Latest news with #FirestoneFastSix
Fox Sports
3 days ago
- Automotive
- Fox Sports
Paddock Buzz: Kyle Kirkwood Laments Missed Chance for Pole
INDYCAR Kyle Kirkwood rued what could have been an NTT P1 Award performance for Sunday's Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear, but he instead starts third in the No. 27 Siemens AWS Honda after making wall contact in Turn 3 during qualifying Saturday. His fastest lap, 1 minute, .7312 of a second, was compromised when he broke a toe link during the Firestone Fast Six, relegating him to the second row for Sunday's 100-lap race airing at 12:30 p.m. ET on FOX, FOX Sports app and INDYCAR Radio Network. His lap was trending toward pole. 'I've never been more disappointed with a third in my life,' Kirkwood said. 'I know I threw away a pole, without a doubt.' His frustration is amplified by his pattern of near-misses on this track, but he remains optimistic. His teammate Colton Herta snagged the NTT P1 Award in his No. 26 Gainbridge Honda, giving Andretti Global the top starting spot. Kirkwood, while disappointed, found some consolation. 'I'm glad one of us got it because it would have been very disappointing if none of us got it,' Kirkwood said. Despite the qualifying hiccup, Kirkwood is poised for a strong showing. His street course record backs it up. All three of his NTT INDYCAR SERIES victories have come on street circuits, including twice at Long Beach (2023, 2025) and once in Nashville (2023). He led 46 of 90 laps from the pole in the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach on April 13. He's also steadily climbed around the 1.645-mile downtown Detroit street circuit, improving from eighth in 2023 to fourth last year. 'The car is fast,' he said. 'We're really good for the race. We're starting in a good spot.' Andretti Global Best Positioned To Top Palou? Runaway NTT INDYCAR SERIES leader Alex Palou qualified sixth in his No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. He shifts to fifth due to Graham Rahal's six-spot grid penalty for an unapproved engine change before last Sunday's 109th Running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge. 2023 Detroit race winner Palou has three consecutive wins in a Month of May sweep of the Children's of Alabama Indy Grand Prix presented by AmFirst on May 4, the Sonsio Grand Prix on May 10 and the '500' on May 25. Most drivers believe Palou's reign will end, maybe even Sunday. Last year, Palou started second but finished 16th. 'He can't win them all,' Arrow McLaren rival Christian Lundgaard said. Lundgaard is third in points and starts fourth in the No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet. He finished eighth on the streets of St. Petersburg and third at Long Beach this season. Lundgaard and Palou may have to beat Andretti Global. It's the only organization to beat Palou this season with Kirkwood's Long Beach victory. Looking ahead, Andretti drivers believe they have among the strongest cars on both street circuits and short ovals. Those disciplines of tracks comprise five of the next seven races. The series races July 20 on the streets of Toronto, where Herta beat Kirkwood in an Andretti Global 1-2 finish last year. Between Detroit and Toronto is World Wide Technology Raceway (June 15), Road America (June 22), Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course (July 6) and an Iowa Speedway doubleheader (July 12-13). Andretti Global earned an oval victory with Herta in the season finale last year at Nashville Superspeedway. Kirkwood started on the pole there and led the most laps. 'I know we can beat him,' Herta said of Palou. 'If we do the right stuff, we have a really good chance here to beat him. We should beat him if we do everything the right way. 'We do have the speed to win. I think we've made mistakes this year and it's been disappointing, but I think if we focus on us and do what we need to do, we should be able to beat him.' RLL Eyeing Momentum in Motor City Rahal enters Sunday's race with cautious optimism, hoping to convert recent progress into long-awaited results on the downtown street circuit. He swept the 2017 doubleheader on the Belle Isle circuit, marking his most recent INDYCAR SERIES victory – 131 races ago. Rahal believes he had a chance to end that drought. He qualified fifth in his No. 15 JJ Curran Crane Company Honda but will drop six spots due to an unapproved engine change penalty stemming from his mechanical failure on Miller Lite Carb Day, prompting an engine change before the '500.' 