Latest news with #A.J.FoytRacing
Fox Sports
a day ago
- Automotive
- Fox Sports
INDYCAR Power Rankings: Santino Ferrucci enters the chat
Is there a new No. 1 considering Alex Palou didn't win at the Detroit Grand Prix? Yeah, right. Palou has won five of the first seven races and remains atop these power rankings. INDYCAR now heads into a weekend off before a June 15 night race at World Wide Technology Raceway, commonly known as Gateway (outside of St. Louis). Dropped out: Felix Rosenqvist (Last Week: 5), Marcu Ericsson (LW: 9) On the verge: Marcus Ericsson, Felix Rosenqvist, Alexander Rossi 10. Santino Ferrucci (LW: Not Ranked) Ferrucci's second-place finish gave the A.J. Foyt Racing driver back-to-back top fives, vaulting him to 10th in the standings. He started the race 21st, so to execute the strategy well enough and hold on to second was impressive. 9. Josef Newgarden (LW: NR) Newgarden had a horrible qualifying, as he started 24th and was able to race his way to ninth. That's not what the Team Penske driver wanted, but at least he entered the weekend knowing he had a decent race. 8. Scott Dixon (LW: 8) Dixon finished 11th at Detroit after starting 16th. And that was thanks in part to a six-spot grid penalty for already being on his fifth engine with none of his previous four engines meeting the mileage minimum. The Ganassi driver, who was the defending Detroit race winner, is seventh in the standings. 7. Scott McLaughlin (LW: 6) Working his way back to 12th after a stop-and-go penalty for avoidable contact when he turned Nolan Siegel, McLaughlin can at least feel a little better than he did after the Indy 500 when he didn't complete a lap. He is eighth in the standings. 6. Colton Herta (LW: 10) Herta won the Detroit pole and said he needed to have a solid Sunday. He did, as he finished third. The Andretti driver finally has a podium this season, and he has four finishes of seventh or better. 5. Will Power (LW: 7) Power placed fourth with a fine drive at Detroit and moved up to fifth in the standings. The Penske driver has five finishes of sixth or better this year. 4. Christian Lundgaard (LW: 4) Lundgaard started fourth and finished eighth at Detroit. The McLaren driver was probably hoping for more, considering where he started. He sits fourth in the standings. 3. Pato O'Ward (LW: 2) O'Ward finished one spot ahead of his Arrow McLaren teammate Lundgaard as he finished seventh. He remained second in the series standings but did miss an opportunity to potentially gain significant points on Palou. 2. Kyle Kirkwood (LW: 3) Kirkwood picked up his second win of the season. He had a great weekend, minus the push from Power in practice Friday. He arguably had the best car and the best strategy and the best execution on the way to the win. He moved to third in the series standings. 1. Alex Palou (LW: 1) A 25th-place finish after being wrecked by David Malukas ended Palou's incredible start of five wins and one second-place finish. Malukas got a stop-and-go for avoidable contact, but that was little consolation to the Ganassi driver, whose race was ruined. Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR and INDYCAR for FOX Sports. He has spent decades covering motorsports, including over 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass. recommended Get more from NTT INDYCAR SERIES Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more
Indianapolis Star
3 days ago
- Automotive
- Indianapolis Star
Colton Herta's wish after qualifying pole? An 'easy race with no yellows' at Detroit Grand Prix
DETROIT — After a six-race start to his 2025 IndyCar season full of "what ifs" on race days and close calls on Saturdays, Colton Herta will finally have the best seat in the house to take the green flag for Sunday's Detroit Grand Prix, with hopes of turning his first pole of his season and 15th of his career into his first win of 2025, too. The Andretti Global driver finished well over a tenth of a second ahead of A.J. Foyt Racing's David Malukas in the battle for pole Sunday, having had four Fast 6 appearances already this year but so far no poles, matching his pole performance a year ago on the 1.645-mile downtown Detroit street course. But in the chaos of last year's race that featured eight cautions and 47 of 100 laps ran under yellow, Herta and the No. 26 Andretti Global crew faltered and fell back to 19th. Entering IndyCar's third race since the series' shift to the downtown street course track, Andretti Global and others are looking to knock Chip Ganassi Racing off the top step, with Alex Palou (2023) and Scott Dixon (2024) taking wins on the course thus far. 