Latest news with #AmFirst
Fox Sports
28-05-2025
- Automotive
- Fox Sports
Power Rankings: David Malukas Jumps into Top 10 after Strong '500'
INDYCAR Alex Palou reached victory lane in Sunday's 109th Running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge and continued his iron grip on the top spot in Power Rankings. The three-time series champion, who won all three races during the Month of May when factoring in the Children's of Alabama Indy Grand Prix presented by AmFirst on May 4 at Barber Motorsports Park and the Sonsio Grand Prix on May 10 on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course, remains the only mainstay in the Power Rankings. Here's who rose in the Power Rankings entering Sunday's Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear airing at 12:30 p.m. ET on FOX, the FOX Sports app and INDYCAR Radio Network. ↑10. David Malukas (No. 4 Clarience Technologies Chevrolet; Last Rank: NR) Originally finishing third in the race, Malukas was elevated to second place following post-race penalties assessed to Marcus Ericsson and Kyle Kirkwood for technical violations on their Andretti Global cars. Malukas' performance at the Indianapolis 500, coupled with his consistent speed during the oval practice sessions and qualifying seventh, propels him into the Power Rankings. ↓9. Colton Herta (No. 26 Gainbridge Honda; Last Rank: 8) Herta's performance during the Month of May was notably underwhelming, especially considering his previous success on the IMS road course. In the Sonsio Grand Prix, Herta qualified 13th but finished 25th after a challenging race. In the '500', he started 27th and managed to finish 14th. ↓8. Scott Dixon (No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda; Last Rank: 7) Despite strong practice sessions leading up to the '500,' a brake issue before the field even took the green to start the race compromised Dixon's race, leading to a 20th-place finish and ending his streak of climbing through the field in previous races. Dixon gained 14 spots at Barber Motorsports Park to finish 12th and 11 more in the Sonsio Grand Prix, coming home fifth. ↓7. Scott McLaughlin (No. 3 Pennzoil Team Penske Chevrolet; Last Rank: 3) Starting from the 10th position, McLaughlin lost control of his car during the final pace lap while trying to warm his Firestone Firehawk tires, resulting in a collision that ended his race before it officially began. This incident disrupted a promising season for McLaughlin, who had previously achieved four top-six finishes in the five races leading up to the Indianapolis 500. ↓6. Will Power (No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet; Last Rank: 2) Power had a dismal '500', finishing 16th after starting 33rd. Entering the '500,' Power had finishes of sixth, fifth, fifth and third, respectively. While McLaughlin is two points ahead of Power in the standings, Power has crossed the finish line ahead of his Team Penske teammate in four of the last five races. ↔5. Kyle Kirkwood (No. 27 Siemens Honda; Last Rank: 5) Kirkwood remains fifth after finishing 32nd in the '500.' While there's a case to drop him further, Kirkwood is the only driver not named Alex Palou to win this season when the Andretti Global driver was victorious in the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. That's a race he dominated from the pole. Also, Kirkwood has four top-eight finishes in six races this season. ↑4. Felix Rosenqvist (No. 60 SiriusXM Honda; Last Rank: 10) Rosenqvist started fifth and finished fourth in the '500,' the same spot he enters Detroit in the points standings. FRO has three top-five finishes in the last five races and five top-10 results in six races this season with Meyer Shank Racing w/ Curb-Agajanian. ↑3. Christian Lundgaard (No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet; Last Rank: 6) Lundgaard earned his best-career '500' finish with a seventh-place result Sunday. He has five top-10 finishes in six races this season, including three consecutive podiums at The Thermal Club, Long Beach and Barber Motorsports Park. ↑2. Pato O'Ward (No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet; Last Rank: 4) O'Ward finished third in the '500' for his fourth top-six finish in the last five races this season. Next up, however, is a street course in Detroit. O'Ward finished 11th (St. Petersburg) and 13th (Detroit) on street tracks this season. ↔1. Alex Palou (No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda; Last Rank: 1) Palou has five wins in six races this season, with an average finish of 1.2. His worst result this season is second on the streets of Long Beach. Now that he's a '500' winner and points leader by 112, he's almost untouchable. recommended
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Wellborn senior honored with Rising Star scholarship
