.3 with just over a minute to go in the fast six before Newgarden went faster in the final moments.
DCR with RWR’s Takuma Sato qualifying around Belle Isle (Photo by Karl Zemlin/Penske Entertainment)
The two Meyer Shank racing cars will make up the second row with Simon Pagenaud qualifying third and Hélio Castroneves qualifying fourth.
Round one of qualifying did not go so well for Newgarden’s teammate Will Power who missed out on the fast 12 by three tenths, qualifying 16th . On one of his flying laps, he was unintentionally disrupted by the wake of Álex Palou’s car. Palou also failed to make it out of the opening session, only qualifying 18th. Power, known as the pole master, said to NBC he has still yet to figure out a way to get it done in qualifying at Belle Isle but is optimistic about his chances of getting to the front in the race once again like last year.
Álex Palou (right) racing down to turn two in qualifying at Belle Isle (Photo by Joe Skibinski/Penske Entertainment)
The disappointment continues for McLaren SP’s Felix Rosenqvist at Belle Isle as he blocked Jimmie Johnson coming out of the pits when Johnson was on a flying lap and was consequently penalized by being parked and had his time disallowed. He will now start 26th.
Felix Rosenqvist racing down to turn 12 in qualifying at Belle Isle (Photo by James Black/Penske Entertainment)
The fast 12 saw drivers experimenting between the primary and alternate tires as rubber was getting laid down fast and with grip lasting only for three laps on the alternate red tyres, it was uncertain which tyre compound was better to qualify with. Pagenaud topped the chart midway through the session on the primary black tyre with a 1.15.4 before Newgarden went second on sticker reds, only one tenth of Pagenaud’s time.
Qualifying had been going well for Andretti Autosport with three of their four cars making the fast 12, with Devlin DeFrancesco just missing out, but things suddenly went downhill for them. With less than five minutes to go, Alexander Rossi, who topped second practice, was 12th in the session while Colton Herta was seventh.
Colton Herta qualifying around Belle Isle (Photo by Chris Owens/Penske Entertainment)
The bottom six including Chip Ganassi Racing drivers Marcus Ericsson and Scott Dixon were all on faster flying laps than the leaders as the track became increasingly rubbered in but then Romain Grosjean slapped the wall coming out of turn 12, and broke a toe link that caused his car to veer to the right before violently spinning around into the concrete wall in the final turn bringing out the red flag and ending the session, and consequently stopping his Andretti teammates from being able to progress into the fast six. A frustrated Grosjean said afterwards: “We sucked.”
During the fast 12, Dixon said he had to back up into Ericsson after having to slow down for Rossi and Pagenaud ahead that ultimately cost Ericsson and Dixon any chance of making the fast six.
Full qualifying results:1st Josef Newgarden, 2nd Takuma Sato, 3rd Simon Pagenaud, 4th Hélio Castroneves, 5th Pato O’Ward, 6th David Malukas, 7th Colton Herta, 8th Marcus Ericsson, 9th Scott Dixon, 10th Scott McLaughlin, 11th Alexander Rossi, 12th Romain Grosjean, 13th Conor Daly, 14th Rinus VeeKay, 15th Kyle Kirkwood, 16th Will Power, 17th Santino Ferrucci, 18thÁlex Palou, 19th Christian Lundgaard, 20th Jack Harvey, 21st Devlin DeFrancesco, 22nd Jimmie Johnson, 23rd Graham Rahal, 24thTatiana Calderón, 25th Dalton Kellett, 26th Felix Rosenqvist.
Josef Newgarden and Takuma Sato will lead the field to green for the final Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix at Belle Isle tomorrow at 3:45pm ET.
Featured Image: Josef Newgarden qualifying around Belle Isle (Photo by Chris Owens/Penske Entertainment)
Rinus VeeKay set the third fastest qualifying run in Indy 500 history with a 233.655mph average in his Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet at the start of the day going fastest, while Takuma Sato, after having his time deleted for track interference with Marco Andretti, saw him whack the turn two wall but stayed in the throttle and went 12th fastest, securing the final spot for Sunday’s fast 12 qualifying session.
While there would be no bump day as part of this year’s Indy 500, due to only having 33 entries for the 106th running of the Indy 500, day one of qualifying set positions 13 to 33 and decided who would make Sunday’s fast 12 and have a chance at making the fast six and the Indy 500 pole. Multiple attempts to qualify were cut short due to storms with drivers Scott McLaughlin and Josef Newgarden taking to lane one in an attempt to make the fast 12 in time but failed to do so.
