Latest news with #Lundgaard
Fox Sports
08-05-2025
- Automotive
- Fox Sports
Favorites and Sleepers: Indianapolis Road Course
INDYCAR Alex Palou bucked the trend last year of six consecutive different winners in the last six Sonsio Grand Prix events. Will Power struck victory in the 2018 Sonsio Grand Prix, followed by Simon Pagenaud, Scott Dixon, Rinus VeeKay, Colton Herta, and Palou winning the next five years in succession. Two-time defending winner Palou also has three wins in the opening four races this season, including last Sunday's Children's of Alabama Indy Grand Prix powered by AmFirst. Saturday's 85-lap race around the 2.439-mile, 14-turn Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course shapes up to be Palou vs. the field. Which side comes out on top in the fifth race of the season airing at 4:30 p.m. ET on FOX, the FOX Sports app and the INDYCAR Radio Network? Favorites Pato O'Ward (No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet) O'Ward has six consecutive Firestone Fast Six qualifying performances on the IMS road course, including an NTT P1 Award in the 2021 Gallagher Grand Prix. He finished on the podium in both races in 2023, runner-up in May and third in August. O'Ward earned the pole position this season for the The Thermal Club INDYCAR Grand Prix and finished runner-up in the race. He finished sixth at Barber, too. Christian Lundgaard (No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet) Lundgaard is off to a hot start to the season, joining Palou as the only two drivers with a top-10 finish in all four races this season. Entering the IMS road course, which is arguably his best track, Lundgaard made his debut here in August 2021 and has never started worse than eighth in six tries. He's qualified on the front row in three consecutive IMS road course races, including a 2023 Sonsio Grand Prix pole, and finished second, fourth, fourth and third, respectively, in his last four efforts. This year at The Thermal Club, Lundgaard started second and finished third, sparking a three-race streak of podium finishes, including a runner-up last Sunday at Barber. Scott Dixon (No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda) Dixon has 14 top-10 finishes in 16 IMS road course starts, including a sixth-place finish in May 2023, a fourth-place finish last May and a remarkable comeback from an opening-lap spin in August 2023 to land in victory lane. Alex Palou (No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda) The two-time defending race winner also won at The Thermal Club in March and last Sunday's race at Barber. Palou had six top-five finishes in as many tries on natural road courses last season, including two victories and a pair of runner-up finishes. Chip Ganassi Racing has won the last three races on the IMS road course, too. Will Power (No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet) The all-time wins leader (five) and NTT P1 Award record holder (six) on this road course has two wins, a runner-up finish last year and a pair of third-place finishes in his last seven tries on this circuit. He charged from 21st to finish sixth at The Thermal Club in March, finished fifth at Barber and secured four top-two finishes in six natural road course starts last season. Sleepers Alexander Rossi (No. 20 ECR Java House Chevrolet) A July 2022 race winner on the IMS road course with Andretti Global, Rossi was third in this race in 2023 and eighth last year for Arrow McLaren. Rossi has eight top-eight finishes in his last nine IMS road course starts. He finished ninth at The Thermal Club in March and eighth in Barber. Graham Rahal (No. 15 Fifth Third Bank Honda) This has been a strong track for Rahal. He has 14 top-10 finishes in his last 15 tries, including placing 10th and second, respectively, in 2023. He qualified and finished ninth last year. Rahal's NTT P1 Award here in August 2023 was his first in over six years. Rahal led a race-high 36 of 85 laps but finished runner-up to Dixon in the closest INDYCAR SERIES finish ever at the IMS road course, with a margin of .4779 of a second. He finished 11th at Thermal this season. Colton Herta (No. 26 Gainbridge Honda) Herta is a sleeper as a past winner in 2022 because that's his lone podium on the road course in the last five tries. But he has three top-three finishes in 11 IMS road course starts. Herta qualified and finished fourth this season at The Thermal Club and started third and finished at Barber Motorsports Park. On natural road courses last season, Herta finished eighth, seventh, sixth, second, fourth and fourth, respectively. Felix Rosenqvist (No. 60 SiriusXM Honda) Rosenqvist won his first career NTT P1 Award here in 2019. The Swede most recently qualified on the front row in two of his last four starts on the IMS road course, including a second-place start and fifth-place finish in this race in May 2023. Rosenqvist qualified 10th and finished there last year. This season, Rosenqvist finished fifth at The Thermal Club and 13th at Barber. Marcus Armstrong (No. 66 SiriusXM/Root Insurance Honda) Meyer Shank Racing has been quick on this circuit, producing starting spots of third, second, sixth, seventh, third and seventh for Jack Harvey when he raced for the team from 2019-21. Armstrong qualified eighth and finished fifth last season for Chip Ganassi Racing and finished seventh and 17th, respectively, at The Thermal Club and Barber this season. recommended
Fox Sports
06-05-2025
- Automotive
- Fox Sports
Arrow McLaren Extends Partnership with R.J. Reynolds
