All posts by Motorsports Tribune

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Locally based Team Pelfrey enjoyed a banner weekend in the opening two races of the Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires. After young Mexican Patricio O’Ward claimed top honors yesterday in the first of two races that made up the Allied Building Products Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, today it was the turn of rookie teammate Aaron Telitz to taste the spoils of victory. O’Ward finished second, while Malaysian Weiron Tan charged up from fifth on the grid to ensure an impressive one-two-three sweep forRead More

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – For the second day running, a driver named Felix won on the streets of St. Petersburg. This morning’s Indy Lights Grand Prix of St. Petersburg Presented by Lucas School of Racing was all about Swedish rookie Felix Rosenqvist, who led from flag-to-flag to claim a dominant victory for Belardi Auto Racing. Yesterday’s polesitter Kyle Kaiser finished second for Juncos Racing, while Rosenqvist’s teammate, Zach Veach, completed the podium ahead of Saturday race winner Felix Serralles (Carlin). The result was particularly rewarding for the Belardi Auto RacingRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service AVONDALE, Ariz. – Kyle Busch calls it a “knack.” His rivals might refer to the continuing saga of Kyle Busch at Phoenix International Raceway as absolute dominance. But the record books will show Saturday’s result in the Axalta Faster. Tougher. Brighter. 200 as yet another NASCAR XFINITY Series victory for the Busch juggernaut. Leading 175 of 200 laps at the one-mile race track, Busch notched his ninth victory in 20 starts at PIR. That’s the highest total number of wins by a single driverRead More

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Pabst Racing clearly has a handle on the setup required for the challenging 1.8-mile, 14-turn street circuit in St. Petersburg. The Wisconsin-based team won both Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda events in 2015 with Jake Eidson, and repeated the feat one year later when Australia’s Jordan Lloyd and China’s Yufeng Luo claimed a victory and a second-place finish apiece in today’s double-header. New Yorker Robert Megennis and teammate Jordan Cane, from Bognor Regis, England, shared the third-place trophies for Palmetto, Fla.-based Team Pelfrey. ThisRead More

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – The Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires season-opening Indy Lights Grand Prix of St. Petersburg Presented by Lucas School of Racing turned out to be a race of two halves. Returning series veteran Zach Veach looked to have the spoils within his grasp until hindered by a mechanical problem, whereupon Felix Serralles, from Ponce, Puerto Rico, took full advantage and sped on to a clear victory. Serralles’ form and good fortune ensured that the British Carlin team remains undefeated on the streets of St. Petersburg followingRead More

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Two weeks ago, Patricio “Pato” O’Ward wasn’t even sure whether he would be competing in the 2016 Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires. After concluding a last-minute arrangement to rejoin Team Pelfrey for the first four races of the season just a few days before last weekend’s Spring Training pre-season test at Barber Motorsports Park, in Birmingham, Ala., the second-year driver romped to an impressive maiden victory in today’s Allied Building Products Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. O’Ward, 16, from Monterrey, Mexico, had been edgedRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service Running the fastest lap of the day when it counted most, Kyle Busch paced a Joe Gibbs Racing sweep of the top three starting spots for Sunday’s Good Sam 500 at Phoenix International Raceway (on FOX at 3:30 p.m. ET). Busch covered the one-mile distance in 26.014 seconds (138.387 mph) in Friday’s final round of knockout qualifying, a session interrupted by Jimmie Johnson’s hard wreck against the Turn 2 wall. The Coors Light Pole Award was Busch’s first of the season (after an inspectionRead More

The 2005 Grand Prix of St. Petersburg marked a watershed moment in American open-wheel racing; the IndyCar Series’ first race on anything other than an oval. After 9 years the series decided to take on Champ Car directly, bolted new bodywork on the Dallara’s and took to the streets. 11 years later and St. Pete is the traditional season opener for the IndyCar Series, and the schedule has a healthy mix of ovals, road courses and street circuits like St. Pete. Below is the 2005 race in its entirety. ItRead More

By NASCAR Wire Service Following a tough-luck 31st-place finish in the season-opener at Daytona, 2015 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion Erik Jones is beginning to hit his stride in his first full-time NASCAR XFINITY Series season. The 20-year-old NASCAR Next alum has produced a third-place finish in each of the last two races, jumping from 22nd in the points standings to seventh, 20 notches behind leader Daniel Suárez. Jones will attempt to continue his ascent up the standings and try to capture the first berth in the 12-driver, four-roundRead More

By NASCAR Wire Service Mother Nature might be the only person who can stop Kevin Harvick from winning at Phoenix International Raceway. Last fall, the No. 4 Chevrolet driver appeared to be on his way to his fourth consecutive victory at the one-mile track, leading 143 of the 219 laps when rain brought out a caution as he was leaving pit road. Dale Earnhardt Jr., who was slightly ahead of second-place Harvick on the track, earned the win when NASCAR called the race due to the precipitation. Harvick will tryRead More