Pato O’Ward Tag

By David Morgan, Associate Editor INDIANAPOLIS – Is this finally Graham Rahal’s weekend? The driver of the No. 15 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda has certainly made positive strides in that direction to start off the Gallagher Grand Prix weekend on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course as he finished the first practice session of the day at the top of the board. Rahal’s lap of one minute, 9.842 seconds was enough to allow him to take the fast time during the 90-minute session, just ahead of Arrow McLaren driver FelixRead 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 NASHVILLE – The NTT IndyCar Series is going into its third season racing in the Music City and while the focus is on this weekend’s running of the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix, all eyes will be on the series in 2024 when this race makes a big move downtown. With the impending construction of a new stadium for the Tennessee Titans, the current 11-turn, 2.1-mile course will not be able to be used starting next season. Instead of making some minor changes as aRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor NASHVILLE – Will Power struck the first blow of the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix weekend by leading Friday’s opening practice session. The driver of the No. 12 Team Penske Chevrolet jumped to the top of the board with a lap of one minute, 16.4042 seconds to finish the session just ahead of current NTT IndyCar Series points leader Alex Palou.  good start. Certainly had good cars here last year. Just the race is a very different story to being quick in practice and qualifying.Read More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor NEWTON, Iowa – Break out the brooms. For the second day in a row, Team Penske pilot Josef Newgarden dominated at Iowa Speedway to make a clean sweep of the HyVee INDYCAR Weekend and score his sixth career win at the 0.894-mile oval. After banking a win on Saturday, Newgarden picked right up where he left off on Sunday, powering his way forward from a seventh-place start to take over the lead with a bold two-for-one pass on teammates Will Power and Scott McLaughlin on LapRead 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 David Morgan, Associate Editor NEWTON, Iowa – Team Penske is back at it again. Coming into the Hy-Vee INDYCAR Weekend at Iowa Speedway, it was expected that Team Penske would be the team to beat and they lived up to those expectations in qualifying as teammates Will Power and Scott McLaughlin locked out the front row for both races on the 0.894-mile oval. As the leader in all-time pole positions, Power only added to his legacy with his 69th and 70th career poles, respectively. With his double pole grab onRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor NEWTON, Iowa – It’s Josef Newgarden’s world, we’re just living in it. The driver of the No. 2 Team Penske Chevrolet has been the dominant force at Iowa Speedway for a number of years now and once again, the four-time winner at the 0.894-mile oval was at the top of the board when the checkered flag flew on Friday’s lone NTT IndyCar Series practice session for the Hy-Vee INDYCAR Weekend. Heading into the weekend, it’s been the consensus of the IndyCar paddock that Newgarden would onceRead More

By INDYCAR TORONTO – Christian Lundgaard won the Honda Indy Toronto on Sunday, mixing sizzling speed and successful strategy for his first career NTT INDYCAR SERIES victory. Lundgaard, 21, from Denmark, drove his No. 45 Vivid Clear Rx Honda to an 11.7893-second victory over championship leader Alex Palou in the No. 10 Journie Rewards Honda. Colton Herta finished a season-best third in the No. 26 Gainbridge Honda. SEE: Race Results This was the first victory for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing since Takuma Sato won the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge in AugustRead More