'I feel pretty good even starting 11th,' Rahal said. 'The car has been really shocking to drive all weekend. I say shocking because we've not been good here at all.' Rahal finished 15th at Detroit last year and 25th in 2023. Starting in Row 6 on a bumpy, tight Detroit street circuit, Rahal believes this car allows him the aggression and confidence to march through the field. Rahal also points to tangible evidence the entire organization is on the rise. All three RLL cars reached the Firestone Fast Six in the Sonsio Grand Prix, including Rahal starting second. Then, all four RLL entries finished in the top 17 in the '500,' including part-time driver Takuma Sato, who led the most laps (51) in a ninth-place effort, and a career-best finish from Devlin DeFrancesco (11th). Rookie Louis Foster (12th) was one-spot off his career best finish, which happened in the previous race, the Sonsio Grand Prix, in which he finished 11th. Foster was eighth and fifth quickest, respectively, in practice this weekend in his No. 45 Mi-Jack Honda and starts 14th. He was .0081 away from advancing to the Top 12. DeFrancesco was 14th on Saturday morning but starts 23rd in the No. 30 EVTEC Honda. 'I feel like we are getting better, period,' Rahal said. 'I think we are a team on the rise. I know people don't like to believe that, but I think it's true. I feel like this is a sign because all of us, Louis and I, in particular, and even Dev, have been quite fast.' VeeKay Thinks DCR Changes Will Boost Results Rinus VeeKay already noticed Michael Cannon's effect in the first weekend of Cannon returning to Dale Coyne Racing. Cannon spent six years (2014-19) engineering for the organization. He served as an engineer in recent seasons for Chip Ganassi Racing and AJ Foyt Racing. Cannon is VeeKay's engineer on the No. 18 askROI Honda and was part of a personnel shakeup after the '500' that also saw Mike Colliver return to the team to lead engineer Jacob Abel's No. 51 Blue Oval SK Honda. VeeKay was ninth in opening practice Friday and qualified a season-best seventh Saturday. 'The car was on rails out there,' VeeKay said. 'I could really drive the car. The car wasn't driving me this time. We've got the Albert Einstein (Cannon) of INDYCAR on the pit stand right now. The experience that Michael Cannon has right now is insane.' VeeKay is 12th in points with three top-10 finishes this season. His best Detroit finish on this street circuit is 14th for Ed Carpenter Racing last season. Odds and Ends Following Friday's practice mishap between Will Power and Kirkwood, the two shared many laughs before Saturday morning practice and admitted to no animosity. Five drivers have completed all 630 laps this season: Kirkwood, Lundgaard, Pato O'Ward, Palou and Felix Rosenqvist. Herta earned his 15th career pole. He has converted five of those previous 14 poles into victories, including last July on the streets of Toronto. He finished 18th from the pole here last year. Defending Detroit winner Scott Dixon qualified 10th, but like Rahal, faces a six-spot grid penalty for an engine change before the '500.' He will start 16th. Tony Kanaan will be the guest analyst for Sunday's INDY NXT by Firestone race airing at 10:30 a.m. ET on FS1. Andretti Global rookie teammates Dennis Hauger and Lochie Hughes share the front row. recommended
Fox Sports
3 days ago
- Automotive
- Fox Sports
David Malukas Stays on Upswing with Fast Qualifying Performance
