Latest news with #109thIndianapolis500
Fox Sports
6 hours ago
- Automotive
- Fox Sports
Colton Herta Rises to Top as Andretti Global Stays Quick at Detroit
INDYCAR A second Andretti Global driver has stepped to the fore, as Colton Herta led pre-qualifying practice for the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear on Saturday morning. Herta produced the top lap of the one-hour session on the nine-turn, 1.645-mile downtown street circuit, 1 minute, 1.7823 seconds, in the No. 26 Gainbridge Honda. That's just slightly slower than the top lap of the weekend turned Friday by his teammate Kyle Kirkwood, 1:01.7509, as air temperatures this morning hovered in the mid-50s under overcast skies. SEE: Practice Results Scott McLaughlin stayed in the No. 2 position for a second straight session in the No. 3 Team Penske Chevrolet with his top lap of 1:01.8995. Kirkwood stayed sharp, ending up third at 1:01.9423 in the No. 27 Siemens AWS Honda. Callum Ilott brought PREMA Racing closer to the front of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES grid for the second straight weekend by ending up fourth at 1:02.1450 in the team's No. 90 Chevrolet. Ilott's rookie teammate, Robert Shwartzman, was the shock pole winner for the 109th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge. Rookie Louis Foster, the 2024 INDY NXT by Firestone champion, enjoyed one of his strongest sessions of the season. He rounded out the top five at 1:02.1696 in the No. 45 Mi-Jack Honda of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. 109th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge winner Alex Palou continued to struggle for the first time this season. Palou, who has won five of the first six races this season, managed to improve to 12th at 1:02.5318 in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda after ending up 15th out of 27 drivers Friday. Up next is NTT P1 Award qualifying at noon ET (FS1, FOX Sports app, INDYCAR Radio Network). The 100-lap race starts at 12:30 p.m. ET Sunday (FOX, FOX Sports app, INDYCAR Radio Network). recommended
Fox Sports
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Fox Sports
Alex Palou Savors Spoils of '500' Victory, Big Media Interest during NYC Tour
INDYCAR Alex Palou gained worldwide acclaim, INDYCAR SERIES immortality and a healthy monetary prize for winning the 109th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge last Sunday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. But there's a good chance the Spaniard also lost something this week with his win: sleep. Palou embarked on a hectic victory tour stuffed with media engagements and public appearances in Indianapolis and New York just hours after winning 'The Greatest Spectacle in Racing' in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, his first oval victory and his fifth win in six NTT INDYCAR SERIES races this season. 'It was a very busy couple of days,' Palou said. 'Went to different studios, different kinds of interviews. I had a lot of fun doing those. Got to experience some cool stuff in New York. 'Every time I was getting tired, the people in INDYCAR gave me small treats, like visiting the Empire State Building or stuff that made my day. It's been awesome. I would repeat this again next year after the '500.'' The celebrations started just a few hours after he took the checkered flag for his first career oval victory. Palou was honored alone on the court at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis during Game 3 of the Indiana Pacers-New York Knicks' NBA Eastern Conference Finals game. He wore the winner's wreath and a Pacers' jersey with star Tyrese Haliburton's name and number while stepping into the spotlight on the court to rapturous applause of the sellout crowd. On Monday morning, May 26, Palou appeared remotely on morning shows 'FOX and Friends' and 'Good Morning America' in between the winner's photo shoot at IMS and on-site interviews with numerous local and national media outlets, including the Associated Press, FOX Sports and FOX Sports Radio. Then Palou and his family flew to New York that evening for a full schedule of appearances and interviews Tuesday and Wednesday in the country's most populous city, also known as the 'media capital of the world.' Palou appeared live in studio Tuesday morning on 'Good Day New York' on the FOX affiliate FOX 5 NYC before participating in numerous remote interviews with outlets ranging from 'The Dan Le Batard Show,' Muscle & Fitness magazine, the 'Speed Street' podcast hosted by fellow INDYCAR SERIES driver Conor Daly podcast and Spanish media. Then Palou headed to FOX Sports' studios in Manhattan to appear