'We've been close a few times this year making it on a pole run, so I'm happy to do that and start P1 tomorrow,' said Herta, who's looking for his first podium finish of 2025. Entering Sunday, the Andretti Global driver's best finish of fourth came at The Thermal Club. Outside that, he's finished 16th at St. Pete after starting second, seventh at Long Beach after starting second and seventh at Barber after qualifying third, along with dismal runs during the Month of May at IMS (25th on the IMS road course and 14th in the Indy 500). Entering Sunday, Herta sits ninth in points, 22 back of eighth-place Will Power, 36 back of his fifth-place teammate Kyle Kirkwood, 74 back of second-place Pato O'Ward and 186 of runaway championship leader Alex Palou. 'Now we just need a nice, easy race with no yellows,' said Herta, referencing IndyCar's run of three full races (and parts of two others) that ran without a single caution earlier in the season. Among a Fast 6 that included Kirkwood, Christian Lundgaard, Palou, Malukas and Graham Rahal, the battle for pole was essentially between the pair of Andretti Global teammates and Malukas, all three of whom had only used one set of Firestone alternate tires during Round 1 of qualifying instead of two like so many of their competitors had — done so they could better ensure they'd advance to the Fast 12. Despite ending up tying his best starting spot of his IndyCar career in second, Malukas said he and his No. 4 squad expected to have a better shot at giving Andretti a serious run, but finished well back of Herta on their fastest laps (1:00.4779 vs. 1:00.6492). Kirkwood, too, felt he gave away an opportunity for his second pole of 2025, having been sitting four-tenths up on Herta's fastest lap with half a lap left before making enough wall contact to break a tow link that left him losing time in bunches on the final couple corners. Entering Sunday, Kirkwood is the only driver to have finished ahead of Palou in the two-time defending series champ's only non-win of the year at Long Beach, where the Chip Ganassi Racing driver still managed a runner-up finish. 'I've never been more disappointed with third in my life,' said Kirkwood, who was stripped earlier this week of his sixth-place Indy 500 finish due to a post-race tech inspection failure. 'But congrats to Colton. I'm glad one of us got (pole), because it would've been really frustrating if neither one of us got it. 'I know I just threw away a pole, without a doubt, but our cars are fast, and that's what's really important. And I see no reason why we won't be fast once again (on Sunday).' Starting fourth on Sunday, Lundgaard said after stepping out of his car he was proud to have finished as the fastest driver not to have used a new set of alternates in the Fast 6, as he looks to potentially overtake teammate O'Ward for second in points and with any luck chip away a bit at his 125-point gap to Palou. Meanwhile, Palou, who finished 15th-fastest in Practice 1 Friday afternoon, was more than happy to settle for sixth in the Fast 6 after a whirlwind 48-hour media tour in New York City following his first career Indy 500 win on Sunday. In his five wins so far in 2025, Palou has started eighth (St. Pete), third (Thermal), pole (Barber and IMS road course) and sixth (Indy 500). He'll start fifth Sunday, with Graham Rahal dropping back from fifth to 11th due to a six-spot grid penalty for an unapproved engine change.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Detroit Grand Prix: Narrow course causing trouble during practice laps