INDYCAR David Malukas is on the move in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES. The 24-year-old driver piloting the No. 4 Clarience Technologies Chevrolet for A.J. Foyt Enterprises entered this hectic Month of May in the 18th position in the season standings. Three races later, he is 10th – and charging. Malukas earned the second starting spot for Sunday's Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear, which is where he stood after the official results of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge were posted. Clearly, the Chicago native has momentum. 'We're starting off (in Detroit) where we finished (in Indianapolis),' Malukas said, smiling. 'We're still in that (second spot), but that's a really good (qualifying) session. As soon as we unloaded the car, we knew we were (going to) have a good run. 'I've just been really happy.' Malukas felt he had a car quick enough to beat Colton Herta, the driver of the No. 26 Gainbridge Honda of Andretti Global w/Curb-Agajanian who won the 15th pole of his career, but Herta edged him by .1713 of a second over the nine-turn, 1.645-mile downtown street circuit. Malukas said 'just a few tweaks' to the car's setup likely would have made a difference for him to swap positions with Herta. Malukas did outqualify Andretti Global's Kyle Kirkwood, who edged him for the INDY NXT by Firestone championship in 2021. Kirkwood won 10 of the 20 races that season; Malukas won seven, Linus Lundqvist three. Kirkwood will start third in Sunday's race in the No. 27 Siemens AWS Honda. Malukas still doesn't have a pole in his 51 events in this series, although this will be the third time he has started a race from the second position. The other two front-row starts came last year on oval tracks – World Wide Technology Raceway and the Milwaukee Mile – while driving for Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb-Agajanian. This was Malukas' first appearance in the Firestone Fast Six qualifying round since earning the sixth starting position in last year's Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto. He finished sixth in that race. Malukas said this momentum has been building for some time as he and the Foyt crew have gotten to know one another in their first season together. Specifically, Malukas singled out the recent tips he has received from Derek Miller, one of Chevrolet's trackside engineers. 'I think having that whole month (in Indianapolis), being with the (team) guys, understanding what we want (out of the car setup),' Malukas said of the reason for the competitive rise. 'Having Clarience Technologies on board with us – those guys have been ecstatic. I think the mood has really lifted us up, and we can see this momentum carrying (on). 'Man, what a good car, what a good group of guys here, what a good run here.' Malukas also doesn't have a race win in this series, although as with pole pursuits, he has been close. His best result was a second-place finish in the 2022 race at World Wide Technology Raceway when he split a pair of Team Penske drivers in a late-race shootout. Josef Newgarden scored his third consecutive win in the event that year. Sunday might offer Malukas' best chance to break through and become a race winner in this series. He is extremely fond of this circuit, although a 23rd-place finish in the 2023 race is his only start on it. 'Man, it's just so technical,' he said. 'It's something that I love, and I think (Saturday's) cooler temperatures are something that I've always been suited to ever since go-karting as a little kid. Yeah, everything kind of lined up for us today.' It's worth noting that Malukas' first appearance in a Firestone Fast Six round came on Detroit's Belle Isle circuit in 2022. He qualified sixth that afternoon for Dale Coyne Racing w/HMD Motorsports. He likes the mojo of the Motor City, which could be just the lift he needs to win the 100-lap race (12:30 p.m. ET, FOX, FOX Sports app, INDYCAR Radio Network). 'That was kind of the first big transition for me, knowing that I actually had a strong opportunity to be quick and get good results here in INDYCAR,' he said. 'So, Detroit is my turnaround (event).' recommended
Fox Sports
3 days ago
- Automotive
- Fox Sports
Colton Herta Keeps Andretti Global Rolling with Motor City Pole
