NTT IndyCar Series Tag

By INDYCAR INDIANAPOLIS – Seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson sat alone on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s pit wall Wednesday morning, preparing for his first NTT INDYCAR SERIES laps on the iconic oval. He said he went through a mental checklist, reminding himself of the lowered expectations of a first-timer working to complete the required three-stage Rookie Orientation Program for the Indianapolis 500. “Be smart and ease into things,” he told himself. Then the helmet went on, Chip Ganassi Racing’s crew fired the Honda engine, and away Johnson and hisRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Two-time Indianapolis 500 champion Takuma Sato won’t return to Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing in 2022. The team confirmed Sato’s departure Tuesday afternoon with a lengthy appreciation post for his contributions to the squad. The 44-year-old wrapped up his fourth straight year with RLL Racing, finishing 11th in the NTT IndyCar Series standings this season. Sato scored four wins from 2018-2020, including the 104th Indy 500 which marked RLL Racing’s first 500 win since Buddy Rice in 2004. Including Sato’s previous tenure in 2012, he scored sixRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer The NTT IndyCar Series wrapped up its 2021 campaign with 46th Annual Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach last Sunday. Initially, the race was intended to be held in April but was postponed until late September, but what better race to cap off the 16-round odyssey than the sport’s biggest street circuit. When the dust settled, Andretti Autosport continued its dominance on the streets. Only this time, it was Colton Herta who owned the competition and went on to score his third win of the year.Read More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Simon Pagenaud will begin his next chapter in the NTT IndyCar Series by joining Meyer Shank Racing next season. The team announced Monday morning he’ll be taking Jack Harvey’s seat of the No. 60 Honda, becoming teammates with Helio Castroneves once again. Sunday’s finale at Long Beach marked the final race for Pagenaud at Team Penske after seven seasons of tremendous accomplishments. From 2015-2021, the 37-year-old Frenchman captured 11 victories and two of the sport’s biggest prizes. Those being his lone title to date in 2016Read More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor LONG BEACH, Calif. – When Alex Palou climbed behind the wheel of the No. 10 Honda for the first time during an offseason test at Barber Motorsports Park and bested his more experienced teammates, Chip Ganassi Racing’s newest hire caught the eye of his team owner. With speed right out of the gate, the team knew they had something special in the 24-year-old Spaniard, but didn’t know just how special of a season they were in for. “It’s pretty interesting,” Ganassi said of that first test.Read More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer LONG BEACH, Calif. – Another dominant race to end the NTT IndyCar Series campaign for Colton Herta, who won Sunday’s Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. “What a good car that we’ve come here with,” said Herta, who led 43 of 85 laps. “We’ve actually done numerous changes this weekend, but one very minor change that stuck on the car. It just shows what kind of car we brought do this race weekend. “Yeah, it was perfect. Without the muff-up in qualifying, I think we couldRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer LONG BEACH, Calif. – Pole sitter Josef Newgarden knew a shot at a third Astor Cup was a huge reach. He entered Sunday’s Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach third in points, 47 markers behind Alex Palou. After 85 laps, Newgarden finished second in both the race and championship, losing out to Palou by 38 points. Newgarden led opening 18 laps until pit stops shuffled the running order, handing over the lead to Helio Castroneves. From there, cautions bit Newgarden which allowed eventual race winner ColtonRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor LONG BEACH, Calif. – Almost as quickly as the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach began, the championship hopes for Pato O’Ward vanished just as fast. Starting the day with high hopes that he would be able to put up a challenge for the Astor Challenge Cup, it took just one lap on the Southern California street course for everything to go awry. As the field stormed into Turn 11 on that first lap, O’Ward found himself in the middle of a hornet’s nest, when EdRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer LONG BEACH, Calif. – A lot has changed in the world since 2019. The three NTT IndyCar Series title contenders are no exception as their racing careers have also undergone change over the course of the past two years. When the checkered flag dropped at Laguna Seca that year, Josef Newgarden was celebrating his second INDYCAR title, which lifted a tremendous amount of stress off him. Current championship leader Alex Palou was racing in Japan’s Super Formula, along with Pato O’Ward, who was also racing inRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor LONG BEACH, Calif. – Qualifying has been the bane of Josef Newgarden’s existence in recent weeks, but Saturday, the tide turned in his favor with a lap fast enough to score the pole for the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. Still mathematically eligible for the NTT IndyCar Series championship, the elation among the No. 1 team was palpable, with Newgarden emerging from his Team Penske Chevrolet following his pole-winning run with arms stretched upwards, yelling “F*** yeah!” to his team, knowing he was still inRead More