All posts by Motorsports Tribune

By Kirby Arnold, Staff Writer INDIANAPOLIS – Three years later than it was supposed to happen, a Fittipaldi is back in the Indianapolis 500.  Pietro Fittipaldi, 24-year-old grandson of two-time Indy winner and former Formula 1 champion Emerson Fittipaldi, qualified 13th fastest Saturday in the Dale Coyne Racing No. 51 car and will start the May 30 race on the inside of the fifth row at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.  His Indy debut was supposed to happen in 2018.  Just days before he was to drive a Coyne car at Indy, Fittipaldi crashed onRead More

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service Kyle Busch essentially went to school Saturday afternoon in the NASCAR Xfinity Series to learn the Circuit of the Americas road course in preparation for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race there. The result, however, was that Busch absolutely schooled the field – earning an 11-second victory in the Pit Boss 250, NASCAR’s Xfinity Series debut on the famed Austin circuit. It marked the two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion’s record 98th win in the Xfinity Series. His No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota led aRead More

By Kirby Arnold, Staff Writer INDIANAPOLIS – There’s no qualifying stress like the battle to make the Indianapolis 500, where one of the NTT IndyCar Series’ all-time best qualifiers finds himself fighting just to make this year’s race.  Team Penske’s Will Power, whose 62 career pole positions are one short of Mario Andretti’s all-time record, failed to qualify Saturday among the 30 fastest that locked themselves into the field for the May 30 race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He must come back Sunday and take part in a five-car battle for the final three spots in the 33-car field.  All five drive cars are powered byRead More

By Kirby Arnold, Staff Writer INDIANAPOLIS – They’re the Chevrolet flies in the Honda soup, but two cars from Ed Carpenter Racing are ready to take an important plunge into familiar waters – a run for the pole position in the Indianapolis 500.  On a day when Honda-powered cars dominated the speed charts Saturday on the first day of qualifying for the May 30 race, Ed Carpenter and Rinus VeeKay carried the Chevrolet banner. Carpenter qualified fourth fastest at 231.616 mph and VeeKay fifth at 231.483. The third Carpenter car, driven by Conor Daly, qualified 19th at 230.427. Read More

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service Todd Gilliland was so fast and so determined out front in Saturday’s Toyota Tundra 225 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race his own team had to remind him to slow down and take care of his tires in the closing laps of the series debut at the Circuit of the Americas (COTA) race. Despite receiving the cautionary advice, Gilliland, 21, did not ease off and raced to a hefty 7.941-second margin of victory to earn his second career series win and first since 2019.Read More

By Kirby Arnold, Staff Writer INDIANAPOLIS – JR Hildebrand has raced up Pikes Peak in a sports car and has long wanted to experience that Colorado mountain in a current-era IndyCar.  Hey, we’re all entitled to pipe dreams, right? Hildebrand, who’ll attempt to qualify this weekend for his 11th Indianapolis 500, is serious about this one, though.  Whether it happens for the June 27 hill climb remains uncertain, but when the entry list was released several weeks ago, Hildebrand’s name was listed as driving a 2021 Dallara DW12/IR18, the current chassis being used inRead More

By INDYCAR INDIANAPOLIS – Scott Dixon raised the speed limit on “Fast Friday” at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, turning the fastest lap of the week – 233.302 mph – in the final full day of practice before Crown Royal Armed Forces Qualifying Weekend for the 105th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge. It was the second day this week that six-time and reigning NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Dixon topped the speed charts, as he also was fastest Wednesday in the No. 9 PNC Bank Grow Up Great Honda. MEDIA LINKS: Fast Friday Practice Results | CombinedRead More

By INDYCAR INDIANAPOLIS – Tony Kanaan found the right blend of ingredients for speed Thursday at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, leading the third day of practice for the 105th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge. 2013 Indy 500 winner and 2004 INDYCAR SERIES champion Kanaan, who is aiming to make his 20th start in “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing,” led the pack of 35 cars with a best lap of 225.341 mph in the No. 48 The American Legion Honda. Track and air temperatures continued to climb after a cool start to practiceRead More

By Kirby Arnold, Staff Writer INDIANAPOLIS – After two days of practice with little more than close calls and accelerated heartbeats, preparations for the Indianapolis 500 came to a crunching halt Thursday afternoon when Santino Ferrucci spun in Turn 2 and pounded the SAFER Barrier at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Ferrucci was running with a large group of cars when his No. 45 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Hy-Vee-sponsored Honda broke loose midway through the turn and hit hard with the left rear, and then left front, before sliding along the outsideRead More

By INDYCAR INDIANAPOLIS – Scott Dixon may be known as “The Iceman,” but perhaps nobody is better in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES when the heat is on. Six-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Dixon led practice Wednesday for the 105th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge with a best lap of 226.829 mph in the No. 9 PNC Bank Grow Up Great Honda as track and air temperatures climbed compared to Opening Day Tuesday. 2008 Indy 500 winner Dixon led three Chip Ganassi Racing drivers in the top five. MEDIA LINKS: Day 2 PracticeRead More