INDYCAR While it appeared since the first practice Andretti Global was a favorite for the pole position for the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear, Colton Herta ended the suspense about which one of the team's drivers would end up on top. Herta repeated as the NTT P1 Award winner for this race on the streets of downtown Detroit, earning his first pole of the season and 15th of his NTT INDYCAR SERIES career with a best lap of 1 minute, .4779 of a second in the No. 26 Gainbridge Honda during the Firestone Fast Six. SEE: Qualifying Results The pole came after a bit of a gamble in the final qualifying segment Saturday, as Herta was the only driver to start the session on used primary Firestone Firehawk tires before switching to a new set of the softer but grippier alternate tires early in the session. The other five drivers ran the entire Firestone Fast Six session on a combination of new and used Firestone Firehawk alternates. 'It was such an unknown, and we were not really strong, to be completely honest, yesterday with the softer tires,' Herta said. 'The guys did a great job overnight. The Gainbridge Honda was super fast today. 'Happy to start P1 tomorrow – the best seat in the house. Now we just need a nice, easy race – no yellows, go back to how it was before Indy – and make it easy on us.' Up next is the warm-up session at 9:30 a.m. ET Sunday (FS1, FOX Sports app, INDYCAR Radio Network), followed by the 100-lap race at 12:30 p.m. ET (FOX, FOX Sports app, INDYCAR Radio Network). David Malukas continued his recent hot streak for A.J. Foyt Enterprises, following his runner-up finish in the 109th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge last Sunday with a career best-tying second qualifying spot at 1:00.6492 in the No. 4 Clarience Technologies Chevrolet. That was Malukas' best career qualifying performance on a road or street circuit, as his two previous second-place starts came on ovals. Kyle Kirkwood continued the strong weekend for Andretti Global by qualifying third at 1:00.7312 in the No. 27 Siemens AWS Honda. Kirkwood led practice Friday, while Herta paced the practice session this morning on the nine-turn, 1.645-mile street circuit. Christian Lundgaard will join Kirkwood in Row 2 after qualifying fourth at 1:00.8938 in the No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet. Starting on the inside of Row 3 will be Graham Rahal, who qualified fifth at 1:01.0651 in the No. 15 JJ Curran Crane Company Honda. That strong effort continued Rahal Letterman Lanigan's recent unlocking of more speed on circuits with left and right turns, as Rahal qualified second earlier this month for the Sonsio Grand Prix on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. Series points leader Alex Palou rounded out the Firestone Fast Six at 1:01.4680 in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. Palou has won five of the first six races this season, including the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge last Sunday for his first career oval victory. While sixth tied Palou's second-worst qualifying performance this season, it was a solid recovery from the first two practices in which he ranked 15th and 12th, respectively. Palou leads second-place Pato O'Ward of Arrow McLaren by a staggering 112 points – more than two races' worth – after just six of 17 races this season. O'Ward failed to advance out of the first round of qualifying and will start 18th in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet. recommended
Axios
19-05-2025
- Automotive
- Axios
Indianapolis 500 qualifying: What you need to know
We've got the need for speed. Lucky for us, it's Fast Friday. Driving the news: It's qualifying weekend for the Indianapolis 500. Vibe check: Quals are a lower key way to get a taste of the Greatest Spectacle in Racing. You get all the speed — we're talking 230-plus miles per hour — without the race day crowd. How it works: Qualifying starts at 11am Saturday and by 6pm spots 13-30 will be set. Drivers who qualified in the top 12 on Saturday will be back on track Sunday to secure their starting position. During top 12 qualifying, those who finish 7-12 get those spots for race day. The fastest six advance to the Firestone Fast Six later in the day to determine positions 1-6. The intrigue: Bumping is back. 34 drivers are competing for 33 spots in the field. Drivers who finished in the bottom four on Saturday come back on Sunday for a last chance to qualify. If you go: Fast Friday, the final day of practice before qualifying, starts at noon and the qualification draw starts at 6:15pm.
