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Fox Sports
23-05-2025
- Automotive
- Fox Sports
At the Indy 500, Penske-Ganassi battles will take center stage
INDIANAPOLIS — Roger Penske said he talked after the Indy Grand Prix with Chip Ganassi, who had won four of the first five INDYCAR races this year thanks to driver Alex Palou. And he had a message for him. "I told Ganassi to wait for us at Indy, because we're going to focus on you guys there," Penske said. Ganassi didn't need to know that about Penske. Above the Penske garage stalls at Indianapolis are the list of the Penske winners in the Indianapolis 500. Penske has won the race 20 times. In the last 25 years, Penske has won 10 times, while Ganassi has won five and Andretti has also won five. With the Andretti family no longer owning the team, Ganassi and Penske stand tall as the owners who have carried on a fierce battle over the last several decades. They also have battled in NASCAR and IMSA sports cars in the past. Most of the time, Penske and Ganassi have a friendly, respectful rivalry. That seemed to potentially turn last week when Ganassi was questioning what Penske teams were doing on pit road prior to qualifying Sunday as Penske teams were in the middle of determining what they could do to try to fix the technical issues on their cars. They eventually weren't allowed to qualify and more severe penalties followed. Penske driver Scott McLaughlin said he doesn't hold a grudge on the teams that called out their violations Sunday to make sure officials knew about them. "That's part of the game, I get it," McLaughlin said. "That's racing. That's how it is." Ganassi is satisfied with the actions by INDYCAR and Penske brass (Will Power and Josef Newgarden are starting at the rear and three Penske executives who double as team strategists have been released from their positions). The changes won't help the Penske team, which has won its Indy 500s with Rick Mears (four), Helio Castroneves (three), Newgarden (two), Simon Pagenaud, Mark Donohue, Bobby Unser, Danny Sullivan, Al Unser, Al Unser Jr., Emerson Fittipaldi, Gil de Ferran, Sam Hornish Jr., Juan Pablo Montoya and Power. Ganassi has won his with Dario Franchitti (two), Montoya, Scott Dixon and Marcus Ericsson. While many look at those two organizations when predicting the Indy 500, obviously they don't take anything for granted. Penske has McLaughlin starting 10th and then Newgarden and Power starting 32nd and 33rd because of the penalties. Ganassi has Dixon starting fourth, Palou starting sixth and Kyffin Simpson starting 13th. "Let's hope it's [Penske] and I at the end of the race because there are a lot of competitive cars here that could be in front of both of us," Ganassi said. One day in practice last week, seven of the top eight cars were either Ganassi or Penske drivers or drivers from their affiliate teams. "Definitely the Penske cars look strong," Dixon said earlier this month. "There's no doubt about that. They definitely are running some big laps." Whether any Penske cars would have made the front row is hard to tell, after McLaughlin's crash in practice Sunday morning and the technical violations of the Newgarden and Power cars that kept them from qualifying. Still, neither Ganassi nor Penske have a car on the front row. "In terms of pace, I think there's over 10 cars that can win this race," said Arrow McLaren driver Pato O'Ward, who starts third. Both Ganassi and Penske have affiliate drivers starting in the top 10. Felix Rosenqvist of Ganassi affiliate Meyer Shank Racing starts fifth; David Malukas of Penske affiliate A.J. Foyt Racing, starts seventh. "We've both been here for a long time," Ganassi said about the long-time battle with Penske. "And so I think our teams understand what it takes to be competitive here. And I don't think it's any secret that we spend a good bit of our R&D [research and development] budget on this one race. "We want to do better at it. You win this race, it can change your career, change your life." The Ganassi drivers are well aware of that. Palou has won the series title in three of the last four years and appears on his way to a fourth title, having won four of the first five races this season. Newgarden admitted earlier this year that Palou was in his head a little because of the success. If this race comes down to two drivers, it could very well be Palou and Newgarden — the Ganassi driver who has dominated the series and the Penske driver who has won the last two