live on the popular daily sports talk show 'First Things First,' which also broadcast live last week from IMS. Co-host Nick Wright proudly wore the winner's wreath and drank the winner's traditional bottle of milk during the segment with Palou. Palou then was whisked to Citi Field in the borough of Queens, where he threw the ceremonial first pitch before the home New York Mets' game against the Chicago White Sox. Palou also gave the command, 'Mascots, start your engines,' on the field for the mascot race in the middle of the third inning. On Wednesday, Palou posed for photos in front an image of him drinking the winner's bottle of milk on the Victory Podium Sunday displayed on the giant video board in front of the NASDAQ stock market in world-famous Times Square. He then visited the observation deck on the 86th floor of the Empire State Building for photos before more interviews with numerous media outlets, including CNN, SiriusXM and many other media in his native Spain. The New York portion of the trip ended early Thursday morning when Palou flew to Detroit and participated in pre-event media activities for the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear, which takes place Friday through Sunday of this week as the next race on the NTT INDYCAR SERIES schedule. recommended
Fox Sports
3 days ago
- Sport
- Fox Sports
Drivers weigh in on cars at end of Indy 500 lead lap: ‘Get the F out of the way'
Bruce Martin Special to DETROIT — For many of the 350,000 fans that attended the 109th Indianapolis 500 and the peak audience of 8.4 million viewers that watched on FOX, they wondered why the winner of the race was the third car that crossed the finish line and the fourth car on the track was scored as second. It was a rare situation that happens on ovals when the last two cars on the lead lap are actually running ahead of the leader and haven't been lapped yet. Because they are fighting to stay on the lead lap, they do not have to yield their position to the race leader, per INDYCAR rules. At the end of last Sunday's Indy 500, those two cars were raced by Devlin DeFrancesco of Toronto and Louie Foster, a rookie from Odiham, Hampshire, England. Both drivers race for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing and both were fighting to complete all 200 laps of the Indianapolis 500 on the lead lap. But in the final 16 laps of the race, Alex Palou masterfully used the two cars on the end of the lead lap to improve his speed the draft. That meant Palou's No. 10 DHL Honda could run faster while saving fuel. Marcus Ericsson was running second at the time after Palou boldly passed him for the lead on the inside of Turn 1 on the 187th lap. Because Palou was being aerodynamically towed by Foster and DeFrancesco, the car fourth in line experienced turbulence and could not get a run to attempt to pass Palou for the win. When the checkered flag waved, Palou was the winner of the race and Ericsson was scored second. Ericsson would later get bounced to 31st place by INDYCAR officials after his No. 28 Honda failed post-race technical inspection because of illegal modifications to the engine management system cover. Andretti Global teammate Kyle Kirkwood was also penalized for the same infraction after finishing sixth and he was moved to 32nd in the final results. Although Foster and DeFrancesco were both racing ahead of the leader based on the rules, many drivers believe the spirit of the rules should have seen those two drivers move over to let Palou and Ericsson by. Also, Palou knew his car performed better with another car in front and chose to stay behind the two to maintain his position as the leader, rather than give Ericsson a chance on the track. "We had two cars that were almost a lap down right in front of us," Palou explained to me in an exclusive interview the day after winning the Indy 500. "They were breaking the air in front of me, so I had a tow on the straight, so I was going a lot faster on the straight than if I was alone leading the race. "The only bad part is that on the corners, you're losing down force and you're losing grip, so you cannot go as fast. "It was the same for Marcus on the corners, but at least Marcus couldn't really get a big difference with the tow on me to overtake me on the straight. "It's similar to what Helio Castroneves did to me in 2021. "I'm glad it worked out for me this time." In the 105th Indianapolis 500 in 2021, Castroneves went to the outside to pass race leader Palou with two laps to go at the start-finish line. As they encountered a pack of lapped cars out of Turn 4, it gave Castroneves the drafting advantage. The cars at the tail end of the lead lap