Fox Sports
19-05-2025
- Automotive
- Fox Sports
Paddock Buzz: Pato O'Ward Finds Sweet Spot on Front Row
INDYCAR Pato O'Ward delivered exactly what he set out to achieve in qualifying for the 109th Running of the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday. With a four-lap average of 232.098 mph in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, O'Ward secured third place on the starting grid, the outside of the front row, just as he had envisioned and told his family beforehand. 'This is literally what I want,' O'Ward said. 'I told my family yesterday, actually, that my goal is to be on the outside of the front row.' Although he would welcome the NTT P1 Award, O'Ward expressed satisfaction with his personal-best qualifying result at the Indy 500, his previous best being fifth in 2023. Making it into the Firestone Fast Six was especially meaningful, given how tough and unpredictable the conditions were throughout PPG Presents Armed Forces Qualifying weekend. It was a tumultuous lead-up into the Firestone Fast Six, with multiple crashes underscoring the difficulty of the conditions. Kyffin Simpson crashed heavily in Friday's practice. Kyle Larson found the SAFER Barrier in Turn 3 late that day. Marcus Armstrong crashed in Saturday morning's pre-qualifying practice session, and Colton Herta crashed in his initial qualifying attempt. Scott McLaughlin crashed Sunday morning. 'All my competitors that strap into these cars, especially this year, it's been a very gnarly month in terms of accidents,' O'Ward said. 'We're taking these cars so on the edge. I had mine just right there, this last run, getting wiggly into (Turn) 1, and you're playing with fire there. 'I mean, the saves, you can maybe do last year, but you can't do that anymore. You're just flirting with basically almost going to the hospital.' O'Ward has two runner-up finishes in the last three Indy 500s and finished second in the May 10 Sonsio Grand Prix on the 2.439-mile, 14-turn IMS road course. He looks forward to his view sharing the front row at the start with Robert Shwartzman (No. 83 PREMA Racing Chevrolet) and two-time '500' winner Takuma Sato (No. 75 AMADA Honda for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing). 'We're right there,' O'Ward said. 'We had a very quick car all month, and we're going to continue to have it in the race. So now we can work on that and see what we can make happen.' Team Penske Ends Tough Day without Qualifying Attempt Both Josef Newgarden's No. 2 Shell V-Power NiTRO+ Team Penske Chevrolet andWill Power's No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet failed pre-qualifying technical inspection due to an unapproved body fit on the rear attenuator, which violated Rule 14.7.8.16 of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES rulebook. NTT INDYCAR SERIES President J. Douglas Boles spoke to a select group of assembled media and explained the situation. He said Power's car initially passed through tech inspection, but INDYCAR Technical Director Kevin "Rocket" Blanch flagged a possible issue with the rear attenuator. After a few more cars passed through, Newgarden's car came through inspection and had an identical rear attenuator. This confirmed that the issue wasn't isolated, prompting further scrutiny. 'As the cars roll through tech, obviously they a lot of things get inspected,' Boles said. 'From the moment you get to tech, and any time after tech, even if you pass tech, scrutineering can come, you still have to follow the rules. So, that is not unusual. It doesn't happen often, but it's not unusual for that to happen.' Two options were given to the team. The first was to proceed with qualifying, with the understanding that if either car placed in the top six, it would fail post-qualifying tech and be subject to car impound and further penalties. The second option would be to withdraw the cars from the Top 12 Qualifying session, which would place them at the back of the Top 12 based on the rulebook (Rule 8.5.13.2.6). Team Penske opted to withdraw both cars, avoiding an automatic disqualification after the session. Since Newgarden and Power qualified in the top 12 on Saturday, they are still eligible to start in the 11th and 12th positions based on their Saturday speeds. McLaughlin, also from Team Penske, crashed his No. 3 Pennzoil Team Penske Chevrolet in Sunday's practice session. He will start 10th, also based on his Saturday qualifying speed. VeeKay Snags Last Spot in '500' Rinus VeeKay, who had previously secured five consecutive top-seven starts in the Indianapolis 500, including second, third, and fourth-place efforts, faced a stunning reversal of fortune this weekend. He failed to qualify in the Top 30 on opening day and