Takuma Sato Tag

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 – 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 David Morgan, Associate Editor INDIANAPOLIS – The weight is finally lifted. After Josef Newgarden accomplished almost everything he could have dreamed of in his NTT IndyCar Series career, only the Indianapolis 500 had eluded him – until today. A wild end to Sunday’s 107th running of the Greatest Spectacle in Racing saw three red flags in the last 16 laps to set up a one lap shootout to determine who would come away with their name immortalized on the Borg-Warner Trophy and Newgarden came out on top. Defending race winnerRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor INDIANAPOLIS – No attack, no chance. Takuma Sato, the 2020 winner of the Indianapolis 500, paced Friday’s Carb Day practice at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, flexing his muscles in the final track time before the 107th running of the Greatest Spectacle in Racing on Sunday. Driving a Chip Ganassi Racing Honda this season on just the ovals, the two-time Indy 500 champion paced the session at 227.855 mph ahead of his teammate, six-time NTT IndyCar Series champion and 2008 Indy 500 winner Scott Dixon. Will Power timedRead More

By INDYCAR INDIANAPOLIS – Reigning NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Will Power led practice Monday for the 107th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge that started Race Week. 2018 “500” winner Power topped the two-hour, 10-minute session with a top lap of 39.2633 seconds, 229.222 mph in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske as the starting field of 33 drivers continued to hone setups for Race Day. Two-time series champion Power will start 12th in the race. SEE: Practice Results “We’ve been having vibration problems,” Power said. “I think we got somewhat on topRead More

By INDYCAR INDIANAPOLIS – Felix Rosenqvist led a historic day of qualifying Saturday for the 107th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge, turning the third-fastest four-lap qualifying run in history to lead the 12 drivers who will compete for the NTT P1 Award on Sunday. Rosenqvist’s second run of the day, at 4:42 p.m. ET, featured a four-lap average speed of 233.947 mph in the No. 6 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet. Only Arie Luyendyk’s all-time record run of 236.986 in 1996 and Scott Dixon’s pole run of 234.048 last year were faster.Read More

By INDYCAR INDIANAPOLIS – Takuma Sato lived up to his “no attack, no chance” motto on “Fast Friday” at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, turning the fastest Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge practice lap since 1996 on the eve of the start of qualifying. Two-time “500” winner Sato led the six-hour session with a lap of 38.3382 seconds, 234.753 mph in the No. 11 Deloitte Honda fielded by Chip Ganassi Racing, the ninth-fastest practice lap in Indy 500 history. The eight fastest practice laps at Indy were turned in 1996, led byRead More

By INDYCAR INDIANAPOLIS – If practice Thursday is any indication, Marcus Ericsson could start the defense of his 2022 Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge victory from the front of the field. Ericsson turned the top lap, 39.1974 seconds, 229.607 mph, during the six-hour session under sunny skies at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the No. 8 Huski Ice Spritz Honda fielded by Chip Ganassi Racing. It was the fastest lap so far in two days of on-track activity this week, topping the 229.439 set Wednesday by Ericsson’s teammate and two-time Indy 500Read More

By INDYCAR INDIANAPOLIS – Past winners Takuma Sato and Scott Dixon both topped 229 mph as Chip Ganassi Racing drivers took four of the top seven spots on the speed chart in the first day of practice Wednesday for the 107th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge. Two-time “500” winner Sato led with a top lap of 39.2261 seconds, 229.439 mph in the No. 11 Deloitte Honda, turned in the final two hours under sunny skies and air temperatures in the mid-70s. 2008 Indy 500 winner Dixon was second at 229.174 inRead More

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