A weather advisory warning during the session (Photo by James Black/IndyCar Media)
VeeKay was the second car to go out for his first qualifying run in favourable conditions as the track was cool and the air thin. He set a blistering first lap of his four-lap qualifying run with a 234.7mph average. Talking to NBC, VeeKay said the car was “very comfortable to drive.”
Sato had his first lap deleted that had put him in the fast 12, after failing to stay off the racing line on his cooldown lap as Marco Andretti came round to begin his run. On the second attempt on lap two, the two-time Indy 500 winner banged square on into the turn two wall but kept his foot in the throttle, barely losing any speed going 12th fastest with a 231.708mph average, knocking out rookie David Malukas from the fast 12. Sato said to NBC: “It’s qualifying, you just keep going.”
Takuma Sato on pit road (Photo by James Black/IndyCar Media)
The Arrow McLaren SP’s of Pato O’Ward and Felix Rosenqvist went second and third fastest, after going out first and fourth in the session.
The Chip Ganassi Racing camp showed impressive speed all around with all five cars making the fast 12. Álex Palou went fourth fastest with a 232.774mph average, despite increasing track temperatures. 2013 Indy 500 winner Tony Kanaan went fifth fastest while four-time Brickyard 400 winner Jimmie Johnson went sixth fastest with a 232.398mph average in his first ever Indy 500 qualifying session, continuing on from his IndyCar oval success at Texas Motor Speedway. Marcus Ericsson with a track temperature of 107 degrees, 21 degrees hotter than VeeKay’s qualifying run, still managed to go eighth fastest while 2021 pole winner Scott Dixon went 10th fastest.
Jimmie Johnson on pit road (Photo by James Black/IndyCar Media)
Three-time Indy 500 pole winner Ed Carpenter went seventh fastest despite the hotter track temperature but was forced to lift going into turn three on his final lap as he reached 241mph. Romain Grosjean, after having a difficult would be the surprise lone Andretti Autosport driver to make the fast 12 going ninth fastest in his first ever Indy 500 qualifying run, while 2018 Indy 500 winner Will Power would be the only Team Penske driver to make the fast 12, going 11th fastest after using every inch of the track to do so.
Romain Grosjean on pit road (Photo by James Black/IndyCar Media)
Overall though, it would prove to be not the best of days for Andretti Autosport and Team Penske. Colton Herta’s engine shut off on his first qualifying run, forcing the team to do a lengthy engine change before sending him back out later in the day where he only managed to qualify 25th. Alexander Rossi was not happy with his race car, describing it to NBC as “horrible”, and qualified 20th. Marco Andretti qualified 23rd and rookie Devlin DeFrancesco qualified 24th.
Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin withdrew his 15th qualifying position to take lane one for a second attempt but with less favourable conditions, the gamble did not pay off and instead qualified 26th. Josef Newgarden was lucky to keep his 14th qualifying position after lightning brought out the yellow flag on his second qualifying run after also using lane one, ending the session early. As a result, he was able to retain his position.
Scott McLaughlin going out for his second qualifying run (Photo by Chris Jones/IndyCar Media)
Two-time Indy 500 winner Juan Pablo Montoya, in contrast to his Arrow McLaren SP teammates, had a rough qualifying session. Montoya’s car failed pre-qualifying inspection and had to forfeit his first qualifying run. When he did attempt to qualify, he was not on pace saying on the radio the car was “horrible” and “hard to drive”, only qualifying 30th.
Four-time Indy 500 winner Hélio Castroneves, after qualifying eighth last year with Meyer Shank Racing before going on to win the Indy 500, could only manage 27th.
Stefan Wilson was unable to get out to qualify due to engine trouble and consequently will start last for next weekend’s Indy 500.
The full qualifying results are as follows.
Drivers to progress to fast 12: 1st Rinus VeeKay, 2nd Pato O’Ward, 3rd Felix Rosenqvist, 4th Álex Palou, 5th Tony Kanaan, 6th Jimmie Johnson, 7th Ed Carpenter, 8th Marcus Ericsson, 9th Romain Grosjean, 10th Scott Dixon, 11th Will Power, 12th Takuma Sato.
