Pato O’Ward Tag

By David Morgan, Associate Editor INDIANAPOLIS – Chip Ganassi Racing flexed its muscles again during Friday’s final practice for the 106th running of the Indianapolis 500 as Tony Kanaan topped the board, but a pair of incidents during the 90-minute session would overshadow the continued success from the Ganassi stable. Kanaan’s Honda set the fast time of 227.114 mph around the 2.5-mile track, just ahead of teammate Marcus Ericsson at 227.004 mph. “It’s not important at all,” Kanaan said of being fastest on Friday. “We had a good car all month.Read More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor INDIANAPOLIS – Since making his full-time debut in the NTT IndyCar Series, Pato O’Ward and Arrow McLaren SP have been synonymous with each other and on Friday, it was announced that the 23-year-old will be staying put with the team for the foreseeable future. According to a release from the team, O’Ward, who has been a part of Arrow McLaren SP since the start of the 2020 season, will remain as the pilot of the No. 5 Chevrolet though the end of the 2025 season. OverRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor Never in the storied history of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway has a pole winner driven faster than Scott Dixon did during Sunday’s final day of qualifying to set the field for the 106th running of the Indianapolis 500. Rocketing around the 2.5-mile track at an average of 234.046 mph, Dixon was the final car to head out and make his qualifying run, crossing the finish line to eclipse Scott Brayton’s pole record from 1996 to score his fifth pole position for the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing,”Read More

By INDYCAR INDIANAPOLIS – It was a very good time either to be powered by a Chevrolet engine or drive for Chip Ganassi Racing on the first day of PPG Presents Armed Forces Qualifying for the 106th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge on Saturday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Chevrolets propelled the three fastest qualifiers, led by Rinus VeeKay’s four-lap average speed of 233.655 mph in the No. 21 Bitcoin Racing Team with BitNile Chevrolet, while all five of Ganassi’s Honda-powered drivers ended up in the top 12 and will advance toRead More

By INDYCAR INDIANAPOLIS – Takuma Sato continued his domination of the speed chart this week at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, completing a sweep of all three practices by setting the pace once again in tricky conditions on Fast Friday for the 106th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge. But on the eve of PPG Presents Armed Forces Qualifying, the oldest and youngest drivers in the field also are contenders Saturday to lead the group of 12 drivers advancing to the second and third rounds of qualifying Sunday, with a possible shot at theRead More

By INDYCAR INDIANAPOLIS – There’s a pattern forming after two full days of practice for the 106th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge: Takuma Sato and Scott Dixon are really fast. Sato and Dixon were 1-2 on the speed chart Thursday for the second consecutive practice at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Two-time Indy 500 winner Sato led at 227.519 mph in the No. 51 Nurtec ODT Honda, with six-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion and 2008 “500” winner Dixon second at 227.335 in the No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. “We’reRead More

By INDYCAR INDIANAPOLIS – Will Power won the NTT P1 Award for the GMR Grand Prix on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course, earning his 64th career INDYCAR SERIES pole on his final qualifying lap Friday afternoon. Power’s best lap was 1 minute, 9.7664 seconds in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet on the 14-turn, 2.439-mile road course. Australian Power is just three poles shy of tying the all-time INDYCAR SERIES pole record of 67 set by Mario Andretti. SEE: Qualifying Results “This series, it’s so tight,” Power said. “So, toRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The 2022 NTT IndyCar Series season may have gotten off to a rocky start for Pato O’Ward, but the driver of the No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP has decided to take the fight to the competition, leading to a win Sunday at Barber Motorsports Park. It seemed as if the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama would be a runaway for polesitter Rinus VeeKey, who led the first 57 laps of the event, but heading into the final round of pit stops, O’WardRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – What a day it’s been for Rinus VeeKay. After putting up the fast time in Saturday morning practice at Barber Motorsports Park, the driver of the No. 21 Ed Carpenter Racing Honda kept the momentum rolling in qualifying, streaking around the 17-turn, 2.3-mile road course in one minute, 6.250 seconds to score the pole for the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama. “It was a great run,” VeeKay said. “Feel great out there. Actually a little bit surprised. My goal was to getRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Rinus VeeKay kicked Saturday morning off at Barber Motorsports Park on a high note by leading practice with a lap of one minute, 5.926 seconds to place his No. 21 Chevrolet at the top of the scoring pylon. “I knew we had potential yesterday. We didn’t know we had potential to be fastest right now,” VeeKay said after improving on his 10th place run in Friday’s lone practice session. “The reds really give us what we need right now. I think there’s aRead More