races here. For Newgarden, he felt that the team inched ahead of Ganassi last year. "When it's for real, we're going to see where everyone is really at," Newgarden said. Palou has never won on an oval and he said his career wouldn't be complete unless he can earn an Indianapolis 500 win. "I don't think [it would be complete]," Palou said about a career with no Indy 500 win. "Maybe 90 percent, but I don't think it would be 100 percent." Even though Palou has won four of the first five races, Ganassi doesn't think he has the momentum coming into the race. "I'd like to say they mean we certainly have momentum on our side, but the fact of that matter is, those races are nothing like the Indianapolis 500," Ganassi said. And the facts are Penske has won this race 20 times. "He has the advantage of knowing he's won this race more than I have," Ganassi said. "He has that advantage, and there's no replacement for experience at this. "So it makes our job a little tougher. It's always been my goal to measure ourselves against the best, and that's what we're going to do." 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. BEST OF FOX SPORTS' INDY 500 COVERAGE: Ranking Indy 500 drivers from 33 to 1: Can anyone unseat Josef Newgarden? How a bond between father and son bloomed a two-time Indy 500 champion Alex Palou chasing elusive Indy 500 win: My face 'would look good on that trophy' 'Winners Drink Milk': Inside the iconic dairy celebration at the Indy 500 Pato O'Ward pens letter to Indy 500: 'Had my heart broken here … but it also fuels me' Rash of Crash: Inside a wild weekend of wrecks during Indy 500 prep From 'magical' to 'legendary': Drivers describe the Indy 500 in one word 2025 Indy 500 liveries: See the designs of all 34 cars on the track at The Brickyard Counting down the 25 most memorable moments in Indy 500 history recommended Get more from NTT INDYCAR SERIES Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Eric Shanks grew up an Indy 500 fanatic who vows to make race Fox Sports' biggest event of the year
In this image provided by Penske Entertainment Photo, FOX Sports CEO & Executive Producer Eric Shanks speaks with FOX IndyCar pit reporter Georgia Henneberry on May 9, 2025, at the Indy Grand Prix at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis. (Chris Ownes/Penske Entertainment Photo via AP) In this image provided by Penske Entertainment Photo, FOX Sports CEO & Executive Producer Eric Shanks speaks with FOX IndyCar pit reporter Georgia Henneberry on May 9, 2025, at the Indy Grand Prix at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis. (Chris Ownes/Penske Entertainment Photo via AP) In this image provided by Penske Entertainment Photo, FOX Sports CEO & Executive Producer Eric Shanks speaks with FOX IndyCar pit reporter Georgia Henneberry on May 9, 2025, at the Indy Grand Prix at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis. (Chris Ownes/Penske Entertainment Photo via AP) INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — As an Indiana native, Eric Shanks can't remember exactly when the rite of passage began of traveling to Indianapolis Motor Speedway. His first Indianapolis 500 memory is of the 1985 race, Danny Sullivan's 'Spin and Win' 1985 victory, when Shanks was around 14 and had fully embraced the way his home state played such a role in American culture. 'I think everybody takes pride in there being a spotlight on this part of the country,' Shanks said. 'The Pacers are only in the playoffs when they are in the playoffs, the Colts aren't always in. But this is a guarantee every year.' Advertisement When he became CEO of Fox Sports in 2010, Shanks had a wish list of events he wanted for the network. Always at the top was the Indianapolis 500, a property Fox Sports finally landed this year. The network is in its first year of a new broadcast deal with IndyCar and on Sunday televises its first Indy 500. Shanks from the start has vowed the production will be the biggest of the year for Fox Sports — a lofty promise for a network that also carries the Super Bowl and the World Series, among other major sporting events. 