13th to 33rd: 13th David Malukas, 14th Josef Newgarden, 15th Santino Ferrucci, 16th Simon Pagenaud, 17th JR Hildebrand, 18th Conor Daly, 19th Callum Ilott, 20th Alexander Rossi, 21st Graham Rahal, 22nd Sage Karam, 23rd Marco Andretti, 24th Devlin DeFrancesco, 25th Colton Herta, 26th Scott McLaughlin, 27th Hélio Castroneves, 28th Kyle Kirkwood, 29th Dalton Kellett, 30th Juan Pablo Montoya, 31st Christian Lundgaard, 32nd Jack Harvey, 33rd Stefan Wilson.
Featured Image: Rinus VeeKay in his ECR Bitcoin Chevrolet (Photo by Chris Jones/IndyCar Media)
Colton Herta thundered to the front from 14th place after pitting early for slick tyres on a drying race track, to go on to lead the majority of the race in changing weather conditions to win his first Indy Grand Prix. Herta had to keep the likes of Pato O’Ward and Simon Pagenaud behind and fight to stay on the soaked race track in the final laps as the heavens opened once again.
Colton Herta (left) and Pato O’Ward (right) racing in the Indy Grand Prix (Photo by Lisa Hurley/IndyCar Media)
The race saw numerous crashes and spins including under the safety car as the track began to get wetter with only 13 of 27 cars on the lead lap at one point in the race.
Herta started off his race by power-drifting round turn eight in an unbelievable save as he attempted to warm up his alternate Firestone red tyres on a damp race track and close down Pato O’Ward for what would be the race lead. Herta would get past O’Ward on the next lap before taking the overall lead of the race before 10 laps were complete.
O’Ward would keep Herta honest for the next 20 laps before they dived for the pits once again for Firestone reds but more rain was reported to be less than 15 minutes away. Herta would go wheel to wheel with O’Ward’s McLaren SP teammate Felix Rosenqvist but Rosenqvist being on cold tyres would lose out to taking the lead away from Herta.
Colton Herta ahead of Felix Rosenqvist and Pato O’Ward (Photo by Joe Skibinski/IndyCar Media)
Due to several full course yellows, the race became a timed event. With less than 20 minutes to go, after multiple pit stops and strategy calls including Herta being the first of the drivers on the wet tyres in fourth a few laps earlier, he would get by O’Ward who was still on the dry tyre, again in turn one on a restart to retake the lead for the final time.
On a late race restart with the track getting soaked by arrival of the rain, Herta would now pull a six second gap over now second place Simon Pagenaud. This would be halved after Herta went wide at turn 12 and took to the grass to make the corner but would then maintain a healthy gap over Pagenaud until a full course yellow came out with less than two laps to go to end the race.
Simon Pagenaud racing in the wet (Photo by Joe Skibinski/IndyCar Media)
Over the team radio Herta said that this was his favourite win yet and did a burnout in the rain to celebrate.
Talking to NBC’s Marty Snider in victory lane, Herta said: “That was the hardest race I have ever done.”
Colton Herta celebrating in victory lane (Photo by Chris Owens/IndyCar Media)
A dramatic turning point was over 50 laps into the race, with the belief that the race might end early due to a severe weather threat, for the next few laps, the race strategies went wild with the entire field flip flopping on their tyre choice due to the changing weather.
The worsening weather conditions on the front straightaway (Photo by James Black/IndyCar Media)
After Jimmie Johnson brought out a full course yellow after spinning and stalling in turns nine and 10 due to the tricky weather conditions, nearly everyone dived for the pits but only to take another set of the dry Firestone alternate tyres due to the belief that the track was not wet enough despite it continuing to rain. Scott McLaughlin, who had been running second on the track at this point won the race off pit road beating Herta.
It then began to rain harder under caution, causing Rinus VeeKay to spin out. Dixon, who had just taken the wave around was the first along with Rossi to dive for the pits for a set of wet tyres. The following lap saw the majority of the pack do the same including Herta.
McLaughlin, O’Ward and Romain Grosjean were now the top three, all deciding not to pit and stay out on the alternate tyre. Grosjean then spun under caution in turn two and fell to sixth.
More chaos ensued as race leader McLaughlin spun around just before coming back to green in turn 10 forcing IndyCar to halt the restart.
