Latest news with #INDYCAR
Fox News
6 hours ago
- Automotive
- Fox News
McLaren Boss Zak Brown Believes F1 Blueprint Can Lift INDYCAR Team
Zak Brown has built a Formula 1 team that has emerged as the team to beat in the world's most prominent racing circuit. Now, the McLaren Racing CEO is attempting to use the same blueprint to build his INDYCAR program into an organization that can have a similar stature to the McLaren Formula 1 program. But at least one question remains: Is that blueprint applicable for a series that has more limitations when it comes to team control of body style and engines? "One-hundred percent [the same] and it's all people," Brown said earlier this month. "It's about having the right people, getting the right people on the bus." As Brown has found, it will take time. He's brought people on the bus. He's thrown them off (see former team principal Gavin Ward). He now has former driver Tony Kanaan running the program. Kanaan was quite popular during his driving days. He brought in driver Christian Lundgaard to replace Alexander Rossi, and Lundgaard has nine top-10 finishes and is fourth in the standings (Rossi had 11 top 10s last year and was 10th in the standings). And Nolan Siegel, in his first full season, has had the inconsistency one would expect of a rookie. Brown recently added Kyle Moyer as competition director after Moyer was let go as part of the Team Penske technical violation issues over the last two seasons. The team will also move into a new, bigger shop in January. This shop will increase the work space from their current 33,000 square feet to 86,000 square feet. "[It's] having the resources, the equipment, the technology, the driver," Brown said. "So I feel like we have everything, but we're young, and we can't stretch our elbows because we're not in a workshop that fits our goals and desires from an investment like in technology and things of that nature. "We're a big three-car team that's in a small two-car shop. With that, we've got buildings all over the place where there's storage units and paint shops, and that's not an ideal environment to work in." With two wins this year, Pato O'Ward sits second in the standings. Lundgaard is fifth. Siegel — who missed a race with a concussion — is 21st. Brown insists he's not making a run at Will Power, the Penske veteran who is still unsigned for next year. There has been speculation that McLaren could be interested. "I've heard everything you've heard," Brown said. "I've got the same drivers next year." Driver stability has not been something Brown has enjoyed on his INDYCAR program. Going back a few years, he had Alex Palou signed before Palou decided he would stay at Ganassi. In the wake of that was McLaren's $31 million lawsuit against Palou. Palou has admitted a breach of contract and a trial is scheduled for late September and October to determine how much Palou owes McLaren. David Malukas was signed by McLaren prior to the 2024 season but then a mountain biking accident resulted in a wrist injury and McLaren opted to release Malukas before he ever drove a race for the team. That resulted in a couple of reserve drivers until the team signed Siegel, who was running well in Indy NXT. "I am happy we've kind of had a year or two of driver stability. That was extremely disruptive, even more so than I would have even thought," Brown said. "It's just what I spent all my time on. "So it's good that that's kind of behind us. It's not totally behind us, but it's behind us from a distraction factor." Brown believes they are the best they have been and have room to grow. The team is the former Sam Schmidt-owned team that McLaren initially merged with more than five years ago. "I feel like we've got everything we need," Brown said. "Now we need to gel as a team, continue to drive the culture forward. I think where the team came from, it was like midfield mentality ... [and] we now have the culture of the team and the mindset of anything kind of short of podiums and going for the win is kind of a disappointment. "We've shifted from we're kind of happy to be there and get the occasional good result to we're here to win championships and Indy 500s. So you can see the team taking a step forward in their expectations of themselves, which is how a Penske and Ganassi and Andretti show up every weekend — with the intention of winning and anything kind of short of that is a bit disappointed." That doesn't mean Brown looks at 2026 as the year his organization will be on top. "Of course, we want to run for the championship next year," Brown said. "But reality is, I think we'll be stronger in '27 than we are in '26 because we're only moving into the shop at the end of '25. "These new hires have just started, so I think '26 is another year of gelling before I feel like '27 will be it." Brown says that because he thinks they just need time. "We've got drivers that can win the championship," Brown said. "I think we've got equipment, technology, the level of sponsorship that you need. I think we've got everything, but it takes time. No different in a relationship. You know someone for a week versus 10 years in. You can look at each other [and know]. "We just need a little bit of time to bring everything together, where the right foot knows what the left foot is doing, and they can get to a point where they can look at each other and communicate, versus having to communicate." One thing Brown got to experience for the first time came recently when he was in attendance for an O'Ward win at Toronto. It was the first time he was at a victory since McLaren took over the team. "It's the first one he's ever been there in the flesh," O'Ward said. "That was really cool." Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR and INDYCAR for FOX Sports. He has spent decades covering motorsports, including over 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass.