'We are going to blow the doors off of Indy. We're going to bring everything that Fox has to bear,' he said. He's been relentless in pursuing his promise and has spent the first five IndyCar races of the year working out early-season glitches that ranged from an unstable graphics package, issues delivering timing and scoring, a mid-race loss of transmission, and enough bumps to drive Shanks nuts as he strives for a perfect production. The work has gone on at the same time Fox Sports televised the first 16 races of the NASCAR season, a run that culminated last Sunday night with the All-Star race. Advertisement Only four of the NASCAR races were on Fox, and even with the rain-effected season-opening Daytona 500, that quartet averaged 4,986,000 viewers. Fox promised IndyCar its entire 17-race slate will be aired on broadcast — including both days of last weekend's qualifying — but the numbers have been sporadic and unable to keep pace with NASCAR. The IndyCar ratings don't bother Shanks. 'I think you just want to be constantly showing growth in a lot of areas,' he said. 'You want to be showing growth in attendance. I'm happy to hear merchandise sales are up — you've got new sponsors coming in — you just want to show growth.' Advertisement Fox Sports last week made several changes to races later this season (mainly start times) to ensure IndyCar and NASCAR do not go directly head-to-hear, something that happened several times earlier this year when the network juggled both racing series. But Shanks told The Associated Press he is not considering moving IndyCar off of Fox to Fox Sports or another property if the ratings don't improve over the next few weeks. Instead, his focus is on ensuring the glitches through the first five races don't happen during the 109th running of 'The Greatest Spectacle in Racing' or the rest of the season. 'In each race, it actually has been something different,' Shanks said. 'You fix one thing and then there's something else to fix. There's a lot of different systems talking to each other and we're on the receiving end of a lot of it. So we're figure it out and we're trying to do more.' New innovation Advertisement Fox Sports is compensating through new innovation, including the image of a 'ghost car' graphic used in qualifying that showed how a car making a run tracked against the current leader. And he's bringing in major talent for Sunday, including Tom Brady for the ceremonial 'Fastest Seat in Sports' car, which will be driven by Jimmie Johnson; Michael Strahan, Danica Patrick, Tony Stewart and Super Bowl-winning tight end Rob Gronkowski as the Snake Pit grand marshal. Fox Sports has a ton of material to work with, including a race-consuming cheating scandal involving Team Penske, the marquee team in IndyCar. It involves two-time defending winner Josef Newgarden, who is seeking to become the first driver in history to win three consecutive 500s. The first Israeli is in the field as Robert Shwartzman stunned 33 other drivers by becoming the first rookie since 1983 to win the pole. Kyle Larson is attempting to complete the Indy 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 for 1,100-miles of racing in one day. Two-time reigning series champion Alex Palou, who has won four of the first five races this season, is trying to finally add the 500 to his resume and Pato O'Ward, the most popular driver in the series, is trying to bounce back from last year's heartbreaking last-lap defeat. Shanks has used crossover since the start of the year — Fox produced three movie-production-quality commercials to introduce three IndyCar stars and all aired during the Super Bowl, one with a Brady cameo — and is using most of its network programming to promote Sunday's race. Advertisement Gambling Added to Indy 500 He also achieved a goal in adding a gambling element to Sunday, something he's wanted to do for months. 'I really want to turn the Indy 500 into more of a Kentucky Derby day from a wagering standpoint. It's hard to understand how to wager on motorsports,' he said. 'On Kentucky Derby day, even if you don't know anything about horse racing, you put down an exacta or a trifecta, you got win, place, show. How can we figure out how to get that type of broad attention around an event that honestly kind of feels a lot like horse racing that day?' The solution was a partnership with DraftKings, which will have 20 or more trifectas that people can pick from. Fox Sports analyst James Hinchcliffe will pick one trifecta that will be promoted by Fox. Advertisement 'I think that's element to this event, and motorsports in general, that if we can start to kind of like add that layer of interest for people, I think it can only be helpful to viewership,' Shanks said." ___ AP auto racing:
Fox News
12-05-2025
- Automotive
- Fox News
INDYCAR Power Rankings: Will the Indy 500 jumble this list?