Scott McLaughlin (front) racing in the Indy Grand Prix (Photo by Chris Owens/IndyCar Media)
With O’Ward being the only one left at the front on the dry alternate tyre, he would get overtaken immediately on the restart by Herta into turn one. McLaughlin would bring out the next full course yellow after spinning again on the alternate tyre.
O’Ward would fall to fourth under that caution after spinning before bringing the car down pit road for a set of wet tyres as Herta brought the field back to green. O’Ward would finish 19th one lap down.
The opening 50 laps of the race were also highly entertaining. With all drivers starting the race on the wet tyre, it would be five time Indy GP winner Will Power who would take the green flag but on the backstretch on lap one, Álex Palou would come sailing past before O’Ward would do the same to Palou entering turn 12. Rosenqvist would make it a Arrow McLaren SP one-two again, just like in Friday’s Firestone fast six after completing their banker laps, by getting past Palou. Power would remain in the top 10 for most of the race and had a strong final stint in the wet to come home third.
Will Power leads the field into turn one at the start of the race (Photo by Joe Skibinski/IndyCar Media)
Palou’s day would turn into a disaster after pitting for the alternate tyre a few laps in, as he would spin and stall his car in turn 11 after having gone off in the grass and would go a lap down. Palou would finish 18th.
A few laps later, 2022 two-time winner Josef Newgarden’s race would turn into an even worse disaster after he spun wildly across the track in turn 11 after being sandwiched between Alexander Rossi and Jack Harvey, who were fighting over sixth place. Harvey failed to make an evasive manoeuvre when Rossi pulled down the race track slightly and instead clipped Newgarden’s left rear tyre sending him around.
Newgarden would pull up on the track with two flat rear tyres and significant damage that saw him go straight to the garage. Later on, IndyCar allowed him to rejoin the race but was now many laps down. He had joined in last place but due to crashes later on, he would finish 25th, 15 laps down.
The GMR Safety Team attending to Josef Newgarden following the wild spin (Photo by James Black/IndyCar Media)
On lap 20, Devlin DeFrancesco was unable to avoid a spinning VeeKay who had just re-entered the track after getting knocked off by rookie Callum Ilott in turn two, bringing out another full course yellow.
After 30 laps, Takuma Sato had powered his way up to fourth place while Power had fallen down to fifth. Sato would finish the race in seventh.
Takuma Sato racing in the Indy Grand Prix (Photo by Joe Skibinski/IndyCar Media)
On the second round of pit stops, Scott Dixon would limp to pit road after uncharacteristically running out of fuel, but would be able to get refuelled and continue, only losing a lap to the leaders.
On lap 34, Dalton Kellett would bring out the fourth full course yellow and end his day on the back straightaway after going off in the grass after coming out of the turn six chicane and parking next to the barrier.
Marcus Ericsson and Kyle Kirkwood would now run one-two under yellow due to not having pitted for a second time. Kirkwood had spun off in turn 10 earlier in the race and had found himself at the back of the pack as a result. Unfortunately, Kirkwood would have more incidents and would finish 26th after retiring.
On the next restart, the two Arrow McLaren SP teammates of O’Ward and Rosenqvist would crash into each other in turn one after O’Ward had spun around on his own leaving Rosenqvist behind nowhere to go and would drive into a backwards facing O’Ward, braking his front wing and bringing out the yellow. Rosenqvist would recover in the second half of the race to finish sixth.
Felix Rosenqvist missing his front wing after crashing into Pato O’Ward (Photo by James Black/IndyCar Media)
Rossi was also the first to take wet tyres before the heavy rain came but did so when the track was still too dry and burned up his tyres forcing him to pit for dry tyres again laps later.
On the lap 46 restart, Ericsson would lead the pack back to green on much older tyres before both Dixon who put himself back on the lead lap, and Herta would get by him in turn four. A few laps later Dixon would be put back down a lap by now race leader Herta. Ericsson would plummet down the order to 12th but would make a late race charge on the wet tyres to finish an impressive fourth place while Dixon would finish 10th on the lead lap.
Marcus Ericsson (right) ahead of Colton Herta (left) in turn two (Photo by Chris Owens/IndyCar Media)
A few laps into the run saw Harvey take out Grosjean in turn seven by knocking him off into the grass before scrambling back onto the track in 12th position.
