Latest news with #AcuraGrandPrixof
Fox Sports
15-04-2025
- Automotive
- Fox Sports
Power Rankings: Kyle Kirkwood, Will Power Gain Big Ground
INDYCAR Kyle Kirkwood dominated the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach race weekend by earning NTT P1 Award honors and taking the victory in the 90-lap race Sunday. That allowed the Andretti Global driver to take a significant climb in the Power Rankings. However, Alex Palou had his worst finish of the 2025 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season with a runner-up. His hold on the top spot of Power Rankings remains intact leading into the Children's of Alabama Indy Grand Prix on Sunday, May 4 at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama. Here's who joins Kirkwood and Palou in the rankings after the third race of the season in Long Beach: ↔10. Alexander Rossi (No. 20 ECR Java House Chevrolet; Last Rank: 10) Rossi's top-10 streak came to an end on the streets of Long Beach when he finished 15th. However, dual top-10 finishes out the gates in his first season with Ed Carpenter Racing and qualifying eighth last weekend leave him narrowly in the top 10 of Power Rankings. ↓9. Scott Dixon (No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda; Last Rank: 6) Dixon began his quest for a record-tying seventh championship with a runner-up result in St. Petersburg. He started 11th and finished 10th at The Thermal Club and finished eighth from starting 14th at Long Beach. The speed isn't quite there yet to challenge for race wins, but he's one of just five drivers to secure a top-10 finish in all three races this season joining Palou, Kirkwood, Christian Lundgaard and Felix Rosenqvist. ↓8. Pato O'Ward (No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet; Last Rank: 2) O'Ward's street-course problems were evident in Long Beach, where he qualified ninth and finished 13th. His other Long Beach finishes are 27th, fifth, 17th and 16th, respectively. The street-race woes aren't exclusive to Long Beach. He qualified 23rd and finished 11th in the season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg by RP Funding. Away from street circuits, O'Ward earned his first NTT P1 Award since 2022 at The Thermal Club, led 51 of 65 laps and finished second. Luckily for him, there's not another street course until the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear on June 1. ↑7. Scott McLaughlin (No. 3 DEX Imaging Team Penske Chevrolet; Last Rank: 8) McLaughlin started and finished sixth in an uneventful Long Beach weekend. But that was his best result in five Long Beach tries and got his season back on track. McLaughlin qualified 25th and finished 27th in a tough day at The Thermal Club INDYCAR Grand Prix. He began 2025 with an NTT P1 Award and fourth-place finish after leading a race-high 40 of 100 laps in St. Petersburg. ↑6. Will Power (No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet; Last Rank: 9) Power is making a habit of charging through the field after tough qualifying performances. In Long Beach, he climbed from 13th to finish fifth. That comes after charging from 21st to finish sixth in the The Thermal Club INDYCAR Grand Prix. He was the top Team Penske finisher in each race. ↔5. Colton Herta (No. 26 Gainbridge Honda; Last Rank: 5) Herta has two front-row starting positions in three races. Unfortunately, he's not turned those solid Saturdays into super Sundays. A slow pit stop in the season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg presented by RP Funding relegated him to a 16th-place finish. In Long Beach, Herta faded to seventh. Between those races, Herta started fourth and finished fourth in The Thermal Club INDYCAR Grand Prix. ↔4. Felix Rosenqvist (No. 60 SiriusXM Honda; Last Rank: 4) Rosenqvist qualified third and finished seventh in St. Petersburg. He charged from ninth to finish fifth at The Thermal Club. In Long Beach, he qualified and finished fourth. The Swede is fourth in points, the best standing he's had since he finished fourth in the 2019 and 2024 INDYCAR SERIES season openers at St. Petersburg. The 2019 race was his series debut. ↔3. Christian Lundgaard (No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet; Last Rank: 3) Lundgaard has had a solid first outing with Arrow McLaren finishing eighth in St. Petersburg after leading 23 laps, qualifying second and finishing third at The Thermal Club and charging from 12th to finish third at Long Beach. ↑2. Kyle Kirkwood (No. 27 PreFab Honda; Last Rank: 7) Kirkwood had a strong Long Beach weekend, earning NTT P1 Award honors and leading 46 of 90 laps en route to his third career victory, two coming on the 1.968-mile street course. Kirkwood also began 2025 with a strong outing. He was quickest in the opening practice of the season at St. Petersburg and charged from ninth at the start of the race to finish fifth in the season opener. Kirkwood then qualified eighth and finished in that spot at The Thermal Club. ↔1. Alex Palou (No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda; Last Rank: 1) Palou started third and finished second Sunday in Long Beach. He won the previous two races and leads Lundgaard in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES points standings by 34. The Spaniard has been atop the Power Rankings for more than a year and that continues into the May 4 race at Barber Motorsports Park. recommended
