All posts by Luis Torres

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Scott Dixon becomes the second driver this month to have crashed at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. With an hour and 49 minutes left in the post-qualifying practice session, the second place starter’s No. 9 PNC Bank Honda lost control and backed it into the Turn 4 wall. Dixon’s car continued doing a few twirls before lying to rest on the front straightaway with front and rear damage. Full course yellow for an on-track incident involving @scottdixon9 during #Indy500 practice at @IMS. Watch live on @NBCSportsGold: https://t.co/zyZcawU8vZ#INDYCARRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer The first guy out to fight for the Indianapolis 500 pole position was Takuma Sato, and for awhile, it appeared Sunday would’ve been another milestone to his racing career. Then Scott Dixon and Marco Andretti stole his thunder and out-qualified him, but nonetheless, Sato will start third for next Sunday’s 104th Indy 500. In his 10 previous Indy 500 starts, Sato qualified no better than fourth back in 2017, the year he won the 500-mile race. After Sunday’s Fast Nine Shootout, he became the first JapaneseRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer NTT IndyCar Series rookie Rinus VeeKay continued proving his worth after ending up sixth fastest (231.114 mph) in Saturday’s opening qualifying round for the 104th Indianapolis 500. Not only was the 19-year-old sensation from Ed Carpenter Racing was the fastest rookie, he’ll also be the lone representative for Chevrolet as the rest of the Fast Nine shootout drivers are Honda powered engines. VeeKay’s superb four-lap average speed, highlighted with an opening lap speed of 231.789 mph, took place very early in the session as he wasRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer An uncharacteristic moment unfolded at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Saturday as Team Penske failed to have one of its four drivers advance into the Fast Nine shootout (Sunday at 1 p.m. on NBC) for the 104th Running of the Indianapolis 500. It’s the first time Penske has been shut out of the first three rows since 2002 as two-time NTT IndyCar Series champion Josef Newgarden qualified no better than 13th, while the other three drivers, all former Indy 500 champions, failed to crack the top-20. NewgardenRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer For the third time this season, a NASCAR Cup Series driver has tested positive for COVID-19. This time, it’s July Texas winner Austin Dillon, who’ll miss Sunday’s Go Bowling 235 at the Daytona International Speedway road course. Taking over Dillon’s ride will be journeyman Kaz Grala, who’ll make his Cup debut in the No. 3 American Ethanol Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE. Grala is no stranger to road racing as some of his best drives have came at the left and right turns, including last Saturday’s XfinityRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Where a driver rolls of in line for qualifying has never been so vital than this year’s Indianapolis 500 as Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing’s Graham Rahal and Takuma Sato will be the first two guys out for tomorrow’s qualifying session, beginning at 11:00 a.m. ET. Drawing took place 15 minutes after the six-plus hour Fast Friday practice session concluded as drivers and team representatives came up to the stage based on where they ended up in practice. Once they were on stage, they grabbed a coinRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer There’s been a saying around the paddock that even if you win races and championships at Team Penske, it’s still not enough because the biggest prize is an Indianapolis 500 triumph. For two-time defending NTT IndyCar Series champion Josef Newgarden, it’s the only prize that remains in what’s been an illustrious career so far. However, going into the 104th Indianapolis 500 Presented by Gainbridge, there’s some immense pressure for Newgarden to deliver because he’s the only one out of the four-car stable that hasn’t won theRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer James Davison was ninth fastest (224.315 mph) in Thursday’s practice at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, doing so with a burnt right heel. You’ve read that right, Davison has been navigating the physically and mentally demanding 2.5-mile superspeedway with a personal setback. The five-time Indianapolis 500 starter confirmed to NBC Sports’ Dillon Welch that he sustained second degree burns during the NASCAR Cup Series race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway two weeks ago. Since then, the 33-year-old Australian had been nursing his injury and briefly described how it’sRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Two days of practice for the Indianapolis 500 are in the books and one man has shown impressive strides where he might have become a dark horse contender for this year’s Greatest Spectacle in Racing. And that dark horse contender is rookie Alex Palou. The Spaniard hasn’t let the Indianapolis Motor Speedway intimidate him as he’s been among the top-10 fastest in not just overall speed, but on average lap runs as well. This was the case Thursday when Palou’s No. 55 Dale Coyne Racing withRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Fernando Alonso became the first accident during on-track activities on Thursday in preparation for the 104th Running of the Indianapolis 500. With 49 minutes remaining in second day of practice, Alonso’s No. 66 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet ran on the bottom lane and clipped the gray berm that sits below the white line at the entry of Turn 4. It snapped his car sideways and took a shunt towards the inside wall. Alonso’s wounded car would go for a spin before resting at the entrance ofRead More