Fox Sports
10 hours ago
- Sport
- Fox Sports
Bubba Wallace Can Start Believing In Himself After Brickyard Win
Did Bubba Wallace silence the doubters with his victory Sunday at the Brickyard 400? No. They will never be silenced, but only one of those doubters matters. And that's Wallace himself. A driver who has made no secret about his difficulty handling the pressures of NASCAR Cup Series racing, Wallace admitted he had those doubts near the end of the race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway — a race that is considered by many as one of the sport's crown jewel events. "I'll say those last 20 laps, there was ups and downs of telling myself, 'You're not going to be able to do it,'" Wallace said. "I hate that I'm that way." Wallace rode a 100-race winless streak into Indianapolis, and the win was the third of his Cup career. It was his first in a regular-season race and it vaulted him into the playoffs. He signed a contract extension late last season and knows that the expectations are for him to win since he's driving for Denny Hamlin and Michael Jordan. "Not being able to do it for almost three years, you really start to doubt yourself and wonder like, 'Is this it? After the contract's up, is this it?'" Wallace said. "I've still got a couple years left, but hopefully this gives me another year at least." The 31-year-old Wallace, whose son was born 10 months ago, has seemed to have a more balanced mindset this year. That's a mindset that doesn't let the frustrations of a bad performance (or a performance that didn't match the capability of the car) eat at him throughout the week. But make no mistake, having not won in nearly three years had to gnaw at Wallace. His teammate, Tyler Reddick, won the regular-season title and was one of the four championship finalists last year. Wallace failed to make the playoffs. Any driver who is on a 100-race winless streak will certainly face criticism about whether they still deserve a job. Wallace, as the only Black driver in the NASCAR Cup Series, gets scrutinized more about whether being Black helps him keep a ride. For context, as a woman, Danica Patrick faced similar criticism when she raced in NASCAR. "Does anybody know where the goal post got moved to now?" Wallace said after the race. "Did it get moved yet? [My win] is rigged?" Wallace has competed in Cup for eight seasons. In most pro sports, competing at the top level for that length of time would be considered a solid career. But in NASCAR, drivers are judged by wins and championships and any who can't remain in contention on a weekly basis get labeled as mediocre talent. Wallace has never rattled off the wins that would make someone look at him as a championship contender. But not every driver is going to be one. With three Cup wins, Wallace has as many (or more) Cup victories than 19 of the 35 other full-time drivers. Based on that stat, he has had a better career than half of his competitors. His victory last Sunday shows that he belongs in the Cup Series. He can start believing it now. Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR and INDYCAR for FOX Sports. He has spent decades covering motorsports, including over 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass. recommended Item 1 of 3 Get more from the NASCAR Cup Series Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more
Fox Sports
11 hours ago
- Automotive
- Fox Sports
Inside Line: Hectic July Takeaways?