Fox Sports
12-04-2025
- Automotive
- Fox Sports
Practice Shots: Still Plenty of Mystery after Friday Practice
INDYCAR Different groups, different amounts of track availability. So, what did we learn about the competitive direction of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES so far in the 50th edition of the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach? Probably not much. A clearer understanding should be on display Saturday when the weekend's second practice is held (11:30 a.m. ET, FS1, FOX Sports app) ahead of qualifying for the NTT P1 Award (2:30 p.m. ET, FS2, FOX Sports app). The INDYCAR Radio Network will have live coverage of both sessions. But this much we know: They're Still Chasing Alex Palou Don't let Friday's overall speed chart mislead you. Palou set the pace in the first segment of the session – the part that offered the most track time – and then ran a clean and productive 10 minutes in Group 1 to end the day. His best lap of 1 minute, 7.5306 seconds ended up seventh overall. The driver of the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda has won the season's first two races. He holds a 39-point lead on his nearest challenger – Pato O'Ward in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet – and has a history of strong performances in this event. Palou has finished in the top five of each of his four races on this 11-turn, 1.968-mile temporary street circuit. No, he hasn't reached victory lane, but he is still a good bet to become only the sport's second driver since 2006 to win the first three races of the new year. Chip Ganassi Racing's Scott Dixon won the first three of the 2020 season. O'Ward, Herta Don't Practice Much O'Ward bounced his machine off the wall exiting the famous hairpin turn early in the afternoon, a situation which required lengthy repairs. The crew rebuilt the left rear corner in time for O'Ward to post one hot lap at the end, but it wasn't much of a session. The Mexican could use every lap available as this circuit hasn't been kind to him. His five-race average finish of 15.4 is his worst of the tracks on this year's schedule. He has finished in the top 10 only once – he was fifth in 2022. O'Ward saw his best Friday lap of 1:07.9477 rank 13th. Andretti Global w/Curb-Agajanian's Colton Herta spent a similar amount of time with his car parked on pit road. The issue with the No. 26 Gainbridge Honda was a damper change, and that all but wiped out the amount of time allotted for practice. Like O'Ward, Herta was able to get a hot lap in as INDYCAR allowed each team in Group 2 one timed lap after a stoppage to retrieve the No. 45 Mi-Jack Honda of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing rookie Louis Foster, which had stalled in a run-off area. Herta thought the lap was messy, but at least he got the chance to feel Firestone's alternate tire compound in advance of qualifying. Herta, who finished with the eighth-best overall lap (1:07.6632) despite bumping the Turn 11 wall just ahead of the timeline, wants to score his second NTT P1 Award in the past four years here. He also finished second in last year's race won by Dixon. Dixon Still Reigns as Latest 'King of the Beach' Yes, that official title belongs to Al Unser Jr., who won a record six INDYCAR SERIES races in this event. But Dixon has won here twice – he first won in 2015 – and he was inducted in the Long Beach Motorsports Walk of Fame before Friday's practice. Last year, the driver of the No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda held off Team Penske's Josef Newgarden, Herta and Palou in one of the season's most thrilling finishes. Dixon had to use every bit of his vast experience to go 10 laps longer than Herta during the final sequence. It was a work of art by 'The Iceman.' Dixon only had the 10th-fastest lap Friday, but he certainly wasn't sweating his 1:07.8080, saying that the limited amount of testing teams get in advance of races creates trial and error on the first day of running at each event. Which supports what we're saying here. We'll learn more Saturday. recommended
Fox Sports
12-04-2025
- Automotive
- Fox Sports
Paddock Buzz: Double Duty for Robert Wickens at Long Beach