There's no question who leads the INDYCAR power rankings, as Alex Palou has now won four of the first five races thanks to his latest win in the Indy Grand Prix. The harder decision on this list is who to leave off. Josef Newgarden opened the season finishing third at St. Petersburg, but since then, he hasn't finished better than 10th. So the two-time defending Indianapolis 500 winner has dropped from the list. It might seem silly come a couple of weeks if Newgarden challenges for an unprecedented third consecutive Indy 500 victory. For now, however, he's on the outside looking in. Dropped out: Josef Newgarden (Last Week: 8), Alexander Rossi (LW: 10) On the verge: Josef Newgarden, Graham Rahal, Alexander Rossi 10. Colton Herta (LW: 7) Herta retired early from the Indy Grand Prix with a 25th-place finish. But with one top five and three top 10s this year, he remains on this list. 9. Rinus VeeKay (LW: Not Ranked) VeeKay finished ninth at the Indy Grand Prix, which backed up a fourth-place finish at Barber. He has three top-10 finishes on the year. This isn't a grade on the curve pick for a driver from a team that isn't expected to run often in the top 10. He belongs here. 8. Felix Rosenqvist (LW: 9) A 10th-place finish at the Indy Grand Prix wasn't a great day. And certainly finishes of 13th and 10th in the last two races aren't great, but the Meyer Shank driver still ranks eighth overall in the INDYCAR standings. 7. Scott Dixon (LW: NR) Who was the dummy who dropped him off this list last week? OK, the final result at Barber of finishing 12th — even though 14 spots better than where the Ganassi veteran started — still left questions. His fifth-place finish at the Indy Grand Prix didn't. 6. Kyle Kirkwood (LW: 6) An eighth-place finish on Saturday was serviceable. But after his Long Beach win, finishes of 11th and eighth are likely a little frustrating. 5. Christian Lundgaard (LW: 2) A bad day at the Indy Grand Prix with a 16th-place finish was surprising, considering the Arrow McLaren driver had a strong run in the race last year driving for Rahal. 4. Will Power (LW: 5) After a wreck on the opening lap of the season, Power has finishes of sixth, fifth, fifth and then third at the Indy Grand Prix. Why does the Penske driver not have a contract yet for next year? 3. Pato O'Ward (LW: 4) O'Ward has had a little mercurial season but he now has two second-place finishes on the year. As the Arrow McLaren driver said, he needs to find a way to beat Palou. 2. Scott McLaughlin (LW: 3) With three finishes in the top-four, McLaughlin can feel like he is close to Palou. Or as close as anyone is. 1. Alex Palou (LW: 1) What more can you say? The Ganassi driver won another one. He has more than a full race lead on the entire field in the standings. 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 @ great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, and follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily!
Fox Sports
12-05-2025
- Automotive
- Fox Sports
INDYCAR Power Rankings: Will the Indy 500 jumble this list?
There's no question who leads the INDYCAR power rankings, as Alex Palou has now won four of the first five races thanks to his latest win in the Indy Grand Prix. The harder decision on this list is who to leave off. Josef Newgarden opened the season finishing third at St. Petersburg, but since then, he hasn't finished better than 10th. So the two-time defending Indianapolis 500 winner has dropped from the list. It might seem silly come a couple of weeks if Newgarden challenges for an unprecedented third consecutive Indy 500 victory. For now, however, he's on the outside looking in. Dropped out: Josef Newgarden (Last Week: 8), Alexander Rossi (LW: 10) On the verge: Josef Newgarden, Graham Rahal, Alexander Rossi 10. Colton Herta (LW: 7) Herta retired early from the Indy Grand Prix with a 25th-place finish. But with one top five and three top 10s this year, he remains on this list. 9. Rinus VeeKay (LW: Not Ranked) VeeKay finished ninth at the Indy Grand Prix, which backed up a fourth-place finish at Barber. He has three top-10 finishes on the year. This isn't a grade on the curve pick for a driver from a team that isn't expected to run often in the top 10. He belongs here. 8. Felix Rosenqvist (LW: 9) A 10th-place finish at the Indy Grand Prix wasn't a great day. And certainly finishes of 13th and 10th in the last two races aren't great, but the Meyer Shank driver still ranks eighth overall in the INDYCAR standings. 7. Scott Dixon (LW: NR) Who was the dummy who dropped him off this list last week? OK, the final result at Barber of finishing 12th — even though 14 spots better than where the Ganassi veteran started — still left questions. His fifth-place finish at the Indy Grand Prix didn't. 6. Kyle Kirkwood (LW: 6) An eighth-place finish on Saturday was serviceable. But after his Long Beach win, finishes of 11th and eighth are likely a little frustrating. 5. Christian Lundgaard (LW: 2) A bad day at the Indy Grand Prix with a 16th-place finish was surprising, considering the Arrow McLaren driver had a strong run in the race last year driving for Rahal. 