Latest news with #FirestoneFirehawk
Fox Sports
2 days ago
- Automotive
- Fox Sports
Dennis Hauger Runs from Chaos To Win in Detroit, Pad Points Lead
INDYCAR Dennis Hauger quickly figured out the best way to avoid potential and real chaos Sunday in the INDY NXT by Firestone Detroit Grand Prix – stay out front. Pole sitter Hauger, from Norway, led all 45 laps of the race on the streets of downtown Detroit in the No. 28 Rental Group car for his fourth victory in five races this season in the INDYCAR development series. He held off the No. 76 HMD Motorsports car of 2024 series Rookie of the Year Caio Collet by 1.0460 seconds in a one-lap dash for the checkered flag after a restart at the end of Lap 44. SEE: Race Results 'The tires, they cool down really quickly, so that last lap was sketchy,' Hauger said. 'I think I heated up the tires nicely, and we got a good gap after the back straight. 'Super happy with that. We kept it clean, and we got a good win today.' Hauger expanded his series lead to 38 points over fellow rookie teammate Lochie Hughes, who is the only other driver to win a race this season. Rookie Juan Manuel Correa earned his career-best finish of third in the No. 39 HMD Motorsports car. His previous best result was 14th in the second race of the Indianapolis road course doubleheader last month. Series veteran Josh Pierson completed a solid day for HMD Motorsports, which fielded the cars that finished second, third and fourth, with a fourth-place result in the team's No. 16 machine. Hughes rallied from a late pit stop due to a damaged front wing to round out the top five in the No. 26 McGinley Clinic/USF Pro Championship car. Just six of the 20 cars in the race finished on the lead lap, as the tight confines of the nine-turn, 1.645-mile temporary circuit on the streets of downtown Detroit induced chaos nearly from the green flag. At the start, Hauger and Hughes raced side by side into the first turn, with Hauger clinging to the top spot. In Turn 4 on the same lap, the No. 99 Abel/Force Indy car of Myles Rowe was sent into a spin due to rear contact from the No. 17 car of teammate Callum Hedge. That incident spawned a caution period due to a bottleneck that blocked the track and led to an accordion effect of collisions, with nine cars involved and many suffering damage. Hauger held steady on the restart on Lap 3 and gradually eased away from Hughes and Andretti Global teammate Salvador de Alba in the No. 27 Grupo Indi machine. De Alba passed Hughes for second place on Lap 5 and stayed within four-tenths of a second of Hauger by Lap 10. But Hauger expanded his lead to 1.5 seconds by Lap 19 as de Alba, Hughes, Collet and Correa dueled – often side by side – for second through fifth. There was some contact, and the front wings on the cars of Hughes and de Alba were damaged. The wing damage, which also included rubbing a deep groove into his right front Firestone Firehawk tire, forced de Alba to pit from second place on Lap 24. Hauger had all but checked out up front by then, ahead by 6.5 seconds. Hughes' front-wing damage compromised his car's performance, and Collet passed him for second on Lap 38. Hughes was forced to pit for a front wing change on Lap 39 from third place. It looked like Hauger was going to canter to the checkered flag, as his lead had reached double digits by Lap 40. But Jordan Missig spun exiting Turn 2 on Lap 41 in the No. 48 Abel Motorsports car, triggering the second and final caution of the race and erasing Hauger's big lead. The field lined up for a final restart and one-lap shootout at the end of Lap 44, but Hauger got a big jump at the green and never was threatened by Collet or Correa. The next INDY NXT by Firestone race is Sunday, June 15 at World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, Illinois, just across the Mississippi River from St. Louis. It's the first of four oval races this season for the series. 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
Fox Sports
4 days ago
- Automotive
- Fox Sports
Kyle Kirkwood Recovers from Nudge To Lead First Detroit Practice