that ran in front of the two drivers fighting it out for victory were Ryan Hunter-Reay in the DHL car, Scott McLaughlin of Team Penske and James Hinchcliffe of Andretti Autosport. Castroneves knew to draft behind those cars to disturb the aero on Palou's No. 10 Honda on the final lap, as he became the fourth four-time Indianapolis 500 winner. Ironically, Hunter-Reay's sponsor on the No. 28 Honda in 2021 was DHL — the same sponsor for Palou's No. 10 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda in 2025. David Malukas was scored as third on Sunday but moved up to second place on Monday after Ericsson was penalized. After the race, Malukas claimed that "lappers spoiled the party." At Monday night's Indianapolis 500 Victory Awards Celebration at the JW Marriott in Indianapolis, he took a much more open view of the end of the race. He said neither Foster nor DeFrancesco did anything wrong. It was just bad timing for some of the drivers fighting it out for the win that they caught up to the tail end of the lead lap near the end of the race. "I understand it from both sides," Malukas told me. "It's more of just an unfortunate situation that they get to be there at that final battle. "You take those lap cars out of the scenario, and now it's a four- or five-way battle for the lead. It's not like if lapped cars weren't there, it's a guaranteed win. "To be fair, we could have probably finished even worse and could have been fifth, but … it just makes for a very good ending. "It's a high-octane finish. People are going left, right, back and forth, pushing. But when you have lapped cars racing up to speed and you have the leader just towing up behind them, nobody can do anything with 15 laps to go. "Everybody knew that." Team Penske's Will Power believes INDYCAR officials should revise the rule and force the tail end of the lead lap to move over and let the drivers fighting it out for the victory get by. "If the leader is coming up behind you, get the F out of the way," Power told me Monday. Night. "That's certainly one way to do it. "Just get out of the way. Your day is done. There are 15 to go. People are fighting out for a win. "Come on." Power won the 2018 Indianapolis 500 and has often criticized race officiating for not having slower cars move over to keep the leaders out front. "There would have been a lot of passing for the win if there weren't two back markers racing in front of them," Power continued. "All the people watching and they're just watching two back markers for the last people on the lead lap fight it out which is wrong. "I just think maybe with 20 to go, you need a blue flag rule or something because everyone's there to see the leaders fight it out. For me it's been a huge problem with INDYCAR for a long time. Why should you fight with a person in last place, who is still running?" Barry Wanser calls the race strategy for Palou at Chip Ganassi Racing and he is the team manager for the six-time Indy 500 winning team. He was adamant that it was the circumstance of the race that the drivers fighting it out for the win encountered the end of the lead lap. "They were definitely not lapped cars," Wanser told me. "They were the tail end of the lead lap, which means if a yellow came out, they would be packed up at the back of the pack and they'd be racing for a higher position when it goes green. So, they were doing exactly what they were entitled to do. "It benefited us. You don't know what is going to happen during the race that will hurt you or benefit you. That helped us. "We lost to Helio in 2021 because he passed us and then caught the traffic in front of him. And then that makes it much harder, and we had to settle for second. "This allowed us to run technically in third as the leader with those two cars in front of us, which helped us." Wanser also cleared up the misconception that INDYCAR should have used the blue flag, for Foster and DeFrancesco to move over. On the ovals, INDYCAR uses the 105-percent rule. "If you are not maintaining at least 105 percent of the leader's pace, then you're required to make a pit stop and change the car," Wanser explained. "On road courses, street courses, we have the blue flag rule, but you have to be a lap down to the entire field until you're a blue-flag eligible." Ricky Davis is Palou's crew chief at Chip Ganassi Racing and prepared the race-winning machine that won. "They didn't spoil it," David told me, referring to Foster and DeFrancesco. "Well, they didn't spoil our party. They might have spoiled it for Ericsson and Malukas, and we were certainly appreciative of that. "Those cars are still in lead lap, so they did not have to move over. If