All posts by Motorsports Tribune

By Road to Indy PORTLAND, Ore. – Kyle Kirkwood and RP Motorsport USA are simply untouchable just now. This afternoon at the 1.964-mile Portland International Raceway road course, Kirkwood, mirrored the picture perfect weather conditions with another exemplary performance. His weekend sweep of the Cooper Tires Indy Pro 2000 Grand Prix ensured a sixth consecutive victory and turned a nine-point deficit prior to the weekend into a healthy 20-point lead in his quest for a second consecutive Road to Indy championship crown. Kirkwood, 20, from Jupiter, Fla., also dominated lastRead More

By Road to Indy PORTLAND, Ore. – Hunter McElrea and Pabst Racing enjoyed a stellar weekend at Portland International Raceway by sweeping both 25-lap races which comprised the Cooper Tires USF2000 Grand Prix Presented by Allied Building Products for Pabst Racing. The California-born Australian-raised New Zealander’s third race win in succession vaulted him from a nine-point deficit into a six-point advantage over Braden Eves in the battle for this year’s Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship. Also at stake is a scholarship valued at over $300,000 to move up one step onRead More

By Road to Indy PORTLAND, Ore. – Englishman Toby Sowery claimed a well-deserved maiden Road to Indy victory this morning in a thrilling Cooper Tires Indy Lights Grand Prix at Portland International Raceway. Sowery, 23, from Cambridge, England, took the lead for HMD Motorsports/Team Pelfrey immediately after an early restart, then held off a determined challenge from yesterday’s winner Rinus VeeKay (Juncos Racing), from Hoofddorp, Netherlands. Oliver Askew, 22, from Jupiter, Fla., rebounded from a first-corner incident to climb from last place to third for Andretti Autosport. Askew’s eighth consecutiveRead More

By FIA Charles Leclerc took an emotional first Formula One win at Spa-Francorchamps and immediately dedicated his maiden victory to childhood racing rival Anthoine Hubert who tragically lost his life in a crash in Saturday’s FIA Formula 2 race at the Ardennes circuit. “On the one hand I’ve got a dream since being as child that has been realised. But on the other hand it has been a very difficult weekend since yesterday,” he said after defying late pressure from championship leader to take the win. “We have lost aRead More

By INDYCAR PORTLAND, Ore. — A trio of NTT IndyCar Series championship contenders facing challenging starting positions in Sunday’s Grand Prix of Portland was the only thing to possibly upstage what rookie Colton Herta did at Portland International Raceway. Herta, the second-generation Indy car standout driving for Harding Steinbrenner Racing, put his No. 88 Capstone Turbine Honda on the pole for the second time this season. Herta won the NTT P1 Award by besting pole whiz Will Power of Team Penske (No. 12 Verizon Chevrolet) with a final lap of 57.8111 seconds (122.302 mph).Read More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service DARLINGTON, S.C. – It looked like more of the same at Darlington Raceway for driver Denny Hamlin—until post-race inspection happened. A five-time NASCAR Xfinity Series winner at the 1.366-mile track, Hamlin was first across the finish line in Saturday’s Sport Clips Haircuts VFW 200, but the disqualification of Hamlin’s No. 18 Toyota for a ride-height violation made a winner of Cole Custer, who trailed Hamlin by .602 seconds at the finish line. “It’s a really strange feeling, honestly—obviously,” Custer said after being notified heRead More

By Road to Indy PORTLAND, Ore. – Kyle Kirkwood and RP Motorsport USA continued their remarkable run of success by romping to a clear victory in this afternoon’s Cooper Tires Indy Pro 2000 Grand Prix at Portland International Raceway. After qualifying second, Kirkwood, 20, from Jupiter, Fla., took advantage of a first-corner miscue by Russian teammate Artem Petrov, who started third but left his braking too late at the entry to the Festival Curves and punted first-time polesitter Sting Ray Robb (Juncos Racing) into a spin. Kirkwood wasn’t seriously challengedRead More

By Road to Indy PORTLAND, Ore. – The battle for this year’s Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship tightened to just a single point, 285-284, as Hunter McElrea claimed a comfortable victory this afternoon at Portland International Raceway. At stake is a scholarship valued at close to $300,000 to move up one step on the Road to Indy ladder to the Indy Pro 2000 Championship Presented by Cooper Tires in 2020. The New Zealander qualified on pole position this morning for Pabst Racing, then edged away gradually from season-long championship leader BradenRead More

By Road to Indy PORTLAND, Ore. – Teenaged Dutchman Rinus VeeKay had a straightforward game plan coming into this weekend’s Cooper Tires Indy Lights Grand Prix Presented by Allied Building Products at Portland International Raceway: He needed to score maximum points in order to keep alive his hopes of winning this year’s Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires championship crown. At stake is a scholarship to guarantee entry into a minimum of three NTT IndyCar Series events in 2020, including the 104th Indianapolis 500. VeeKay today executed that plan toRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service DARLINGTON, S.C. – In his sophomore season in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series—and his first with veteran crew chief Chad Knaus—William Byron continues to make history. On Saturday at Darlington Raceway, Byron covered the 1.366-mile distance at the egg-shaped track in 28.510 seconds (172.487 mph), winning the pole position for Sunday’s Bojangles’ Southern 500 (6 p.m. ET on NBCSN, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Not only did Byron claim his first Busch Pole Award at Darlington and his fourth of the season, butRead More