INDYCAR Arrow McLaren announced Tuesday a multi-year extension with a primary partner -- R.J. Reynolds Vapor Company – to continue a collaboration that began in 2019. The partnership, which was first launched with RJRVC's Vuse brand, underscores both organization's shared values of innovation, collaboration and high performance. Since 2019, RJRVC and its affiliates have activated across a variety of Arrow McLaren assets, most notably onboard the No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet. The collaboration has resulted in impactful initiatives like the Ultimate Ride Competition in 2022 and custom livery designs at the 106th Running of the Indianapolis 500. As part of the partnership extension announcement, Arrow McLaren and Reynolds revealed bespoke liveries for the No. 6 and No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolets at this weekend's Sonsio Grand Prix on Indianapolis Motor Speedway's road course. The liveries feature bold colors that include brand elements of the VELO Plus product alongside Arrow McLaren's iconic papaya. Details for an additional livery takeover at the season finale at Nashville Superspeedway will follow in the coming months. The two partners returned to the track earlier this year at the season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg where Christian Lundgaard piloted the No. 7 VELO Arrow McLaren Chevrolet for the first time. A native of Hedensted, Denmark, Lundgaard has started the year strong, collecting three podium finishes and sitting second in the championship through the first four races of 2025. 'We're delighted to extend our partnership with the Reynolds American organization, a collaboration that continues to push boundaries both on and off the track,' said Zak Brown, CEO, McLaren Racing. 'We have achieved some exciting moments together. From multiple podiums and wins to custom Indy 500 liveries, this partnership is built on shared ambitions. We look forward to continuing this momentum into the future.' recommended in this topic
Fox Sports
05-05-2025
- Automotive
- Fox Sports
Gearing Up: Indy Roars to Life This Week with Sonsio Grand Prix
INDYCAR The Month of May is truly now. Later this week, Indianapolis Motor Speedway will begin hearing the roar of NTT INDYCAR SERIES engines, with on-track action on 11 days in a 17-day stretch culminating with the 109th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge on Sunday, May 25. SEE: Sonsio GP Event Details First things first: the Sonsio Grand Prix, which will be staged at 4:30 p.m. ET Saturday (FOX, FOX Sports app, INDYCAR Radio Network). The event's first practice is 9:30 a.m. ET Friday (FS2, FOX Sports app, INDYCAR Radio Network). The road course race has been a hallmark of May competition at IMS since 2014. The event produced excitement from its inception, as three cars were collected at the start of the inaugural race won by Simon Pagenaud. Current points leader Alex Palou of Chip Ganassi Racing has won the past two Sonsio Grands Prix. Four drivers in this 27-car field have won May races on this 14-turn, 2.439-mile road course. Alexander Rossi won a race on the circuit in July, Scott Dixon in August, and Josef Newgarden won a race on it in October. Seven of these drivers have stood on the podium in the past three years. While Palou has been the dominant driver this season – he has won three of the four races and finished second in the other – many of those chasing him have reason to be optimistic about their chances this weekend. Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing has had some of its strongest performances in recent years on this track, helping Christian Lundgaard finished third in last year's race and second in a July race in 2022, and Graham Rahal won the pole and finished second in August 2023. Lundgaard now drives for Arrow McLaren, and he is second in the series point standings after finishing second in last weekend's Children's of Alabama Indy Grand Prix powered by AmFirst at Barber Motorsports Park. Lundgaard now has six career top-three series finishes – he has three this season – and two of them have come on this circuit. He also won the pole here in May 2023. IMS has long been a Team Penske playground, and that includes races on the road course. Led by Will Power's five race wins, Roger Penske's drivers have won eight times on this circuit, including two wins from Pagenaud (2016, 2019) and another from Newgarden (2020). Palou won last year's race from the pole, leading 39 of the 85 laps. But drivers who have started first on the IMS road course in recent years have largely not finished first. Before last year, pole winners were on a six-race winless streak. NTT P1 Award winners for those races were Romain Grosjean and Pato O'Ward in 2021, Power and Felix Rosenqvist in 2022, and Lundgaard and Rahal in 2023. Last year's race realized three event records: Eight drivers exchanged the lead 13 times, and 26 cars were running at the finish. Palou and Lundgaard started on the front row together, and they amassed the highest number of laps led, 39 and 36, respectively. Power finished second without leading a lap. These next two races at IMS are as different from one other as two races get, and it probably shouldn't be a coincidence that only one driver has swept the month (Pagenaud in 2019). But the opportunity is there again, and a competitive field awaits a chance. It's May in Indy. Engines are set to roar. Sonsio Grand Prix Weekend Schedule (All Times Eastern) Friday, May 9 9:30 a.m.: Practice 1 (FS2, FOX Sports app, INDYCAR Radio Network) 1 p.m.: Practice 2 (FS2, FOX Sports app, INDYCAR Radio Network) 4:30 p.m: NTT P1 Award Qualifying (FS1, FOX Sports app, INDYCAR Radio Network) Saturday, May 10: 11:30 a.m.: Warmup (FS1, FOX Sports app, INDYCAR Radio Network) 4:30 p.m.: 85-lap Sonsio Grand Prix (FOX, FOX Sports app, INDYCAR Radio Network) recommended
Miami Herald
05-05-2025
- Automotive
- Miami Herald
Alex Palou runs away with third win of year at Alabama