INDYCAR Today's question: The NTT INDYCAR SERIES just conducted five races in July. What is your biggest takeaway from this intense summer stretch of action? Curt Cavin: Since I lead off this discussion, let's begin by acknowledging Alex Palou's successful month. In tennis it's called holding serve, and he actually did more than that. He entered July with a 93-point lead and exits it ahead by 121 points, thanks to four top-five finishes (two wins) in five races. Pato O'Ward did the best he could, losing only 10 points to Palou during the month, but the Arrow McLaren driver needed to do more to unseat the champ. Meanwhile, Kyle Kirkwood faded, and Scott Dixon has had too large of a points hole to climb out of it. So, July's big winner is Palou. The Astor Challenge Cup awaits him in August. Eric Smith: How about the emergence of Pato O'Ward? Entering the month, Alex Palou and Kyle Kirkwood had won the first nine races and were considered the championship favorites. But O'Ward surged past Kirkwood in July to second in the standings, scoring 194 points -- second-most among all 27 drivers, and just 10 points shy of Palou for the month. He went head-to-head with the two-time defending series champion and delivered an impressive run: two wins (Iowa 1 and Toronto), two fifth-place finishes (Mid-Ohio and Iowa 2) and a fourth-place at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. Most impressive? After a seventh-place finish in Detroit, O'Ward told me street courses had been his team's Achilles' heel. He had previously finished 11th in St. Petersburg and 13th at Long Beach. For him and his team not only to improve on street circuits but to break through with a win proves just how legitimate this team is. Paul Kelly: Curt and Eric make solid points about Alex Palou and Pato O'Ward's winning ways in July. But I'm looking a little further down the results sheet and like what I see. It was refreshing to see some new names enter the upper echelon of the series with strong results at one or more of the five races this month. There are plenty of examples, whether it was Rinus VeeKay chasing winner O'Ward to the finish at Toronto, Kyffin Simpson's impressive first career podium at the same race, Marcus Armstrong placing third on the short oval at Iowa or Christian Lundgaard continuing his breakout season with podium finishes at Mid-Ohio and Laguna Seca. There appears to be a trend of young drivers finding their way in one of the toughest, most competitive series in the world. I won't go so far as to say this is a changing of the guard, but this field just continues to get deeper with emerging talent if you look past Palou's deserved dominance. recommended Item 1 of 1
Fox Sports
a day ago
- Automotive
- Fox Sports
Power Rankings: Christian Lundgaard, Will Power Charge Back In
INDYCAR Editor's Note: Power Rankings is a feature after every NTT INDYCAR SERIES race in which staff writer Eric Smith ranks the top-10 current drivers in the series based on objective recent and season-long performance statistics and the subjective 'eye test' of what he sees during race weekends. Alex Palou captured his series-leading eighth victory of the season July 27 at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, defeating Christian Lundgaard by 3.7965 seconds. Lundgaard's runner-up finish burnished a strong season for Arrow McLaren. The team boasts 11 podium finishes this season between Lundgaard and fourth-place finisher Pato O'Ward, a team record. The previous high was 10 between O'Ward, Felix Rosenqvist and Alexander Rossi in 2023. After 14 races, O'Ward trails Palou by 121 points heading into the next race, the Grand Prix of Portland, on Sunday, Aug. 10 at Portland International Raceway (3 p.m. ET, FOX, FOX Sports app, INDYCAR Radio Network). Here are the updated Power Rankings following the Java House Grand Prix of Monterey as the series heads into an off weekend: ↑10. Will Power (No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet; Last Rank: NR) Power returns to the Power Rankings for the first time since mid-June, following the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 at World Wide Technology Raceway. He earned his second consecutive Firestone Fast Six appearance and finished seventh at Laguna Seca, his second top-10 in the last four races. ↓9. David Malukas (No. 4 Clarience Technologies Chevrolet; Last Rank: 8) Though Malukas finished 13th at Laguna Seca, he holds on to a spot in the rankings with two top-10 finishes in his last three starts. He enters Portland 10th in the points standings. ↑8. Christian Rasmussen (No. 21 Liquid Science Chevrolet: Last Rank: NR) Rasmussen earned his third top-10 finish in the last four races by finishing ninth at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. This marks the highest he has climbed in the Power Rankings. ↓7. Kyle Kirkwood (No. 27 JM Bullion Honda; Last Rank: 4) Kirkwood's slide continues with his third finish of 16th or worse in the last four races. Despite five top-eight finishes in the last eight starts, including two wins, his recent inconsistency is concerning. ↓6. Marcus Armstrong (No. 66 SiriusXM/Root Insurance Honda; Last Rank: 5) Armstrong finished eighth Sunday, his seventh top-10 result in the past eight races. The lone outlier was a 14th-place finish in Toronto, where a pit lane penalty disrupted a promising run that began with a third-place start. ↑5. Christian Lundgaard (No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet; Last Rank: NR) Lundgaard storms back into the rankings after his runner-up finish at Laguna Seca, his second podium in five races and fifth of the season. In comparison, he had just three podiums in 52 starts with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. The No. 7 Arrow McLaren car had four podiums in 81 starts before his arrival. ↑4. Colton Herta (No. 26 