INDYCAR Robert Wickens is pulling double duty during the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach race weekend. On Friday, Wickens made his GTD debut in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, driving the No. 36 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 for DXDT Racing in practice. Saturday's race is the first of five sprint events Wickens will be competing in, sharing the car with Tommy Milner. Wickens returned to racing in 2022, competing in the Michelin Pilot Challenge for Bryan Herta Autosport in a modified Hyundai Elantra. He uses hand controls after suffering spinal cord injuries in a crash during an NTT INDYCAR SERIES race in 2018 at Pocono Raceway, during his rookie season. Wickens and co-driver Harry Gottsacker won the TCR class title in the series in 2023. With the aid of Bosch developing a new brake-by-wire system, Wickens moved up the ranks this season and will be the only driver on the grid using hand controls in WeatherTech Championship competition. 'Kind of an emotional journey of having my debut on a race weekend that we share with INDYCAR is going special,' Wickens said. Wickens is racing Saturday but also working Sunday because he serves as a technical advisor with Andretti Global in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES. The 50th Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach airs at 4:30 p.m. ET Sunday on FOX, FOX Deportes, FOX Sports app and the INDYCAR Radio Network. 'I'm excited to see him race,' Andretti Global driver Kyle Kirkwood said. 'I'm excited to see him get into the car, run around Long Beach, a place he knows very well and is very quick around.' Kirkwood boasts about Wickens' interaction with the team because he's more than an extra set of eyes. He's a former driver and knows exactly what another driver needs to be fast. 'When you have another driver kind of looking over things and paying attention to what other people are doing, picking out certain things, sharing that with you,' Kirkwood said. 'We are very limited on how much time we have to look over stuff. He's been a huge help in that department. 'He sits inside the engineering truck with us. Mostly, he just goes over data, video, analyzes what other drivers are doing, then kind of gives us a rundown. Even if it's a driver we wouldn't be paying attention to, he's going over that, 'Look at what he's doing in this corner, you should try doing this or this.' 'Because of that, it's taken a lot of pressure off of us to have to self-learn because he's just there to help push us along without having to dig into in-depth.' A documentary is in production about Wickens that has been picked up by Mark Wahlberg's production company, and extensive filming is taking place this weekend at Long Beach, including Wickens' life beyond the cockpit as a technical advisor. McLaughlin, DeFrancesco Mend Fences Racing has a sense of humor. Whenever drivers tend to spat, they seem to be in close proximity to each other at the next race, whether on or off track. The NTT INDYCAR SERIES isn't immune. Scott McLaughlin was upset with Devlin DeFrancesco after a first-lap incident in the March 23 race at The Thermal Club. McLaughlin confronted DeFrancesco after the race in DeFrancesco's pit box, sparking a heated conversation. The two quickly buried the hatchet, with McLaughlin texting DeFrancesco that they should meet and chat once they've calmed down. Each came to Long Beach with no hard feelings. But this weekend, both drivers' pit stalls are located next to each other. By INDYCAR SERIES rule, pit stalls are selected in order from the previous race's qualifying results. Pato O'Ward earned The Thermal Club INDYCAR Grand Prix NTT P1 Award and had the first pick of pit stalls this weekend. McLaughlin qualified 25th at The Thermal Club and DeFrancesco 26th, meaning pit selections were limited. 'It's funny, I went and saw the No. 3 car crew yesterday and they're (DeFranceco's crew) putting their pit together,' McLaughlin said. 'I said, 'Hey, boys, at least I know my neighbors, but at least I'm not yelling and screaming here on Sunday.'' Rahal Feeling Early Momentum Sunday's 90-lap race is Graham Rahal's 18th NTT INDYCAR SERIES start on the 1.968-mile Long Beach street circuit. His runner-up result in 2013 is his best finish, which ties his dad Bobby Rahal (1992 and 1993) and Jimmy Vasser (2002) as Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing's best Long Beach finishes. Last year, Rahal qualified 12th but charged to fifth place by the time he made his second pit stop. Unfortunately, a fueling issue added an additional 12 seconds to the stop, which cost valuable track position. Rahal settled for a 17th-place finish. 'We were in a really good spot until an issue in the pits, but in general Long Beach is a race that we circle every year on the calendar,' Rahal said. 'It's an important race every year, and I'm hopeful we have can a really strong performance.' Rahal is thrilled to flash early-season consistency but ponders if his No. 15 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda could have charged higher into the top 10 in both the March 2 season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg presented by RP Funding and The Thermal Club INDYCAR Grand Prix on March 23. He finished 12th and 11th, respectively and sits 12th in points entering Long Beach. 