WELLBORN — Bentley Bean, a senior at Wellborn High School, has been named one of six recipients of the 2024–2025 Rising Star Scholarship, a $5,000 award sponsored by AmFirst Credit Union and WBRC Fox 6. The scholarship honors students across central Alabama for their academic excellence, leadership and community service. 'I'm very excited that I was chosen,' Bean said . ' I didn't even think I would get the scholarship out of how many kids were selected for it.' Bean was selected from a competitive pool of 30 'Rising Star' nominees who were featured throughout the academic year by WBRC. Each honoree was chosen for demonstrating perseverance, passion and a commitment to bettering their communities. 'From that pool, six students were selected to receive the $5,000 Rising Star Scholarship to support their educational journey,' the organizations said in a joint announcement. The winners were announced during an awards ceremony in Birmingham. Along with Bean, scholarship recipients included Kimora Dejarenette of Sylacauga High School, Carleigh Lipscomb of Gadsden City High School, LeeAnn Satterfield of Southside High School, James Murphy Jr. of Minor High School, and Lana Todd of Holly Pond High School. 'We're incredibly proud to continue our partnership with WBRC to highlight and support the next generation of leaders through the Rising Star program,' said Kevin Morris, president and CEO of AmFirst. 'These students are a powerful reminder of the promise our future holds.' The scholarship program also included the Bill and Pat Connor Scholarship, named in 2025 to honor the legacy of former AmFirst CEO Bill Connor and his wife, Pat. That award went to Ryan Kozlek of Oak Mountain High School, a dependent of an AmFirst employee. For Bean, the honor represents years of hard work and a promising start to the next chapter of his academic journey. Each scholarship recipient plans to attend a full-time college or trade school beginning in fall 2025. Bean said she will attend Jacksonville State University and study physical therapy and sports medicine. Bean's mom, Dia Webb, who is also the principal at Wellborn High School, said she was amazed because there were over 200 applicants for the scholarship. 'We were just floored when we received the call that she was getting the award,' Webb said. 'As one of the recipients we were kind of speechless and I'm so proud that she did this on her own.' More information on the Rising Star program and this year's honorees is available at
Fox Sports
06-05-2025
- Automotive
- Fox Sports
Power Rankings: No Surprise Here, Alex Palou Remains No. 1
INDYCAR Following a dominant victory in Sunday's Children's of Alabama Indy Grand Prix powered by AmFirst, Chip Ganassi Racing driver Alex Palou continues to solidify his position atop the NTT INDYCAR SERIES Power Rankings. The top 10 drivers entering Saturday's Sonsio Grand Prix airing at 4:30 p.m. ET on FOX, the FOX Sports app and the INDYCAR Radio Network, remain unchanged for a second consecutive race, but there was still plenty of movement with several drivers either rising or falling. There was also a change in the best driver, not named Alex Palou category. This list reflects the top 10 drivers entering Saturday's 85-lap race on the 14-turn, 2.439-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. ↓10. Scott Dixon (No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda; Last Rank: 9) Dixon has dropped since his runner-up finish in the March 2 season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg presented by RP Funding. Still, he has finishes of 10th, eighth and 12th, including a rally Sunday at Barber Motorsports Park coming from 26th at the start to gain 14 spots, the biggest improvement in the field. 9. Alexander Rossi (No. 20 ECR Java House Chevrolet; Last Rank: 10) Rossi earned his best finish in four starts with Ed Carpenter Racing during Sunday's race, finishing eighth. He did so from the 15th starting position. Rossi has three top-10 finishes in four starts with ECR, with a worst finish of 15th in the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. 8. Pato O'Ward (No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet; Last Rank: 8) O'Ward's natural road course pace continued with a sixth-place finish at Barber Motorsports Park. In The Thermal Club INDYCAR Grand Prix, he started on pole and led 51 of 65 laps in a second-place effort. However, he has struggled some on the street circuits, finishing 11th in St. Petersburg and was 13th in Long Beach. 7. Felix Rosenqvist (No. 60 SiriusXM Honda; Last Rank: 4) Rosenqvist endured his worst weekend of the season at Barber, qualifying 14th and finishing 13th. That ended a streak of three consecutive top-10 starting spots and race finishes. 6. Colton Herta (No. 26 Gainbridge Honda; Last Rank: 5) Herta has two front-row starting positions in four races; he started third in Barber. Unfortunately, those strong Saturdays have not converted into strong Sundays. A slow pit stop in St. Petersburg relegated him to a 16th-place finish. In Long Beach and Barber, Herta faded in the race, finishing seventh in each. Between those races, Herta started fourth and finished fourth at The Thermal Club. 5. Kyle Kirkwood (No. 27 PreFab Honda; Last Rank: 2) Kirkwood finished outside the top 10 for the first time this season at Barber. However, he rallied from 18th to finish 11th. After a strong Long Beach race weekend where he earned NTT P1 Award honors and led 46 of 90 laps en route to the victory, his start to the 2025 season has been strong. He finished fifth in St. Petersburg and eighth at The Thermal Club. ↑4. Scott