Ed Carpenter Racing’s Conor Daly had started the race in fifth but in the first stint would drop back to 15th on a fuel saving strategy. Once it was clear the race would not end early, the strategy was scrapped and Daly would return to finish the race in fifth.
At the end of the race, Arrow McLaren SP’s Juan Pablo Montoya would bring out the race ending full course yellow after receiving heavy damage after losing control in turn 11. He had been running 7th after starting the race in 24th. This was some warm up for the Colombian’s Month of May and his third Indy 500 win attempt.
Juan Pablo Montoya (left) battling with Felix Rosenqvist (right) in the rain (Photo by Karl Zemlin)
Fellow Colombian Tatiana Calderón would finish in a record 15th place in what appeared to be a quiet race for the AJ Foyt Enterprises’s rookie.
The rookies of Ilott and Christian Lundgaard finished eighth and ninth but Lundgaard, on the soaking wet race track, managed to crash his race car after the race was over on the front straightaway.
Tatiana Calderón (left) battling with Christian Lundgaard (right) into turn one (Photo by Joe Skibinski/IndyCar Media)
Full race results: (1st) Colton Herta, (2nd) Simon Pagenaud, (3rd) Will Power, (4th) Marcus Ericsson, (5th) Conor Daly, (6th) Felix Rosenqvist, (7th) Takuma Sato, (8th) Callum Ilott, (9th) Christian Lundgaard, (10th) Scott Dixon, (11th) Alexander Rossi, (12th) David Malukas, (13th) Jack Harvey, (14th) Hélio Castroneves, (15th) Tatiana Calderón, (16th) Graham Rahal, (17th) Romain Grosjean, (18th) Álex Palou, (19th) Pato O’Ward, (20th) Scott McLaughlin, (21st) Devlin DeFrancesco, (22nd) Jimmie Johnson, (23rd) Rinus VeeKay, (24th) Juan Pablo Montoya, (25th) Josef Newgarden, (26th) Kyle Kirkwood, (27th) Dalton Kellett.
Top 10 in points standings: 1st Will Power (170), 2nd Álex Palou (156), 3rd Scott McLaughlin (152), 4th Josef Newgarden (140), 5th Scott Dixon (133), 6th Colton Herta (132), 7th Pato O’Ward (126), 8th Marcus Ericsson (117), Romain Grosjean (114), 10th Rinus VeeKay (113).
Featured Image: Colton Herta takes the checkered flag under yellow to win the 2022 Indy Grand Prix (Photo by Travis Hinkle/IndyCar Media)
Pato O’Ward on his out lap from his final pit stop, lap 62 of 90, sent it down the outside of leader Rinus VeeKay going into the turn four hairpin, who had led the entire race so far, and drove around the outside of him coming out of the hairpin to go on to win the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama.
O’Ward sending it down the outside to take lead away from VeeKay (Photo by Joe Skibinski/IndyCar Media)
VeeKay had led the first two thirds of the race, with O’Ward following closely behind the entire way and closed up to VeeKay on their final in-lap on lap 61, to bring the gap down to under a second entering the pits. O’Ward had the final say of the weekend, as while VeeKay had took the pole away from O’Ward in qualifying on Saturday, a fast final pit stop allowed O’Ward to close up to VeeKay on track and use push to pass on him going into turn five and get past on the inside. O’Ward would lead the rest of the race.
Álex Palou sneaked into second place via the final pit stop cycle and would hang onto O’Ward for the remainder of the race, only being less than two seconds behind, but would never close up to O’Ward. VeeKay would fall off the leaders pace falling back to 11 seconds but would hold off Will Power to claim the final podium stop.
Pato O’Ward running 1st, Álex Palou running 2nd, Rinus VeeKay running 3rd (Photo by Joe Skibinski/IndyCar Media)
O’Ward talking in victory lane about his move on Palou said: “I knew if I had the opportunity, it would have been right then and there. Once we did that, it was cruise to Victory Lane.” O’Ward is also trying to negotiate a better contract deal with Arrow McLaren SP. The race victory is sure to help O’Ward in doing so.
The 5 team celebrating in victory lane (Photo by Chris Jones/IndyCar Media)
Will Power had a remarkable recovery of a race after qualifying 19th to bring the Verizon Chevy home in fourth place. Power had been playing the long game and had taken good care of his tyres, allowing him to methodically work his way through the field. Scott Dixon as expected, quietly worked his from 13th all the way to fifth place by the end of the race.