'A couple of bounces here or there, and we got two top-10 finishes, and those are legitimate bounces,' Rahal said. 'We just need to put our heads down and have a really strong weekend from qualifying, as well as race really strong Sunday. We have a lot of things we conceptually want to try over the weekend, so we're excited.' Unfinished Beach Business for Rosenqvist Felix Rosenqvist earned the first NTT P1 Award at Long Beach for Meyer Shank Racing in last year's Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. The previous best qualifying effort for MSR was third by Helio Castroneves in 2021. Unfortunately, Rosenqvist faded to ninth at the checkered flag, which leaves the Swedish driver with unfinished business. 'Getting pole at Long Beach last year was pretty exciting for myself and the whole team,' Rosenqvist said. 'It's definitely something that we are aiming to do again this year. The MSR cars have a pretty strong street course package. It's a track that suits me well, and I'm hungry for a good finish.' Prior to last year, Rosenqvist finished 10th, 13th, 11th and seventh, respectively, at Long Beach. Driver's Eye Experience Debuts This Weekend Racing Force Group reached an agreement with FOX Sports for the use of the Driver's Eye technology in selected events of the 2025 season, including the 109th Running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge on May 25. Integration of Driver's Eye in NTT INDYCAR SERIES coverage on FOX begins with this weekend's Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. The Driver's Eye developed by Zeronoise, the electronics division of Racing Force, is the world's smallest micro-camera for live broadcasting. The FIA-homologated system is installed inside the helmet to give TV viewers the totally immersive experience of the driver's exact point of view during the race. The micro-camera has a size of only 0.35 by 0.35 inches and a weight of .003 of a pound. MSR Partners with St. Thomas University Meyer Shank Racing and St. Thomas University (STU), a Catholic university in Miami, created a partnership offering hand-on experience to STU students to learn more about the engineering, design and business administration roles of the race team. This weekend, STU Big Data Analytics students will work with MSR's NTT INDYCAR SERIES and IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship engineering staff, interpreting and learning about the team's data analytics and what goes into the engineering side on a race weekend. The culinary students will work to create a race-specific sports drink. Three flavors will be created. JHR Adds Three Sponsors Juncos Hollinger Racing had a busy week of sponsorship news. MannKind Corporation, a company that develops products to help people manage medical conditions such as diabetes, joined JHR and will be featured on the No. 76 Chevrolet driven by diabetic driver Conor Daly. MannKind will also be a primary sponsor at the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix and at World Wide Technology Raceway and will continue to serve as an associate sponsor of Daly throughout the rest of the 2025 NTT INDYCAR SERIES schedule. JHR also added Liquid I.V. to the organization as an official partner for the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach and the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix. Finally, TrueAGI, an artificial general intelligence company, has renewed its technical partnership with the team for the 2025 season. Odds and Ends All 27 cars feature a LA Strong decal this weekend for overall awareness and support of the wildfires that scorched Southern California in early January. Colton Herta and his sponsor Gainbridge teamed with Pasadena Humane to raise awareness for pet adoption and support animals impacted by the Los Angeles wildfires. Fans can purchase a limited-edition dog bandana at with 100 percent of the proceeds going toward Pasadena Humane. Herta is matching the donations, and his No. 26 Gainbridge Honda features paw prints on the top of the sidepods this weekend. Oliver Wheldon, son of two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Dan Wheldon, will race for VRD Racing in the 2025 USF Juniors Presented by Continental Tire Championship with the support of Andretti Global. Wheldon moves up to USF Juniors after a championship-winning 2024 Skip Barber Formula Racing Series championship that earned him a $100,000 scholarship. His brother, Sebastian, won the 2023 title. Oliver had nine wins and 11 podiums. Rahal topped Alex Palou of Chip Ganassi Racing in the final round of the Thunder Thursday Pit Stop Challenge at Long Beach. Spark Compass has become the Official Fan Engagement, CRM, and AI partner of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, deploying its patented AI (Augmented Intelligence), Internet of Things and fan engagement technologies. As part of the Ultimate Small Business INDYCAR Experience Sweepstakes, The Maker Society will have its logo prominently displayed on the No. 10 DHL Honda driven by Alex Palou this weekend at Long Beach. The Maker Society was founded by a group of students from California State University Long Beach as a small club dedicated to 3D printing and design. The club has evolved into a business providing prototype and design services while also creating STEM curriculum and educational tools for students across North America. Saturday will feature practice at 11:30 a.m. ET on FS1 and qualifying to set the lineup for Sunday's Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach at 2:30 p.m. ET on FS2. recommended