McLaughlin (No. 3 Good Ranches Team Penske Chevrolet; Last Rank: 7) McLaughlin's two-year winning streak at Barber ended, but he still started second and finished third. The Team Penske driver has three top-six finishes in four races this season with the outlier being when he qualified 25th and finished 27th in a tough day at The Thermal Club. He began 2025 with an NTT P1 Award and fourth-place finish after leading a race-high 40 of 100 laps in St. Petersburg and started and finished sixth on April 13 at Long Beach. ↑3. Will Power (No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet; Last Rank: 6) Power earned his third consecutive top-six finish by coming home fifth at Barber. Previously, he climbed from 13th to finish fifth at Long Beach and charged from 21st to finish sixth at The Thermal Club. He has been the top-finishing Team Penske driver in two of the last three races. 2. Christian Lundgaard (No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet; Last Rank: 3) Most seasons, Lundgaard, who has three consecutive podium finishes and a fourth-place average through four races, would likely be the top driver in these Power Rankings. However, Palou has been that much better. Still, Lundgaard has been second best as we approach a track that he has never started worse than eighth in six tries and has finished second, fourth, fourth and third, respectively his last four tries. ↔1. Alex Palou (No. 10 HRC Chip Ganassi Racing Honda; Last Rank: 1) Palou earned his third win in four races to begin the 2025 season. His worst result is second at Long Beach. Oh, and he has won the past two Sonsio Grand Prix events at IMS. The Spaniard who led 81 of 90 laps at Barber has been atop the Power Rankings for more than a year. He remains there this week as well. recommended
Fox Sports
05-05-2025
- Automotive
- Fox Sports
Instant Recall: Children's of Alabama Indy Grand Prix
INDYCAR If three-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Alex Palou is still improving as a race car driver, as Chip Ganassi suggested earlier this year, how much better will he get? That question comes in the hours after the 28-year-old Spaniard won his third race in four opportunities this season, and he finished second in the other race. Palou dominated Sunday's Children's of Alabama Indy Grand Prix presented by AmFirst at Barber Motorsports Park, leading 81 of the 90 laps from the pole in the No. 10 HRC Chip Ganassi Racing Honda to extend his series lead to a staggering 60 points. That cushion is more than an opponent can gain in a single race. Palou's points lead is so commanding that the Chip Ganassi Racing driver could skip this Saturday's Sonsio Grand Prix on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course and still occupy the top position. And remember, he is bidding for his third consecutive season championship and fourth in five years, so he knows how to march to a title. Palou was so impressive Sunday that he relinquished the lead only to stop for fuel and tires. His margin of victory in the caution-free race was 16.0035 seconds over Arrow McLaren's Christian Lundgaard. Out front so comfortably, Palou joked after the race about being 'lonely' in the late going as he finished with 63 seconds of Push to Pass. Such is life as the sport's top driver. It has been 19 years since an INDYCAR SERIES driver started a season this well. That was Sebastien Bourdais' title run in 2006 when he won the first four races. 'It's amazing,' Palou said of his breakout. 'It means nothing, and (it) means a ton at the same time. '(It) means nothing for (winning) the championship yet. But for sure, I prefer to be in the position we are now than (being in) anybody else's position.' Lundgaard scored his fourth consecutive top-eight finish – he has three straight top-three finishes -- as his brilliant start in the No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet continued. But nearly everyone who was expected to challenge Palou's crown this season was down in the order Sunday and has a big points hole from which to climb. For example, last year's series runner-up, Colton Herta of Andretti Global w/Curb-Agajanian, is already 99 points behind Palou. The strange thing about this race is that Palou wasn't really challenged. Oh, fellow front-row starter Scott McLaughlin of Team Penske was at Palou's side on the opening lap, but Palou soon vanished in the distance, posting the fastest lap of the race on Lap 4. McLaughlin, who had won the previous two races on this 17-turn, 2.3-mile road course, finished third in the No. 3 Good Ranchers Team Penske Chevrolet. Most of Sunday's drama occurred in the pits, where several top drivers had hiccups. Rinus VeeKay was among those. The No. 18 Dale Coyne Racing Honda lost precious seconds when the right front wheel nut got loose, but VeeKay drove masterfully to give Dale Coyne's team a fourth-place finish, its best result since David Malukas finished third at World Wide Technology Raceway late in the 2023 season. This was VeeKay's second top-10 of the season, having finished ninth in the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg to open the campaign. Team Penske's Will Power finished fifth in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet. But they were all chasing Palou, who lapped 11 of the other 26 competitors and is truly pulling away from the field. 'Yeah, best start of my career, like not (just) in INDYCAR, I would say everything I've done in my life,' Palou said. 'Never been as good as here. Not even go-karts. Yeah, couldn't be happier. Hopefully we can keep it going.' History suggests it can. Palou is the two-time reigning champion of the Sonsio Grand Prix, an 85-lap race that will be staged at 4:30 p.m. ET Saturday (FOX, FOX Sports app, INDYCAR Radio Network) on the 14-turn, 2.439-mile road course. If it seems Palou can do no wrong, get used to it. As Ganassi suggested, Palou seems to improve with each race. recommended
