Scott McLaughlin Tag

By INDYCAR DETROIT – A significant off-track week for Kyle Kirkwood extended to more good news Friday on track at the Raceway at Belle Isle. NTT INDYCAR SERIES rookie Kirkwood was the quickest driver under sunny skies Friday afternoon during the opening practice for the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear, with a best lap of 1 minute, 16.1345 seconds in the No. 14 ROKiT/AJ FOYT RACING Chevrolet. The practice-leading performance – the first time Kirkwood or a Foyt driver has led a session this season – came just twoRead 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. – Callum Ilott has shown steady progression through the weekend at Barber Motorsports Park, climbing all the way to the top of the scoring pylon in Saturday’s final practice session for the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama. With a lap of one minute, 7.0906 seconds, the driver of the No. 77 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet beat out defending NTT IndyCar Series champion Alex Palou to close out the day as the fastest driver. The Englishman started the weekend with an eighth place runRead 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

By INDYCAR BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Andretti Autosport was on the pace Friday at Barber Motorsports Park as Colton Herta led opening practice for the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama presented by AmFirst with a best lap of 1 minute, 6.5149 seconds in the No. 26 Gainbridge Honda. Defending race winner and reigning NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Alex Palou followed closely behind in second at 1:06.5657 in the No. 10 The American Legion Honda, just .05 of a second behind Herta’s quick lap. SEE: Practice Results “I was really happy withRead More

By INDYCAR INDIANAPOLIS – The good times keep rolling for Josef Newgarden. Two-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Newgarden, who leads the series points this year after winning two of the first three races, led the rain-delayed second day of the Indianapolis 500 Open Test on Thursday with a top lap of 229.519 mph in the No. 2 Shell Team Penske Chevrolet. That lap was nearly 2.5 mph faster than the top Wednesday speed of 227.187 by six-time series champion Scott Dixon. RESULTS: Thursday | Two-Day Combined Newgarden is seeking his first Indianapolis 500 presentedRead More

By INDYCAR LONG BEACH, Calif. – Colton Herta pulverized the track record by nearly a second to win the NTT P1 Award for the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach on Saturday, leading three Andretti Autosport cars in the Firestone Fast Six. Southern California native Herta’s top lap was 1 minute, 5.3095 in the No. 26 Gainbridge Honda to earn his first pole of the season and eighth of his career. That lap crushed the track record of 1:06.2254 set by Helio Castroneves in April 2017, as air temperatures were aboutRead More

By INDYCAR LONG BEACH, Calif. – On a scorching April afternoon in Southern California, Simon Pagenaud turned up the heat even higher before the big chill arrives. Frenchman Pagenaud turned a top lap of 1 minute, 7.1991 seconds in the No. 60 AutoNation/Sirius XM Honda to lead the opening practice Friday for the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, the third NTT INDYCAR SERIES race of the season. 2016 series champion Pagenaud’s top lap was more than four-tenths of a second quicker than his closest pursuer, two-time Long Beach winner AlexanderRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor FORT WORTH, Texas – As they say, it’s never over until it’s over. Scott McLaughlin dominated at Texas Motor Speedway, leading 186 laps and looked to be in the catbird seat on the last lap of Sunday’s XPEL 375. However, his Team Penske teammate Josef Newgarden had other plans, passing him on the last lap to steal the win. Biding his time behind McLaughlin over the course of the closing laps, Newgarden saw his chance when the New Zealander caught lapped traffic, powering around McLaughlin throughRead More