they were off the pace, they would have moved over. But the thing is, they were running as fast, if not faster, than we were." Palou's latest win came in the biggest race on Earth and gives the popular driver from Spain a 112-point lead over Pato O'Ward in the 2025 NTT INDYCAR SERIES Championship. It was also Palou's fifth win in the first six INDYCAR races this season. Team owner Chip Ganassi realizes this combination is historically special and credits Palou with understanding the situation that helped him win. "There was lots of racecraft going on in his head while he's driving around," Ganassi told me. "We won the race, and we lost the race by those same sort of circumstances, as you said. "It's just one of those things that happens in motor racing, when you're on a closed circuit and you have other cars that are going to be involved in the outcome of a race sometimes." It was Castroneves that schooled Palou to become the fourth four-time winner of the Indianapolis 500 in 2021. Four years later, Palou remembered that lesson and used it on 2022 Indy 500 winner Ericsson. "He was an amazing teacher," Palou said of Castroneves. "It was an expensive class, honestly. "I would say there's part of luck, as well. Like you need to have the traffic at the right time, and yes, you need to be able to read it, but everything was falling to my way and then I had to overtake Marcus. But I don't know if he thought he was safe or if he was not thinking that traffic was playing a big role on the race or not. "But yeah, glad that the 2021 class paid off." With his latest triumph, Palou has certainly moved to the head of the class in INDYCAR. Bruce Martin is a veteran motorsports writer and contributor to Follow him on X at @BruceMartin_500 . BEST OF FOX SPORTS' INDY 500 COVERAGE: Ranking Indy 500 drivers from 33 to 1: Can anyone unseat Josef Newgarden? Got milk? 33 potential Indy 500 winners pick preferred dairy option Pato O'Ward pens letter to Indy 500: 'Had my heart broken here … but it also fuels me' No oval experience, no problem: Rookie Robert Shwartzman captures Indy 500 pole Rash of Crash: Inside a wild weekend of wrecks during Indy 500 prep From 'magical' to 'legendary': Drivers describe the Indy 500 in one word 2025 Indy 500 liveries: See the designs of all 34 cars on the track at The Brickyard Counting down the 25 most memorable moments in Indy 500 history recommended Get more from NTT INDYCAR SERIES Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more
Fox Sports
3 days ago
- Automotive
- Fox Sports
Inside Line: Biggest Indianapolis 500 Takeaway?
INDYCAR Today's question: What was your biggest takeaway from the 109th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge? Curt Cavin: Alex Palou's first '500' victory and the second grandstand sellout of the modern era were huge stories, to be sure. But the most significant development of this month was the television rating associated with FOX Sports' first race broadcast. Penske Entertainment Corp. President and CEO Mark Miles said officials had modeled what a 5 percent year-over-year increase in Indy ratings would mean to the NTT INDYCAR SERIES season as a whole, and it was a difference-maker. But a 40 percent increase, which is what was achieved? Well, that required a whole new model calculation, and Miles said the impact from the business side of the sport will be felt in a massive way. Eric Smith: My biggest takeaway was how much of an impact pit road had on the outcome of Sunday's race. While I do believe the best car and best driver won, I was shocked to see so many drivers were plagued by the slowest part of the track. Takuma Sato and Ryan Hunter-Reay have three '500' victories between them and led 99 of 200 laps, but each had issues on pit road, dropping them from winning contention. 2016 winner Alexander Rossi and two-time '500' winner Josef Newgarden both saw their days end on pit road, albeit not necessarily pit road problems, but mechanical failures while on pit road. Rookie pole winner Robert Shwartzman, Colton Herta and Rinus VeeKay each had brake problems entering their pit stops, effectively ruining any shot of victory. Not saying any of those drivers had a car capable of stopping Palou, but each could have fared better in the final results. Arni Sribhen: After three weeks at home in Indianapolis, the only thing I'm taking away from the Month of May is something I already knew coming into the two races at Indianapolis Motor Speedway – Alex Palou is really good at INDYCAR SERIES racing. Numbers back it up. Five wins in six races. Six straight podiums. Three-hundred six points out of a possible 334. Face it guys, we're watching the 1927 