Fox Sports
04-05-2025
- Automotive
- Fox Sports
Peerless Alex Palou Marches into May with Cruise to Barber Victory
INDYCAR The march through May is underway for Alex Palou after his dominant victory Sunday in the Children's of Alabama Indy Grand Prix powered by AmFirst on Barber Motorsports Park. Palou earned his third victory in four races this season in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, driving his No. 10 HRC Chip Ganassi Racing Honda to a 16.0035-second victory over Christian Lundgaard in the No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet. It was the widest margin of victory in a series race since Scott Dixon won by 22.2256 seconds in August 2023 at World Wide Technology Raceway. SEE: Race Results 'It was a perfect day, a perfect weekend,' Palou said. 'The car was amazing, super fast. I had a ton of fun. 'I was a bit lonely there, but I loved it. It was an amazing day.' It was the 14th victory of Palou's career, coming on the same circuit where he scored his first win, in 2021 with Chip Ganassi Racing. Palou led 81 of 90 laps today from the pole and increased his lead in the series standings to 60 points over Lundgaard entering two races this month at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the Sonsio Grand Prix on Saturday, May 10 on the road course and the 109th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge on Sunday, May 25. Three-time and two-time reigning series champion Palou has won the last two Sonsio Grands Prix, while he seeks his first career Indianapolis 500 victory. 2023 and 2024 Barber winner Scott McLaughlin completed the podium finishers, third in the No. 3 Good Ranchers Team Penske Chevrolet. Rinus VeeKay placed fourth in the No. 18 askROI Honda, as he has led Dale Coyne Racing to its best start to a season since 2020. This was VeeKay's best result since finishing fourth in July 2022 at Iowa Speedway for Ed Carpenter Racing. Two-time series champion Will Power rounded out the top five finishers in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet, his third consecutive top-six result this season. Checkout time came early for Palou. He jumped to the lead at the green flag and never surrendered it except for cycling through his three pit stops. McLaughlin stayed close on the first two trips around the 17-turn, 2.3-mile natural-terrain road course, but Palou built a gap of 1.1 seconds after just three laps. And the margin continued to grow, aided by the third consecutive race without a caution period. The last stretch of three straight INDYCAR SERIES races without a yellow flag came in 1986, when consecutive events at Portland, the Meadowlands and Cleveland ran caution-free. 'When the guy is on top of his game, you just can do the best you can, in that regard,' McLaughlin said of Palou. 'I feel like week in and week out, we can challenge him. But if he keeps executing like this, all we can do is execute, as well. 'Props to his team. But it's a long season. It's way too early to be even worrying about points. We've just got to keep being there, and if we're there, we'll be OK.' Palou surrendered a 4.888-second lead to Lundgaard when he made his final pit stop at the end of Lap 65. But his Chip Ganassi Racing crew was flawless on that and his two earlier stops, and Palou jumped back to the lead for good on Lap 68 after Lundgaard and then Alexander Rossi in the No. 20 ECR Java House Chevrolet pitted from the lead. From there, Palou was under no threat. He padded his lead to 7.139 seconds by the end of Lap 73 and cruised to the checkered. The ease of Palou's victory was illustrated by the amount of Push-to-Pass time he had remaining compared to his fellow podium finishers: Palou had 63 unused seconds of overtake assist at the finish, while Lundgaard had 15 and McLaughlin 25. Along the way to victory, Palou also passed a significant milestone to burnish his growing legend within the sport, leading his 1,000th career lap in the series. Palou reached that mark in his 85th career start, 14 races sooner than his iconic teammate, six-time series champion Dixon, reached 1,000 laps led. Practice on the IMS road course for the Sonsio Grand Prix starts at 9:30 a.m. ET Friday, May 9, followed by another practice at 1:10 p.m. and NTT P1 Award qualifying at 4:35 p.m. on a full Friday of action. FS2 will cover the first two practices live, while qualifying will be broadcast on FS1. The FOX Sports app and INDYCAR Radio Network will provide live coverage of all three sessions. recommended