was forced into Sunday's Last Chance Qualifying. VeeKay, driving the No. 18 askROI Honda for Dale Coyne Racing, was joined in Last Chance Qualifying by Marco Andretti (No. 98 MAPEI/Curb Honda for Andretti Herta w/Marco & Curb-Agajanian), Marcus Armstrong (No. 66 SiriusXM/Root Insurance for Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb-Agajanian) and rookie teammate Jacob Abel (No. 51 Miller High Life Honda for Dale Coyne Racing). VeeKay's first run was 227.740, placing him last in the session. With minutes to spare, VeeKay withdrew his time at 6:12 p.m. ET and made another attempt. His second four-lap run was slower, averaging 226.913. Abel launched his final attempt at 6:17 p.m. ET, clocking in at 226.394 – not fast enough. Abel was the only driver to miss the 33-car field. 'Just my first time having to risk it all for starting in the '500,' VeeKay said. 'This is far more gut-wrenching and nerve-wracking than running for the pole.' Team owner Dale Coyne said he's more sad than happy. 'That's what makes Indy,' Coyne said. 'If it were easy, it'd be no challenge. It hurts a lot.' Coyne underscored Sunday being one of the most emotionally complex and agonizing aspects of motorsports for a team owner, especially a high-stakes environment like Indy. 'It's as though somebody's playing chess with yourself,' Coyne said. 'You know what the other strategy is, but now you've got two queens on the board. You don't know what the hell they're thinking, and we ended up where we ended up.' VeeKay was relieved but sad knowing good friend Abel wasn't in the field, too. He rued having to be the one knocking out Abel, preventing him from the special moment of making his first Indy 500 start. 'Unfortunately, he has to wait another year,' VeeKay said. Ericsson Rebounds from Last Year's Near-Miss Marcus Ericsson of Andretti Global endured a brutal Indy 500 one year ago, crashing during practice on the Thursday before qualifying and being forced into a backup car. He barely made the field as a Last Chance Qualifier and started 32nd, only to be collected in a Turn 1 crash on the opening lap, ending his race in last place. Over the last 12 months, the 2022 Indy 500 winner and 2023 runner-up kept his sights on redemption. Now he's delivering. Ericsson qualified his No. 28 Allegra Honda ninth (231.014) in the Top 12 Qualifying session. 'Proud of the effort,' Ericsson said. 'What a bounce-back from last year. We can win from there next Sunday.' Rosenqvist Caps Wild Day for MSR Michael Shank, along with Meyer Shank Racing co-owners Jim Meyer and Helio Castroneves, experienced the full emotional spectrum Sunday at IMS. The team's two drivers were at opposite ends of the qualifying drama – one fighting for the pole, the other fighting just to make the race. Armstrong suffered a crash in Saturday morning practice, which killed his chances of locking into the top 30. Two qualifying attempts later in the day fell short, sending him to Last Chance Qualifying. There, he delivered when it mattered most, with a four-lap average of 229.091 mph to securing the 32nd starting spot. 'Happy that's over because that was a tough two days,' Armstrong said. 'But we're in the race, and I've never been so happy to be starting almost last. We'll see what magic we can make happen on Race Day.' At the other end of the pit lane, teammate Felix Rosenqvist put in one of the top performances of the weekend, advancing to the Firestone Fast Six in the No. 60 SiriusXM Honda. He ended up qualifying fifth with a speed of 231.987, despite puzzling over why his final run was slower than his Top 12 Qualifying speed that was quickest in the session. 'This place is weird like that,' Rosenqvist said. 'It tricks you. It's never over until it's over. I feel like we were right on the edge, like as trimmed out as we could be, comfortably or uncomfortably. It's never comfortable around here, especially this year.' Interestingly, the last time a Swede started fifth at Indy – Ericsson in 2022 – he went on to win. 'Fifth is good. I like fifth,' Rosenqvist said, hinting at optimism for Race Day. Odds and Ends Seven of the last eight Indy 500s were won from a top-eight starting spot. The only exception was Newgarden, who started 17th en route to his first win in 2023. NTT INDYCAR SERIES points leader Alex Palou starts sixth in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. He started sixth and finished second in the 2021 race. The '500' field average is 231.207, the third-fastest '500' field in history, trailing only 2023 (232.184) and 2024 (231.943). The cars return to Race Day boost levels Monday with a two-hour practice from 1-3 p.m. ET, airing live on FS1, the FOX Sports app and the INDYCAR Radio Network. recommended