NBC Sports
09-04-2025
- Automotive
- NBC Sports
SUPERCROSS FROM LINCOLN FINANCIAL FIELD IN PHILADELPHIA AND IMSA GRAND PRIX OF LONG BEACH HEADLINE NBC SPORTS' LIVE MOTORSPORTS ACTION THIS WEEK
Race Day Live Begins Saturday at 9:30 am. ET on Peacock with Supercross Race Live at 3 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock Second of Four Consecutive Supercross Races in Northeast: Lincoln Financial Field (April 12), MetLife Stadium (April 19), Acrisure Stadium (April 26) IMSA's Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach Begins Saturday at 5 p.m. ET Live on USA Network and Peacock STAMFORD, Conn. – April 9, 2025 – The 2025 SMX World ChampionshipTM series and Monster Energy AMA Supercross season continues this Saturday, April 12, from Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pa., at 3 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock, while IMSA's Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach will be presented later that day at 5 p.m. ET on USA Network and Peacock, headlining NBC Sports' live motorsports coverage this week. SUPERCROSS – PHILADELPHIA Race Day Live qualifying coverage this Saturday from Lincoln Financial Field gets underway at 9:30 a.m. ET on Peacock, with the race starting at 3 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock. Saturday's race from Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia will be the second of four consecutive Supercross races in the Northeast, with MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., on April 19, and Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh, Pa., on April 26. Aaron Plessinger won a rainy and mud-soaked race at Gillette Stadium last weekend, his second career victory in the 450SX Class, with Shane McElrath taking second place and Cooper Webb going from sixth to third on the final lap to maintain his lead atop the points standings (256 points). Chase Sexton (-15) and Ken Roczen (-36) round out the top three. In the Eastern Divisional 250SX race, Chance Hymas earned the win, with Seth Hammaker and Tom Vialle both tied for first with 99 points each. This week's race will be an East vs. West showdown in the 250SX class, with all of the riders competing – including West points leaders Haiden Deegan and Julien Beaumer. NBC Sports' Leigh Diffey and SuperMotocross analyst Ricky Carmichael, a 15-time AMA champion, and seven-time AMA champion James Stewart will call this weekend's action in Philadelphia. Will Christien and Jason Thomas will serve as reporters. Carmichael and nine-time AMA Champion Ryan Villopoto recap last week's action in Foxborough on the latest episode of the Title 24 podcast here. All live SuperMotocross coverage, including races and qualifying, plus on-demand replays, will be available on Peacock this season. Click here for more details. BROADCAST TEAM Play by Play: Leigh Diffey Analyst: Ricky Carmichael, James Stewart Reporters: Will Christien, Jason Thomas Race Day Live: Adam Cianciarulo, Justin Brayton, Steven 'Lurch' Scott, Haley Shanley HOW TO WATCH TV – NBC Streaming – Peacock Audio – SiriusXM NBC Sports Audio – Channel 85 IMSA – ACURA GRAND PRIX OF LONG BEACH IMSA returns this week with the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach from Long Beach Street Circuit in California this Saturday, April 5, at 5 p.m. ET on USA Network and Peacock. The 100-minute race, featuring 27 cars across the Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) and Grand Touring Daytona (GTD) classes, celebrates its 50th anniversary this weekend. Robert Wickens is expected to make his GTD debut this weekend in the No. 36 DXDT Racing Corvette Z06 GT3.R, equipped with Bosch's new electronic hand control braking package installed within the car. This will be his first appearance in the WeatherTech Championship since 2017. Wickens was left partially paralyzed after a 2018 accident. Diffey and NBC Sports IMSA analyst Calvin Fish interviewed Wickens this week; to watch, click here. NBC Sports' Brian Till will call the action alongside former IMSA GT driver and analyst Calvin Fish. Dave Burns and Kevin Lee will serve as pit reporters. Live coverage of WeatherTech Championship qualifying will be presented this Friday at 8:05 p.m. ET exclusively on Peacock. Peacock will serve as the streaming home of the WeatherTech Championship with flag-to-flag live coverage of all races as well as exclusive coverage for portions of select endurance races, including the Six Hours of The Glen on June 22. Click here for more information on the 2025 schedule. TV – USA Network --NBC SPORTS--