If you've ever gotten stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic downtown, the drivers in the Detroit Grand Prix are feeling your pain. During the first practice session for the IndyCar Series' Detroit Grand Prix on Friday, May 30 — the first time these racers drove on the 2025 course before Sunday's big race — IndyCar veteran Will Power latched onto the back of Kyle Kirkwood's car and pushed him through turns 5 and 6 in front of the Renaissance Center. It was an unconventional move, especially during a practice session, but Kirkwood had a quick explanation for Power's behavior: Advertisement "The track's not big enough to fit all the cars, and he got frustrated." Whether Power agrees with that is debatable — Power said he was just trying to "find a gap" — but it does mirror what many drivers are saying about the Detroit course: There's very little space to maneuver. At just under 1.7 miles in length, the course at the Detroit Grand Prix is the shortest street course on the IndyCar circuit. It's also narrower than many street courses, especially at the turns, giving these drivers very little space and room for error. "What makes it difficult here is it's such a short track. We have 27 cars going on a 1.6-mile track. It doesn't really add up," said Christian Lundgaard, who drives for Arrow McLaren. "It's frustrating, but at the end of the day, it's the same for everyone." Advertisement A.J. Foyt Racing's David Malukas was driving in front of the latch-on moment between Power and Kirkwood (though he initially thought it was Marcus Ericsson that Power had latched onto instead of Kirkwood) and said it was like something out of a film: Team Penske's Will Power enters Turn 2 as NTT IndyCar Series drivers compete during Detroit Grand Prix in downtown Detroit on Sunday, June 2, 2024. THE NEXT GENERATION: Grosse Pointe Indy NXT driver Nolan Allaer coming home for the Detroit Grand Prix "I couldn't believe it. I was very confused at the start. I thought, like, something was wrong with Ericsson, and Power was towing him across, like the 'Cars' movie." Malukas also spoke about how quickly the track can turn from wide to narrow: "I'll be surprised if there's not going to be a yellow (flag) for this race," he said. "Turn 1, it's very wide on entry and it looks inviting. And then all of a sudden it gets very, very tight on exit. And it happens a lot around this track." Advertisement In addition to the encounter between Power and Kirkwood, the practice session saw a collision from Juncos Hollinger racer Sting Ray Robb, whose front tires locked up as he glided softly into the tire barrier at Turn 1. Reigning Indianapolis 500 champion Álex Palou also turned out into a safe area when experiencing difficulties on the track, choosing to preserve his car instead of risking a wreck later on. It's not just the narrowness of the course that these drivers have to navigate. During a luncheon on Thursday, May 29, Detroit Grand Prix chair Bud Denker compared the difficulties of Detroit's track to a similar street course on the IndyCar circuit: "The Long Beach Grand Prix is almost the same distance as our race here. There are seven manhole covers on the Long Beach Grand Prix race track. We have 215." Though Denker says the Grand Prix has worked to try to smooth out the course's roughest edges, including those 215 manhole covers, the track has already played a big part in a dust-up two days before the big race starts. Advertisement Power appeared to smile when he reviewed the footage of his car pushing Kirkwood's during the practice lap. But Kirkwood, who finished with the fastest time among all drivers during the practice session, had the last laugh: "I'm not upset. I don't care," he said. "We had damage from that, too, so maybe we (could have been) a little bit faster." You can reach Christian at cromo@ This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Narrow course causes issue during practice laps at Detroit Grand Prix
Los Angeles Times
25-05-2025
- Automotive
- Los Angeles Times
Alex Palou becomes first Spanish driver to win Indianapolis 500
