Takuma Sato Tag

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

By Phillip Schmitz, Staff Writer FORT WORTH, Tex. — For the first time since 2009, Takuma Sato isn’t a full time driver in the NTT IndyCar Series, racing just the oval portion of the 2023 schedule for Chip Ganassi Racing in the No. 11 Niterra Honda entry. Sunday marked Sato’s first race of the season at Texas Motor Speedway — a weekend that started out strong for him. He was eighth fastest in morning practice and qualified sixth for the PPG 375. However, once the race began, so did Sato’s problems.Read More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor FORT WORTH, Tex. – Thrice as nice. For the third time in his career, Josef Newgarden found himself in Victory Lane at Texas Motor Speedway, holding off a hard-charging Pato O’Ward down the stretch in Sunday’s PPG 375 to earn himself another cowboy hat. In what was one of the most hotly contested races at the 1.5-mile oval in recent years, deciding which driver would come away victorious was up in the air from the time the green flag dropped all the way to the checkered.Read 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 David Morgan, Associate Editor MADISON, Ill. – Josef Newgarden took a major step forward in the NTT IndyCar Series championship chase on Saturday night, winning the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway to pull within three points of the lead. Entering the day at a 22-point deficit to fellow Team Penske driver Will Power, Newgarden used a rain delay that stretched two hours and nine minutes to his advantage, passing another Penske teammate in Scott McLaughlin with 35 laps to go to score his third-straightRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor MADISON, Ill. – As the sun was setting at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway on Friday, a new challenger emerged in final practice, as Graham Rahal put his Honda on the top of the board. Rahal’s lap of 25.319 seconds (177.728 mph) was enough to bump six-time champion Scott Dixon from the top spot with only a few minutes remaining in the session, marking a steady progression through the day for the No. 15 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing team as he was seventh fastest inRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor MADISON, Ill. – If there’s one constant in life, it’s that Will Power is very good at qualifying and winning poles. At World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway he added to his legacy, capturing the pole for the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 – his 67th career pole – to move into a tie with the legendary Mario Andretti for the all-time lead. As the points leader, Power rolled off last during Friday’s qualifying session, laying down a two-lap average of 182.727 mph to bump Marcus EricssonRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor MADISON, Ill. – Will Power has gotten the weekend at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway started off on the right foot, leading the way in the Friday’s first practice session. Power turned a lap around the 1.25-mile oval in 24.925 seconds (180.539 mph) to jump to the top of the board in his No. 12 Team Penske Chevrolet, just ahead of defending NTT IndyCar Series champion Alex Palou. “We just worked on qualifying, I think, like everyone else,” Power said of the team’s strategy inRead More

By INDYCAR NEWTON, Iowa – Pato O’Ward won the Hy-Vee Salute to Farmers 300 presented by Google on Sunday at Iowa Speedway after dominant leader Josef Newgarden crashed out of the race with 65 laps remaining. O’Ward drove his No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet to a 4.2476-second victory over Will Power in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet. Scott McLaughlin finished third in the No. 3 Freightliner Team Penske Chevrolet, giving the Penske team two of the top three finishers. SEE: Race Results “We knew that we had a greatRead More