Kyle Kirkwood Tag

By INDYCAR MONTEREY, Calif. – Colton Herta wants the Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey to be a throwback weekend, in more ways than one. Herta led the opening practice for the NTT INDYCAR SERIES season finale Friday at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, turning a top lap of 1 minute, 7.5382 seconds in the No. 26 Gainbridge Honda featuring a livery very similar to the iconic paint scheme his father, Bryan Herta, drove to victory at this track in 1998 and 1999. His top lap came on Firestone primary tires, which haveRead More

By INDYCAR PORTLAND, Ore. – Alex Palou put a decisive stamp of authority on a dream season, winning the BITNILE.COM Grand Prix of Portland on Sunday at Portland International Raceway to clinch the NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship. Palou, from Barcelona, Spain, earned his second series title in the No. 10 The American Legion Honda fielded by Chip Ganassi Racing after claiming his first championship in 2021 with the team. He became the first driver to seal the INDYCAR SERIES title with one race to spare since Sebastien Bourdais claimed ChampRead More

By INDYCAR PORTLAND, Ore. – Christian Lundgaard reaffirmed his status as one of the breakout stars of the 2023 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season by leading the first practice Friday for the BITNILE.COM Grand Prix of Portland at Portland International Raceway. Lundgaard, from Denmark, was quickest with a top lap of 58.1776 seconds in the No. 45 Hy-Vee Honda fielded by Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. Lundgaard, in his second full season in the series, earned his first career victory in July at Toronto and is eighth in the standings with two races remainingRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor NASHVILLE – There’s something about Kyle Kirkwood and winning on street courses in 2023. For the second time this season, the newest member of the Andretti Autosport stable was cool, calm, and collected under pressure as he put on a masterclass in Nashville to win the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix. After starting eighth, Kirkwood cycled to the lead a couple of different times as pit stop strategy played out, but once he cycled back to the top spot on lap 54, it was hisRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor NASHVILLE – Scott McLaughlin will have the best seat in the house when the green flag waves on Sunday’s Big Machine Music City Grand Prix after scoring his second straight pole in Nashville. Emulating the “Thirsty 3’s to the Moon!” moniker that his No. 3 Team Penske has embraced this season, it was almost as if the New Zealander had strapped the RS-25 rocket engine on display in the fan zone to his Chevrolet as he blasted around the 11-turn, 2.1-mile street course in one minute,Read More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor NEWTON, Iowa – Josef Newgarden is inevitable. After falling short in qualifying earlier in the day, the driver of the No. 2 Team Penske Chevrolet bided his time in the early going of Saturday’s Hy-Vee Homefront 250 at Iowa Speedway before taking over the lead just prior to the halfway mark and never looking back en route to his fifth win at the track. Newgarden rolled off from third place behind teammates Will Power and Scott McLaughlin, who looked to be the class of the fieldRead More

By INDYCAR TORONTO – In a qualifying session full of surprises and mixed conditions, Christian Lundgaard sprung the final twist by capturing the NTT P1 Award for the Honda Indy Toronto on Saturday. Lundgaard, 21, from Denmark, earned his second pole of this season and of his young NTT INDYCAR SERIES career with a time of 1 minute, 4.1567 seconds in the No. 45 Vivid Clear Rx Honda fielded by Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. Lundgaard’s other pole came at the GMR Grand Prix in May at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway roadRead More

By INDYCAR TORONTO – Andretti Autosport showed off its street-circuit prowess during practice Friday for the Honda Indy Toronto, as the NTT INDYCAR SERIES team took three of the top four spots on the time sheet, led by Kyle Kirkwood. Kirkwood was quickest in the 75-minute session on the 11-turn, 1.786-mile temporary street circuit around Exhibition Place in Canada’s largest city, turning a best lap of 1 minute, .8075 of a second in the No. 27 AutoNation Honda. Kirkwood’s strength on rough-and-tumble, concrete-lined street circuits came as no surprise, as heRead More

By INDYCAR LEXINGTON, Ohio – One second-generation NTT INDYCAR SERIES driver edged another Saturday in qualifying at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, and both had Honda behind them. In fact, all six drivers in the Firestone Fast Six round were powered by Honda, the first time one manufacturer has swept the final qualifying group since 2016 when Chevrolet did at Watkins Glen International. It was Honda’s first such sweep since the format was implemented more than a decade ago.  SEE: Qualifying Results Andretti Autosport’s Colton Herta, the son of four-time race winnerRead More

By INDYCAR LEXINGTON, Ohio – Pato O’Ward is eager to finish what he couldn’t last year at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. In 2022, the NTT INDYCAR SERIES driver with four career wins captured the pole and led 28 early laps before helplessly retiring from the race when his No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet failed him. O’Ward was reduced to finishing 24th among 27 drivers, a disappointment that was one of his biggest of the year. O’Ward did more than return to Mid-Ohio form on Friday, he drove even faster.Read More