4. Will Power (LW: 5) After a wreck on the opening lap of the season, Power has finishes of sixth, fifth, fifth and then third at the Indy Grand Prix. Why does the Penske driver not have a contract yet for next year? 3. Pato O'Ward (LW: 4) O'Ward has had a little mercurial season but he now has two second-place finishes on the year. As the Arrow McLaren driver said, he needs to find a way to beat Palou. 2. Scott McLaughlin (LW: 3) With three finishes in the top-four, McLaughlin can feel like he is close to Palou. Or as close as anyone is. 1. Alex Palou (LW: 1) What more can you say? The Ganassi driver won another one. He has more than a full race lead on the entire field in the standings. 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. Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, and follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily! recommended Get more from NTT INDYCAR SERIES Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more
Fox Sports
09-05-2025
- Automotive
- Fox Sports
FOX Super 6 INDYCAR contest: Bob Pockrass' Sonsio Grand Prix picks, predictions
What's better than watching INDYCAR races this year? Watching INDYCAR and winning money. You can partake in the best of both worlds while watching INDYCAR as the series goes to Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the Sonsio Grand Prix on Saturday with our free-to-play FOX Super 6 game . For most Sunday afternoons (and a few Saturdays) between now and the end of August, these open-wheel racers will be putting on a show. And no matter the week, all the races are on FOX, so they're easy to find. How do you play the game? Enter the INDYCAR contest by predicting the correct answers to six questions before the race starts for your shot to win cash prizes. All you have to do is finish in the top six to win a prize. It really is that simple, and again, it's free. So why not try to win some money in the FOX Super 6 game? And if you need a little help before heading to the app to make your picks, I have you covered this week. 1. Out of these four drivers, who will have the BEST FINISHING POSITION? Scott McLaughlin, Felix Rosenqvist, Scott Dixon, Colton Herta McLaughlin is having the best season of these drivers, as he sits fifth in the standings. Rosenqvist is sixth, Dixon seventh and Herta eighth. Dixon and Herta are the drivers among these four to have a win at the Indy Grand Prix. Dixon has five consecutive top 10s in the race. Rosenqvist has four top 10s in that span. Rosenqvist also has two poles on this circuit. Prediction: Scott Dixon 2. Rank the drivers by who will have the MOST LAPS LED from highest to lowest Christian Lundgaard, Alex Palou, Pato O'Ward, Kyle Kirkwood Palou, by far, has led the most laps in the series this year at 120. He's followed by O'Ward at 51, Lundgaard at 49 and Kirkwood at 46. Palou led 39 laps on his way to the win on the Indy road course a year ago and has led 92 laps at the track. Lundgaard has led 57, O'Ward 23 and Kirkwood none. Prediction: Alex Palou, Christian Lundgaard, Kyle Kirkwood, Pato O'Ward 3. Which group includes the WINNER of the Sonsio Grand Prix? Palou, Rosenqvist, Herta Kirkwood, McLaughlin, Dixon Lundgaard, O'Ward, Power None of the Above Palou has three wins this year, while Kirkwood is the only other driver to win. On the Indy road course, Power has five wins, Dixon and Palou have two wins each and Herta has one win (of drivers not among those listed, Rinus VeeKay and Alexander Rossi and Josef Newgarden all have a win at the track). Prediction: Alex Palou, Felix Rosenqvist, Colton Herta 4. Which team of three will have the best COMBINED FINISHING POSITION? Andretti Global (Kirkwood, Herta, Ericsson); Chip Ganassi Racing (Palou, Dixon, Simpson), Team Penske (McLaughlin, Power, Newgarden); Arrow McLaren (Lundgaard, O'Ward, Siegel) If you went by this year's standings, the answer would be Andretti. Their combined points standing is 24, just ahead of Ganassi (25), Arrow McLaren (26) and Penske (28). Penske has won eight of the races on this circuit, although Palou won a year ago. Prediction: Team Penske 5. Which rookie driver will finish in the TOP 20? Robert Shwartzman, Louis Foster, Jacob Abel Shwartzman has two top-20 finishes, Foster has one and Able has none. Foster and Abel have experience on the course, having driven it in Indy NXT races and each winning one of the two Indy NXT races on the course last year. This is also one of the better tracks for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (which Foster drives for). Prediction: Louis Foster 6. Which engine manufacturer will have the MOST CARS in the TOP 10? Honda, Chevrolet, Tie Both manufacturers have five drivers ranked in the top 10 of the standings. Last year, Honda had seven in the top 10 and in the two 2023 races, Honda had six cars in the top 10. But with the Arrow McLaren surge this year (two of the top-four drivers in the standings), will that give Chevrolet a boost as far as top-10 finishers? Prediction: Chevrolet recommended Get more from NTT INDYCAR SERIES Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more
