Scott McLaughlin Tag

By INDYCAR INDIANAPOLIS – In a career full of success, winning the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge is one of the few boxes Josef Newgarden hasn’t checked. That could change this year, if the first day of the Indy 500 Open Test on Thursday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway is any indication. SEE: Test Results Two-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Newgarden was the fastest of 33 drivers on the 2.5-mile oval during the 8.5-hour test, turning a top lap of 227.686 mph in the No. 2 Shell Team Penske Chevrolet. Newgarden’s best finishRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor When it’s your day, it’s your day. The start of the 2023 NTT IndyCar Series season didn’t start the way Kyle Kirkwood and Andretti Autosport would have liked following two tumultuous races at St. Petersburg and Texas, but they can put all that behind them now as Kirkwood was victorious in Sunday’s Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach – his first career IndyCar win. Kirkwood streaked to his first career IndyCar pole on Saturday ahead of Marcus Ericsson and his Andretti teammate Romain Grosjean and thatRead More

By INDYCAR LONG BEACH, Calif. – Kyle Kirkwood earned his first career NTT INDYCAR SERIES pole Saturday, grabbing the NTT P1 Award for the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. Kirkwood, from Jupiter, Florida, won the top spot for the prestigious Southern California street race with a best time of 1 minute, 6.2878 seconds on his final lap in the Firestone Fast Six in the No. 27 AutoNation Honda. Kirkwood’s previous best starting spot in his NTT INDYCAR SERIES career was fifth in March at the season-opening Firestone Grand PrixRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor FORT WORTH, Tex. — A busy Saturday at Texas Motor Speedway ended with six-time NTT IndyCar Series champion Scott Dixon topping the board in final practice for Sunday’s running of the PPG 375. The Chip Ganassi Racing ace, who has won five times previously at the 1.5-mile track, put down his fast lap of 223.378 mph with less than 10 minutes left in the session to give him a boost of momentum heading into Sunday. Josef Newgarden, the defending winner at Texas, led the way forRead More

By Phillip Schmitz, Staff Writer FORT WORTH, Tex. — Team Penske’s Scott McLaughln went fastest in opening practice for the PPG 375 at Texas Motor Speedway with a 223.747 mph average lap. The New Zealand native was followed by the Arrow McLaren duo of Pato O’Ward and Alexander Rossi on the speed charts. “A little bit bamboozled at the start of the run,” McLaughlin said of practice. “She was slipperier than a pocket full of pudding, you know, on the outside of Turn 1 there. We got through all that kerfuffleRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer The future of Texas Motor Speedway has become the focal point of the INDYCAR paddock, press and fans alike over the past few years. With the second round of the championship trail drawing near, there’s still such an unknown about the once revered 1.5-mile oval’s future. However, there’s some buzz going into this weekend’s PPG 375. Among the positives is a promising crowd showing up to support Pato O’Ward, who captured his maiden INDYCAR win in Texas two years ago. In fact, O’Ward bought an entireRead More

By Matt Weaver, Special Contributor The NASCAR industry is an especially reactive one. For ways both good and bad, it knee jerks to everything from safety matters (generally good) to the (mixed results) endless competition related conversations across the ether on a weekly basis. This season alone has seen the last-minute knee-jerk to a lower downforce configuration for short tracks and road courses, following a winter banning the ‘Hail Melon’ and incorporating a universal choose rule. No motorsports sanctioning body in the world is as reactive to its competitors and audienceRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer What was shaping up to be a fantastic battle for the race win went straight to hell in a heartbeat. Both pole sitter Romain Grosjean and defending Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg winner Scott McLaughlin crashed on Lap 72, bringing out the final full course caution. McLaughlin was able to continue his race, but the contact ended Grosjean’s afternoon after leading a race-high 31 of 100 laps. After making their final pit stops, McLaughlin just exited ahead of Grosjean, who pitted the lap before him.Read More

By INDYCAR ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Romain Grosjean led an Andretti Autosport sweep of the front row in qualifying for the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg presented by RP Funding on Saturday, winning the NTT P1 Award for the second time in his career. Grosjean, from France, led the Firestone Fast Six with a best lap of 59.5532 seconds in the No. 28 DHL Honda on his final trip around the 14-turn, 1.8-mile temporary street circuit that hosts the opening race of the 2023 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season. Teammate ColtonRead More

By INDYCAR ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – It’s hard to believe, but none of legendary six-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Scott Dixon’s 53 career wins have come on the streets of St. Petersburg. That might change Sunday, if the results of the opening practice Friday are any indication. Dixon was quickest during the opening practice session of the 2023 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season, turning a top lap of 1 minute, 1.6145 seconds in the No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. Dixon will look to take the top step ofRead More