INDIANAPOLIS — Alex Palou took the ceremonial swig of milk in victory lane at the Indianapolis 500. His wife had a sip, she in turn gave a sip to their baby, and team owner Chip Ganassi ended up with the bottle and took a drink, as well. Then, the first Spaniard to win 'The Greatest Spectacle in Racing' took a victory lap with them around Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the back of a pickup truck. At one point, Palou climbed onto its roof and raised his arms in triumph, the winning wreath draped around his neck. He briefly lost his balance and Ganassi instinctively reached out to grab his star driver. No need. Palou rarely makes a wrong move. 'All my family around, it's amazing, honestly,' he said, smiling. 'All the team around, they make me look really good on the track.' Palou came to the speedway as the two-time defending IndyCar champion — he has three titles in four years — and had opened this year with victories in four of the first five races. It's the kind of start not seen since 1964, when A.J. Foyt won the first seven races of the season, including the Indy 500. But it was win No. 6 that Palou had circled on his calendar. Without an Indy 500 win, he said, his career would be incomplete. 'Like he said last week, if he was to go through his whole career and not win here at Indianapolis, it wouldn't be a complete career,' Ganassi said. 'I don't want to say his career is complete now — he's got a lot in him yet. Look at the last five, six races we've had. It's just incredible. He's on a roll.' Palou was in fuel-saving mode over the closing laps, following former Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Marcus Ericsson. Palou got tired of staying put with 16 laps remaining and charged ahead — a move Ericsson said 'will keep me up at night. What I did and what I didn't do.' Palou was never challenged from there, taking the checkered flag as a crash brought out a caution. He stopped the car just beyond the Yard of Bricks, climbing out of it and nearly losing his balance as he raised his arms in triumph. Palou jumped down and took off in a run down the front stretch, pulling off his gloves and tossing them behind him, and ultimately was engulfed by his father, Ramon, and his team in a jubilant celebration. Scott Dixon and Dario Franchitti both hugged him, a pair of former Ganassi Indy 500 winners welcoming him into their exclusive club. 'I cannot believe it. What an amazing day. What an amazing race,' Palou said. 'I cannot believe it. It was tough. Tough conditions out there, especially if you were like, third or fourth in the pack. Even leading, the fuel consumption was super high, so they didn't want me to lead. I wanted to lead, honestly, so yeah, made it happen.' Meanwhile, Ericsson climbed from his car in pit lane and pressed his hands to his face, the disappointment of coming oh-so-close to a second Indianapolis 500 victory etched across his face. David Maluks was third for A.J. Foyt Racing. 'It's pretty painful,' Ericsson said of his second career Indy 500 runner-up finish. 'I need to look at it again. You replay it in your head a million times after the finish, wondering what I could have done differently. Second means nothing in this race.' Josef Newgarden's bid to win three consecutive Indy 500s ended with a fuel pump issue. He was trying to become the first driver to come from the back row to win because he and Team Penske teammate Will Power were dropped to the back of the field for failing inspection before the final rounds of qualifying. Power wound up 19th, the highest-finishing Penske driver on a miserable day for the organization owned by Roger Penske. He earlier this week fired his top three IndyCar executives for a second technical infraction in just over a year, and has had to defend the optics of his teams failing inspections when he also owns IndyCar, Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Indy 500. Penske has won the Indy 500 a record 20 times. It was the sixth Indy 500 win for Ganassi, who has been on a dominating wave since hiring Palou before the 2021 season. Palou won the championship in his first year with the team, added two more titles, and now seems on pace for a fourth one. 'I'll tell you what, that kid's a good driver. I think he's off to a good start,' Ganassi said. 'We're gonna have a good season. It might be OK. Yeah, might be okay. Might be looking at a championship.' Ganassi also vowed that winning the Indy 500 win 'is going to make Alex Palou's career. It is going to make his life.' Palou started the race tied with Pato O'Ward as the co-favorites, listed at +500 by BetMGM Sportsbook. O'Ward finished fourth — the fifth time in six career starts the Mexican has finished sixth or higher. Kyle Larson won't complete 'the double' after crashing out of the Indianapolis 500 before he headed to North Carolina to compete in the Coca-Cola 600 NASCAR race.