New York Yankees, Michael Jordan and the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls win 72 games or the early 2000s Ferrari F1 of Michael Schumacher, only it's a yellow-and-red NTT INDYCAR SERIES car and a driver having an 'amazing' year. Paul Kelly: Along the lines of Arni's thoughts, I'm beyond impressed at the history Alex Palou and Chip Ganassi Racing are making this season. Let's get real: The championship race is probably all but over, and Palou could almost canter to his fourth Astor Challenge Cup in five years. But I don't want to see Palou and the No. 10 DHL team nickel-and-dime their way to a third straight title this summer; I want to see them crush the field like a relentless steamroller. I want Palou to challenge and even break the all-time record for victories in one INDYCAR SERIES season, 10, by A.J. Foyt in 1964 and Al Unser in 1970. Remember when the New England Patriots went 16-0 during the regular season in 2007? Their games became appointment TV that season, whether you liked Tom Brady and Co. or not (as a lifelong member of Bills Mafia, I loathe the Pats). The Indy 500 just drew its biggest TV audience since 2008, and continued Palou trips to Victory Lane may keep more of those fans around their sets than a couple more wins and a handful of top-fives through Nashville in August. Let's see the Palou wagon keep rolling at maximum speed. recommended
Time of India
4 days ago
- Automotive
- Time of India
Indy 500 driver admits peeing in car and racing entire 200 laps sitting in own piss
Conor Daly had more than just race strategy to contend with at Sunday's 109th Indianapolis 500, he had a full bladder and no way out. The 33-year-old driver from Indiana revealed during Monday's Indy 500 Victory Banquet that he was forced to urinate in his car before the race even began, due to a rain delay that left drivers stranded on the grid for nearly 45 minutes. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now 'Never in my life have I urinated in my car until Sunday,' Daly said. 'I was sitting on the grid, and I was like, 'This is the best car I've ever been in in my whole life. I'm gonna have to pee in this thing.' I kid you not.' With the weather holding things up and no chance to exit the vehicle, Daly said he couldn't hold it anymore: 'I had to go really bad. I legitimately urinated in my racecar before the race even started.' Despite the awkward start, Daly still put in an impressive performance. Driving for Juncos Hollinger Racing, he started 11th, led 13 laps between laps 120 and 133, and ultimately finished eighth after two drivers ahead of him, Marcus Ericsson and Kyle Kirkwood, were disqualified following post-race technical inspection failures. But Daly said the experience was as uncomfortable as it was embarrassing. 'I literally did the whole race sitting in my pee,' he admitted, adding that the decision was born purely out of necessity. He later joked about the cause, when asked if it was due to excitement or health concerns, Daly responded: "I had to go really bad. I don't know if it was the diabetes or I'm just getting really old. Helio (Castroneves) should know. He's halfway to 100. I don't know if that happens to him a lot." The candid confession drew laughter from the banquet crowd, but Daly made clear it wasn't an easy moment for him: 'It was an embarrassing moment. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now I didn't think I'd have to get there.' He also referenced a similar moment experienced by fellow IndyCar driver James Hinchcliffe years earlier: 'Hinchcliffe told me about that once but, anyway, now you guys all know.' At the start of his speech, Daly acknowledged the buzz his bathroom incident had generated and offered appreciation to the crew that had to handle the aftermath. 'I want to thank my mechanics specifically, because there's been a lot of talk tonight and I saw on the internet as well, a lot of toilet talk and maybe some using of the bathroom,' he said. 'We had to wait a long time before the race.' He then revealed: 'I came clean with them after the race.' By the end of his speech, he returned to that gratitude, once again saluting his team for managing an unusual situation with professionalism. Though Daly initially crossed the finish line in 10th, he was later moved up to 8th place after Marcus Ericsson and Kyle Kirkwood were penalized when their cars failed post-race technical inspection, as reported by the Indianapolis Star. Meanwhile, Alex Palou captured his first-ever Indy 500 victory, while Daly's performance, despite the uncomfortable circumstances, was one of the strongest showings for Juncos Hollinger Racing this season.