Will Power racing in the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama (Photo by Joe Skibinski/IndyCar Media)
The race like previous editions, was a battle between the two stop and the three stop strategies. Josef Newgarden, Colton Herta, Romain Grosjean and Marcus Ericsson were the front runners trying to make the three stop strategy work, pitting as early as lap 11 compared to the race leaders on the two stop strategy pitting around lap 30.
The viability of the three stop strategy would end on lap 33 however when Callum Ilott, battling with Helio Castroneves for 13th place, on the outside overshot turn seven and went for a spin, ending up stuck in the gravel trap, bringing out the full course yellow.
Callum Ilott racing in the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama (Photo by Joe Skibinski/IndyCar Media)
The three stoppers were forced to pit under the caution to stay competitive with the two stoppers and would have to come from the back to try to gain as many positions as possible by the end. Herta and Newgarden were the fast chargers for the first few laps until Herta would leave Newgarden behind who was getting stuck in traffic while Herta would work his way inside the top 10. The final pit stop cycle saw Herta find a new gear. While Newgarden stagnated in the midfield in 14th place, Herta made a hard charge all the way up to 7th, often by divebombing down the inside of cars in turn 16.
Josef Newgarden and Colton Herta on a charge both getting past Tatiana Calderón (Photo by Joe Skibinski/IndyCar Media)
Being overly ambitious, Herta on lap 74, came from far back and sent it down the inside of McLaughlin in the turn four hairpin only to run out of space due to a turning McLaughlin, and ended up spinning out off McLaughlin’s left rear tyre and went for a full 360 degree spin before getting it going again. Herta would fall back to 10th place as a result.
On lap 40, Helio Castroneves took out Jimmie Johnson in turn nine, after getting way too hot into the sequence of corners and collected and spun out an unsuspecting Johnson. Castroneves was only told to give the place back by race control.
Romain Grosjean would get into a scrap with Graham Rahal in the closing laps. After reporting that Rahal was cutting him off in the turn four and five hairpin, he went down the inside of Rahal again, and side swiped Rahal aggressively twice coming out of turn five while failing to take the position.
Rahal immediately came on the radio and said “This guy is a punk. He hit me on purpose”. On the final lap, Rahal would begin running out of fuel, allowing Grosjean to slip past him for 7th place in turn five after all. Rahal would finish 8th.
Heading into turn four hairpin. Left hand side front Jimmie Johnson, behind Colton Herta, behind Simon Pagenaud, right hand side front Graham Rahal, behind Alexander Rossi (Photo by Chris Owens/IndyCar Media)
The race results see O’Ward move from ninth to fifth in the championship standings while Palou takes over the championship lead from Newgarden who dropped to third in the standings, with his Penske teammate McLaughlin holding down second.
The upcoming races sees the Month of May really get under way for the NTT IndyCar Series with the GMR Grand Prix of Indianapolis on the 14th May and the double-points paying 106th running of the Indianapolis 500 on the 29th May.
Full race results: (1st) Pato O’Ward, (2nd) Álex Palou, (3rd) Rinus VeeKay, (4th) Will Power, (5th) Scott Dixon, (6th) Scott McLaughlin, (7th) Romain Grosjean, (8th) Graham Rahal, (9th) Alexander Rossi, (10th) Colton Herta, (11th) Simon Pagenaud, (12th) Marcus Ericsson, (13th) Takuma Sato, (14th) Josef Newgarden, (15th) Christian Lundgaard, (16th) Felix Rosenqvist, (17th) Devlin DeFrancesco, (18th) Jack Harvey, (19th) Conor Daly, (20th) David Malukas, (21st) Hélio Castroneves, (22nd) Kyle Kirkwood, (23rd) Dalton Kellett, (24th) Jimmie Johnson, (25th) Callum Ilott, (26th) Tatiana Calderón.
Top 10 in points standings: 1st Álex Palou (144), 2nd Scott McLaughlin (141), 3rd Josef Newgarden (135), 4th Will Power (134), 5th Pato O’Ward (114), 6th Scott Dixon (113), 7th Rinus VeeKay (106), 8th Romain Grosjean (101), 9th Marcus Ericsson (84), 10th Graham Rahal (84).
Featured Image: Pato O’Ward celebrating his first Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama win (Photo by Joe Skibinski/IndyCar Media)