INDYCAR In an interesting twist to the racing euphemism 'bump and run,' Kyle Kirkwood got the bump and then made a superb run to lead practice Friday for the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear. Kirkwood topped the 80-minute session, separated into groups, with a lap of 1 minute, 1.7509 seconds in the No. 27 Siemens AWS Honda of Andretti Global. That quick trip around the nine-turn, 1.645-mile street circuit in downtown Detroit came after Kirkwood spent considerable time in the pits for repairs to the rear of his car after being nudged from behind through a short section of the circuit amid slower traffic by the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet of two-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Will Power. SEE: Practice Results 'I don't know,' Kirkwood said. 'Everyone goes slow around here. The track's not big enough to fit all the cars, and he got frustrated. Whatever, I guess. I'm not upset. I don't care. We're P1.' Said Power: 'I came around, and he slowed up in the middle and made contact. So, I thought, 'Well, I may as well get a gap now,' so I just pushed him past the car in front, just moved him out of the way and got a really nice gap.' Scott McLaughlin began his recovery from crashing out of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge on the pace lap last Sunday by ending up second today at 1:02.0301 in the No. 3 Team Penske Chevrolet. Power was third at 1:02.3862. Two-time series champion Josef Newgarden was the third Team Penske driver in the top four with his best lap of 1:02.4819 in the No. 2 Astemo Team Penske Chevrolet. Christian Lundgaard rounded out the top five at 1:02.6047 in the No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet. Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge winner Alex Palou, the runaway series points leader with five wins in the first six races this season, looked mortal in this session. Three-time series champion Palou ended up 15th out of 27 cars at 1:03.0381 in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. Palou locked up his front Firestone Firehawk tires entering a braking zone during the session and rolled past the corner but made no contact in the run-off area. Defending Detroit winner and six-time series champion Scott Dixon was 18th at 1:03.0985 in the No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. Up next is practice at 9 a.m. ET Saturday, followed by NTT P1 Award qualifying at noon (both sessions FS1, FOX Sports app, INDYCAR Radio Network). The 100-lap race starts at 12:30 p.m. ET Sunday (FOX, FOX Sports app, INDYCAR Radio Network). recommended
Indianapolis Star
10-05-2025
- Automotive
- Indianapolis Star
IndyCar comes to the 2025 Sonsio Grand Prix at Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Grace Smith Christine Tannous Ed Carpenter Racing driver Christian Rasmussen (21) of Denmark's car is brought onto the track Saturday, May 10, 2025, during practice ahead of the Sonsio Grand Prix at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Christine Tannous/IndyStar Christine Tannous/IndyStar Chip Ganassi Racing driver Alex Palou (10) of Spain and his crew practice a pit stop Saturday, May 10, 2025, during a warmup for the Sonsio Grand Prix at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Kristin Enzor/For IndyStar Fans watch as drivers navigate through a turn of the road course at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway during an IndyCar Series warm-up session, Saturday, May 10, 2025, before the Sonsio Grand Prix. Doug McSchooler/for IndyStar Arrow McLaren driver Pato O'Ward (5) of Mexico chats with Team Presidernt Tony Kanaan, the team principal of Arrow McLaren, on Saturday morning, May 10, 2025, during warm-ups and preparations for the Sonsio Grand Prix at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Kristin Enzor/For IndyStar Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing driver Devlin DeFrancesco (30) of Canada jogs through Gasoline Alley on Saturday, May 10, 2025, before practice ahead of the Sonsio Grand Prix at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Christine Tannous/IndyStar Team Penske driver Josef Newgarden (2) of United States talks in his pit box Saturday, May 10, 2025, during a warmup for the Sonsio Grand Prix at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Kristin Enzor/For IndyStar Saturday, May 10, 2025, during practice ahead of the Sonsio Grand Prix at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Christine Tannous/IndyStar Chip Ganassi Racing driver Alex Palou (10) of Spain talks in his pit box Saturday, May 10, 2025, during a warmup for the Sonsio Grand Prix at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Kristin Enzor/For IndyStar Chip Ganassi Racing driver Kyffin Simpson (8) of Cayman Islands makes his way around the track Saturday, May 10, 2025, during practice ahead of the Sonsio Grand Prix at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Christine Tannous/IndyStar Team Penske driver Josef Newgarden (2) of United States, hugs Greg Dixon, from Long Beach, CA., on Saturday morning, May 10, 2025, during warm-ups and preparations for the Sonsio Grand Prix at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Kristin Enzor/For IndyStar The Firestone Firehawk gives a thumbs up to pit crew members for Andretti Global driver Kyle Kirkwood (27) of United States