Yahoo
25-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Alex Palou wins the 2025 Indy 500, first oval in IndyCar
INDIANAPOLIS – Alex Palou remembered vividly what Helio Castroneves did to him in 2021 and repaid the favor. With the help of a pair of drivers fighting to stay on the lead lap, Palou snagged the lead late from Marcus Ericsson and fended off the Swede to hold onto victory in the 2025 Indianapolis 500 – the IndyCar championship leader's first win on an oval, and likely the first of many. Advertisement The Chip Ganassi Racing driver, who now leads the 2025 title race by 118 points over Pato O'Ward, took the lead from Ericsson on Lap 187 and would not surrender it, leading the final 14 laps after starting sixth on Sunday and looming the whole race. Just before Palou crossed the start-finish line, the caution flag flew for a crashed Nolan Siegel, but it wouldn't matter, as Ericsson had fallen a few too many car lengths back to pounce on Lap 200. 'I cannot believe it. What an amazing day. What an amazing race,' said a hoarse Palou to Fox Sports' Jamie Little. 'I cannot believe it. It's amazing. Amazing to be here. Amazing to win. 'I already lost my voice, and I haven't even stopped celebrating.' For the second time in three years, an A.J. Foyt Racing driver took third, as David Malukas surged toward the front but dropped off over the final couple laps. After finishing runner-up two of the last three years, Arrow McLaren's Pato O'Ward finished fourth, with Felix Rosenqvist (5th), Kyle Kirkwood (6th), Santino Ferrucci (7th), Christian Rasmussen (8th), Christian Lundgaard (9th) and Conor Daly (10th) rounding out the top 10. Advertisement A dozen-driver duel approaching the leaders' final stop was trimmed a bit after Daly, who ran in the top-three for a large chunk of the race's middle stage, began to battle a severe tire vibration laps short of being able to pit and make it home on one more stop. The Juncos Hollinger Racing driver slowed by more than 20 mph before his team was able to finally call him in on Lap 166, and the Noblesville native – who was attempting to snap Hoosier drivers' 85-year Indy 500 drought, dropped four spots in that sequence alone and fell out of the top-5. In that final sequence, 2014 Indy 500 winner Ryan Hunter-Reay, who returned this year for his third consecutive one-off effort with Dreyer & Reinbold Racing, stalled on pitlane after having led 48 laps in the second-half of Sunday's race and then dropped out of the race with an unknown mechanical issue. 2025 Indy 500 winner: Alex Palou holds off Marcus Ericsson to win Indianapolis 500 After climbing as high as seventh after starting 32nd due to IndyCar's stiff penalty for his team's illegally modified attenuator discovered ahead of Fast 12 qualifying, Josef Newgarden's quest to become the first driver in Indy 500 history to win three straight came to a close on Lap 135 with a fuel pressure issue just one lap after pitting. Advertisement Only 25 of the 33 cars made it to the race's halfway point, with a flurry of crashes and incidents eliminating six cars in the span of just 18 laps midway through. The chaos began just past Lap 70 as smoke – and then fluids – began spewing out the back of Alexander Rossi's No. 20 Chevy, forcing the 2016 Indy 500 winner to pit. Not long after his team began examining the issue with the car sitting in his box, the left side of Rossi's car burst into flames, leaving a crew member slightly injured before the fire could be extinguished. Rossi leapt out of the car seemingly unharmed, but his day would end in 31st. Rinus VeeKay would spin violently on Lap 81 while entering the pits and simultaneously complaining of a lack of brake pressure. The Dale Coyne Racing driver's car would slam into the pit wall, ending his day in 30th. As the bulk of the field pitted on Lap 88 under the caution for VeeKay's pitlane incident, rookie polesitter Robert Shwartzman also appeared to suffer brake issues and twice locked up his tires on pitlane. The final moment saw him skidding through his pit box, his car slamming into the wall and making contact with a contingency of his crew members in the process – at least one of whom was loaded onto a stretcher with what appeared to be a foot injury. The race again restarted on Lap 92, where Kyle Larson, nearly midway through making his second Indy 500 start as he attempted 'The Double', spun midway through Turn 2, and his pirouette collected Kyffin Simpson and Sting Ray Robb in the process. Advertisement Scott McLaughlin, last year's Indy 500 polesitter, spun on the pace laps while weaving back and forth on the front straight as he attempted to warm up his tires after the start of Sunday's race was delayed more than 40 minutes due to sprinkles throughout the facility. The race began under caution, and soon after the Lap 4 throw of the green flag, Marco Andretti got shoved up high and spun in Turn 1, ended his 20th Indy 500 just one turn into green flag running. This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: 2025 Indy 500 winner: Alex Palou picks up first Indianapolis 500