Gainbridge Honda; Last Rank: 7) Herta moves into the top five for the first time since the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach in April. His third-place finish at Laguna Seca marked his third top-four result in the last five races. He had only two in the nine races before that. ↔3. Scott Dixon (No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda; Last Rank: 3) Dixon surged from 19th to fifth at Laguna Seca, earning his seventh consecutive top-10 finish. The streak includes a win at Mid-Ohio and a runner-up at Iowa Speedway. ↔2. Pato O'Ward (No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet; Last Rank: 2) O'Ward qualified second and finished fourth at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca for his seventh top-five finish in the last eight races, six consecutively. ↔1. Alex Palou (No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda; Last Rank: 1) Palou rebounded from a 13th-place finish in the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto to lead 84 of 95 laps after claiming the NTT P1 Award in qualifying to take his third victory at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. Palou has two wins in the last three races. recommended Item 1 of 2
Fox News
3 days ago
- Automotive
- Fox News
Chip Ganassi Relishes Alex Palou's Incredible Season: 'You're Seeing History Made'
MONTEREY, Calif. — Even Chip Ganassi, with his trademark line of "I Like Winners," couldn't have predicted such a dominating season like the one Alex Palou has put together in 2025. Fourteen races into the year, Palou has eight victories. In two other races, he has finished second. He has won five poles and led the most laps in five races this year. Oh, and one of those victories was the Indianapolis 500. "This guy is in a league of his own," Ganassi told me on Sunday after another win at Laguna Seca. "There are a lot of great drivers out there, and we've been fortunate to have a lot of them. "And this guy's right at the top." No driver has won more than 10 races in a year, and Palou still has a chance to break that record with races at Portland (road course), Milwaukee (1-mile oval) and Nashville (1.33-mile oval). Can he get to 11? "I don't know many people who would bet against that," Ganassi said. "Who knows?" What is not up for debate is the monumental season Palou has had, as he has all but clinched his fourth series title. He just needs to average a 16th-place finish over the final three races. Ganassi has had seasons where his drivers have won more than eight races. Dixon and Dario Franchitti combined for 10 wins in 2009. Alex Zanardi and Juan Pablo Montoya each had seven-win seasons during the time of the split of INDYCAR into two competing series (which many would consider diluted the field). "We're really, really, really pleased and excited and happy to be watching and being a part of history," Ganassi said. When a driver wins eight times in one season, the driver will need to have some good fortune. But Palou seems to have taken advantage of every opportunity, every mistake by another front-running driver. "It's not like we're lucking into these things," Ganassi said. "He's dominating. Today [at Laguna Seca], it looked like the red tire, the soft tire, was the preferred tire and he was on the hard tire running away from the field. "The entire field was on the red softs, and he was running away from them on the hard tire." That was by design. When a driver has the fastest car and is in the zone like Palou, the team finds the strategy that plays to its strengths. Palou has not been shy about not wanting to change strategy. He doesn't want to go the conservative route, and he doesn't want to throw away points at races. A week prior to Laguna Seca, that bit him when he finished 12th using a strategy that didn't pan out at Toronto. He lost 30 points to second-place Pato O'Ward in the process. "We talk about it every week," Ganassi said. "We've got people still breathing down our neck, and we want to remember how we got here. And that was racing the way we know how to race: Go for the wins." After that race, Palou took the blame for advocating for that strategy. "Alex wants to try to claim the responsibility," said his strategist Barry Wanser. "Myself and the race engineer were like you can't claim all the responsibility for what went wrong. "Part of it's on us. But that's just the type of guy he is." The type of guy Palou is remains one who continues to learn and perform. In just his second INDYCAR season, he won the title with three victories in 2021. He won just once in 2022 before a five-win season on his way to the 2023 championship. His 2024 crown came in a year when he earned just two wins but no driver had more than three. Palou's 2025 season has included his first oval wins and not just at Indianapolis. He also won on the Iowa oval, which is just short of a mile in length. "He had a great, great race in Iowa a few weeks ago, his first short oval win," Ganassi said. "These are not easy things to do, especially for a kid coming out of Europe." What has allowed him to do it? Ganassi said the same thing that made him pretty much an instant success story in the series. "I go back to his first race with us years ago down there [Barber Motorsports Park] in Alabama, when that was the first race of the season," Ganassi said. "He came out and just did really good. He had [Will] Power and [Scott] Dixon breathing down his neck all day and it didn't seem to bother him. "The wind in his sails hasn't let up yet. This guy is on a roll. We haven't seen the best of him yet. You're seeing history made right now, and it's incredible to watch." Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR and INDYCAR for FOX Sports. He has spent decades covering motorsports, including over 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass.