Fox Sports
04-04-2025
- Automotive
- Fox Sports
Family, Fortitude Help Bell Persevere through Loss in California Fires
INDYCAR Townsend Bell was named as one of the three members of the broadcast booth team for FOX Sports' inaugural season of coverage for the NTT INDYCAR SERIES. During Bell's first call with FOX INDYCAR producer Pam Miller in January, his wife walked into his office with a strong message. Their Pacific Palisades, California, neighborhood was on fire. 'It was the first time we were actually in work mode because I had been confirmed on the broadcast, and now we were getting to work,' Bell said. 'And, so, it was a really important phone call because those are important times to kick things off appropriately. And my wife kindly interrupted me once, then twice, and then finally, the third one was, 'I'm leaving because the flames are getting serious, and we need to evacuate.' 'And that's where I very politely had to say to Pam Miller, I'm so sorry, but I actually need to leave because my wife's telling me fires are coming.' Bell and his family have endured an incredibly difficult experience with the Southern California wildfires in early January, losing not just one, but three houses. The emotional and financial toll of such an event can be hard to process, and the fact that this is being shared against the backdrop of the 50th anniversary of the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, with its milestone anniversary as an iconic Southern California event, adds an extra layer of significance. 'It turns out that having a house burned down is a full-time job to recover from,' Bell said. 'I'm sure it's the same if you lost your home to a hurricane or any other natural disaster. It's a lot for anybody. Unfortunately for me, I have three, and so it's three things in parallel: three different insurance companies, three different locations, three different neighborhoods, and you just have wake up earlier. 'I'm normally an early wake-up kind of guy here, but my alarm is set for 4:30 a.m. because your mental demands are just that much more present and immediate. And you just get up and go through the punch list and start getting after it.' Bell's wife, Heather, has been an incredible source of strength for him throughout this ordeal. Balancing the chaos of losing homes while also managing a real estate business and helping dozens of families in similar situations was an overwhelming responsibility. Her resilience and determination are admirable while working with displaced clients. Townsend Bell's ability to keep pushing forward in his racing and broadcasting career, despite such hardship, is also remarkable. Racing in the Rolex 24 At Daytona just two weeks after the fires and then preparing for the NTT INDYCAR SERIES season requires intense focus, yet he still had to deal with the aftermath of the wildfires. That speaks to his dedication and mental toughness to juggle both personal and professional demands in such a difficult, yet empowering, journey for Bell and his family. 'Fires broke out, all hell broke loose,' he said. 'I leave for two and a half weeks to go work. Meanwhile, my amazing wife, Heather, is back home not only figuring out the Bell family situation, but she had to manage through all of that. And it was a very, very stressful time. 'But she kept her wits about her and fought through it like we all had to, so full credit to her, frankly, not only for dealing with the houses and her clients but also just keeping our family updated. You lean on each other tremendously, like any team, and I'm lucky, I've got a great team.' That's why the wildfire situation reminds Bell of his racing days. Bell made 39 INDYCAR SERIES starts, including 10 in the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge, with a best finish of fourth in 2009. He also won the 2001 INDY NXT championship that included a win at Long Beach and the 2015 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship title in the GTD class. 'In a strange way, I think racing has done a great job to prepare me for crisis because racing has an exacting timeline,' Bell said. 'You've got to fix it now because the race is going to start or qualifying, it's going to start. It's high pressure, the racing environment, and it is dramatic. And you see things as a racing driver that you would never see in terms of chaos, risk and high-stakes situations. 'So, in a strange way, I feel like being a racer prepares you well for moments like that in life that maybe you're not prepared for, but you certainly know the feeling of crisis.' recommended