as they make their way onto the track Saturday, May 10, 2025, ahead of practice ahead of the Sonsio Grand Prix at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Christine Tannous/IndyStar Attendees watch cars make their way around the track Saturday, May 10, 2025, during practice ahead of the Sonsio Grand Prix at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Christine Tannous/IndyStar Team Penske driver Scott McLaughlin (3) of New Zealand talks in his pit box Saturday, May 10, 2025, during a warmup for the Sonsio Grand Prix at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Kristin Enzor/For IndyStar IndyCar and Indianapolis Motor Speedway President Doug Boles (right) signs fan Seth Lockhart's shirt on Saturday, May 10, 2025, during practice ahead of the Sonsio Grand Prix at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Christine Tannous/IndyStar A. J. Foyt Enterprises driver Santino Ferrucci (14) of United States' car is taken off the track Saturday, May 10, 2025, during practice ahead of the Sonsio Grand Prix at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Christine Tannous/IndyStar Chip Ganassi Racing driver Alex Palou (10) of Spain climbs out of his car Saturday, May 10, 2025, during a warmup for the Sonsio Grand Prix at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Kristin Enzor/For IndyStar IndyCar and Indianapolis Motor Speedway President Doug Boles speaks with fans Saturday, May 10, 2025, during practice ahead of the Sonsio Grand Prix at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Christine Tannous/IndyStar Chip Ganassi Racing driver Álex Palou (10) of Spain makes his way through Gasoline Alley on Saturday, May 10, 2025, before practice ahead of the Sonsio Grand Prix at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Christine Tannous/IndyStar Christine Tannous/IndyStar Chip Ganassi Racing driver Álex Palou (10) of Spain's car is brought onto the track Saturday, May 10, 2025, during practice ahead of the Sonsio Grand Prix at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Christine Tannous/IndyStar Team Penske driver Josef Newgarden (2) of United States' car is brought onto the track Saturday, May 10, 2025, during practice ahead of the Sonsio Grand Prix at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Christine Tannous/IndyStar A. J. Foyt Enterprises driver Santino Ferrucci (14) of United States' car is taken off the track after it malfunctioned during practice Saturday, May 10, 2025, ahead of the Sonsio Grand Prix at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Christine Tannous/IndyStar Andretti Global with Curb-Agajanian driver Colton Herta (26) of United States climbs out of his car Saturday, May 10, 2025, during a warmup for the Sonsio Grand Prix at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Kristin Enzor/For IndyStar Team Penske driver Will Power (12) of Australia talks in his pit box Saturday, May 10, 2025, during a warmup for the Sonsio Grand Prix at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Kristin Enzor/For IndyStar Team Penske driver Josef Newgarden (2) of United States, is about to put his helmet on in his pit area on Saturday morning, May 10, 2025, during warm-ups and preparations for the Sonsio Grand Prix at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Kristin Enzor/For IndyStar Team Penske driver Josef Newgarden (2) of United States reacts with Penske Team President Tim Cindric at left, Saturday morning, May 10, 2025, during warm-ups and preparations for the Sonsio Grand Prix at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Kristin Enzor/For IndyStar Crews and drivers prepare for an IndyCar Series warm-up session, Saturday, May 10, 2025, before the Sonsio Grand Prix at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Doug McSchooler/for IndyStar Crews and drivers prepare for an IndyCar Series warm-up session, Saturday, May 10, 2025, before the Sonsio Grand Prix at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Doug McSchooler/for IndyStar Crews and drivers prepare for an IndyCar Series warm-up session, Saturday, May 10, 2025, before the Sonsio Grand Prix at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Doug McSchooler/for IndyStar Fans watch action on the track during an IndyCar Series warm-up session, Saturday, May 10, 2025, before the Sonsio Grand Prix at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Doug McSchooler/for IndyStar Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian driver Marcus Armstrong (66) of New Zealand, left, and Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian driver Felix Rosenqvist (60) of Sweden, navigate through a turn of the road course at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway during an IndyCar Series warm-up session, Saturday, May 10, 2025, before the Sonsio Grand Prix. Doug McSchooler/for IndyStar Crews and drivers practice pitstops during an IndyCar Series warm-up session, Saturday, May 10, 2025, before the Sonsio Grand Prix at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Doug McSchooler/for IndyStar Arrow McLaren driver Christian Lundgaard (7) of Denmark, navigates through a turn of the road course at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway during an IndyCar Series warm-up session, Saturday, May 10, 2025, before the Sonsio Grand Prix. Doug McSchooler/for IndyStar IndyCar drivers navigate through a turn of the road course at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway during an IndyCar Series warm-up session, Saturday, May 10, 2025, before the Sonsio Grand Prix. Doug McSchooler/for IndyStar Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian driver Marcus Armstrong (66) of New Zealand, navigates through a turn of the road course at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway during an IndyCar Series warm-up session, Saturday, May 10, 2025, before the Sonsio Grand Prix. Doug McSchooler/for IndyStar Ed Carpenter Racing driver Christian Rasmussen (21) of Denmark, navigates through a turn of the road course at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway during an IndyCar Series warm-up session, Saturday, May 10, 2025, before the Sonsio Grand Prix. Doug McSchooler/for IndyStar A. J. Foyt Enterprises driver David Malukas (4) of United States, navigates through a turn of the road course at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway during an IndyCar Series warm-up session, Saturday, May 10, 2025, before the Sonsio Grand Prix. Doug McSchooler/for IndyStar
Fox Sports
09-05-2025
- Automotive
- Fox Sports
RLL Trio Charges to Top in Second Sonsio GP Practice
INDYCAR The Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course has been fast ground for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing in recent years, a trend that continued Friday afternoon in the second practice for the Sonsio Grand Prix. RLL's three drivers finished 1-2-3 on the speed chart, with Graham Rahal leading at 1 minute, 9.7242 seconds in the No. 15 Fifth Third Bank Honda. Rookie Louis Foster was second at 1:09.8626 in the No. 45 Mi-Jack Honda, and Devlin DeFrancesco ended up third at 1:10.0690 in the No. 30 EVTEC Honda. SEE: Practice Results Rahal's time was the quickest among the two practice sessions today on the 14-turn, 2.439-mile road course. The performance of RLL should come as no surprise, as Rahal won the pole and finished second on this circuit in an August 2023 race. Christian Lundgaard, now with Arrow McLaren, finished third in this race last year for RLL and second here in July 2022. The top six drivers in today's second practice all turned their best laps on the Firestone Firehawk alternate tire, which offers more grip but less durability. 'We're just not in that place yet as a team where we can be overconfident,' Rahal said. 'It hurt us at Barber. At Barber, we should have gone red-red (two sets of alternate tires) in qualifying, and we didn't. I didn't get a good run on reds because of a mechanical problem on Friday at Barber, and it's haunted me. It's kind of really angered me this week. I felt like we kind of gave up a race weekend by not being a little more thorough in our thinking there. 'This one really came down to first session. If we thought we were good in the first session, we were not going to do it (use alternate tires in second session). But we weren't that good, so we had to. We needed to get a good taste to understand what we need for qualifying.' NTT P1 Award qualifying starts at 4:35 p.m. ET today (FS1, FOX Sports app, INDYCAR Radio Network). Sting Ray Robb was fourth in the second practice today at 1:10.1657 in the No. 77 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet. His teammate, Conor Daly, rounded out the top five at 1:10.1919 in the No. 76 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet. NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship leader Alex Palou was the quickest driver on the harder Firestone Firehawk primary tires, seventh at 1:10.2943 in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. Palou, who has won this race the last two years, has captured three of the first four races this season. 'Guys like Palou, if you have his confidence level, you know you're good (on alternate tires),' Rahal said of his rival's decision to stay on primary tires for this practice. Live coverage of the 85-lap race starts at 4:30 p.m. ET Saturday on FOX, the FOX Sports app and the INDYCAR Radio Network. recommended