Spanish star Alex Palou is starting to pull away from the pack in the 2025 IndyCar Series. Palou won his third grand prix in four events to start the 2025 season when he notched an overwhelming 16.0035-second victory at the Children's of Alabama Indy Grand Prix on Sunday at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Ala. 'I was a bit lonely there, but I loved it,' Palou quipped. 'It was an amazing day.' Palou led 81 of the race's 90 laps and was not seriously threatened by second-place finisher Christian Lundgaard of Denmark. The driver of the No. 10 Chip Ganassi Honda, Palou won the IndyCar Series title in 2021, 2023 and 2024 and already has a 60-point edge on the field as he takes aim at his fourth. Palou won the first two grand prix of the season (St. Petersburg, Thermal) and placed second to Kyle Kirkwood in Long Beach. Sunday marked Palou's 14th IndyCar grand prix victory, and it came in Alabama, the site of his first in 2021. 'It's amazing,' he said. 'We've always been really good here. I love this place. Like, every single lap here just feels amazing in an IndyCar. Yeah, it's going to be extra special from now on.' Lundgaard, who has only one once in the IndyCar Series, came in second after back-to-back third-place finishes. He is second to Palou in the points race. 'It's awesome. It's everything we could have hoped for and much better,' said Lundgaard, in his first season driving the No. 7 car for Arrow McLaren. Scott McLaughlin of New Zealand, Rinus VeeKay of the Netherlands and Will Power of Australia rounded out the top five. Field Level Media 2025 - All Rights Reserved
Fox Sports
05-05-2025
- Automotive
- Fox Sports
Paddock Buzz: Lundgaard Continues Breakout Year with Second
INDYCAR Christian Lundgaard has broken through with a strong, consistent start to the 2025 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season. The Dane is averaging a fourth-place finish over four races, and securing three straight podiums would typically be enough to lead the standings. But Alex Palou's dominant start, with three wins and a runner-up, has set a remarkably high bar, leaving Lundgaard trailing by 60 points in second following Sunday's Children's of Alabama Indy Grand Prix powered by AmFirst. Lundgaard charged from seventh in the 90-lap race to earn his third consecutive podium finish by bringing his No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet home second. 'It's everything we could have hoped for,' Lundgaard said. 'Much better. The No. 7 Arrow McLaren crew has done an awesome job all year.' Lundgaard's move to Arrow McLaren from Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing after last season is paying off. He and Palou are the only drivers with top-10 finishes in all four races, underlining the consistency that's a crucial factor in any title race. Palou, though, is in his fifth season driving the No. 10 HRC Honda for Chip Ganassi Racing while Lundgaard is in just his fourth start with Arrow McLaren after making 52 starts with RLL. 'I think the progression we made since the Sebring test earlier this year, it's been moving forward and going in the right direction,' Lundgaard said. 'The team has been doing an awesome job. 'I think ultimately not a lot is really different from my own approach. I would say it's keeping things very simple and just focus on what you can control, master the basics, really. I think the car is purely faster than what I've been doing for the past three years. I think we've seen that just purely from the results across the last three years. It's just good and nice to see it come into reality, really just executing when we have the pace. I think we've done so. At the end of the day, that's how you fight for championships.' Lundgaard was pleased with the direction following the March 10 test at Barber but didn't get a chance to make many changes with the car this weekend due to an issue in Friday's practice and rain affecting Saturday morning's session. The team regrouped after qualifying and made a change overnight that Lundgaard described as decisive, allowing him to make 16 passes in Sunday's race, most in the 27-car field. The best pass came mid-race when he got by the No. 3 Good Ranchers Team Penske Chevrolet driven by Scott McLaughlin for second with a textbook inside-out pass in Turn 17. Lundgaard learned that move a few years prior. 'I did that on Scott Dixon a couple of years ago, so I followed with another Scott this time,' Lundgaard said. Palou Leads 1,000 Career Lap Alex Palou surpassed 1,000 career laps led Sunday, doing so in dominant fashion by leading 81 of 90 laps at Barber Motorsports Park. The achievement is another significant milestone in what's shaping up to be a historically elite career. Becoming just the 44th driver to hit that mark since 1946 puts him in rare company, and the context makes it even more impressive. Palou reached 1,000 laps led in just his 85th start. Six-time series champion Scott Dixon, who ranks second all time for laps led, did so in his 99th start. Dixon at that point had one championship and seven wins. Palou has three championships and 14 wins – doubling Dixon's win total at the same stage and triple the championship count. These feats underscore how quickly Palou has risen to the top tier of INDYCAR SERIES drivers and why his current form has put him well ahead. 'My goal was to be an INDYCAR driver, then was just to be an INDYCAR race winner or a person that could fight for wins and sometimes for championships,' Palou said. 'I don't think that I'm in a normal position. I'm aware that I'm very lucky to be in the position I am today, to be surrounded by a great team, being able to fight for wins every single weekend. I don't know how long is that going to continue, but hopefully it's going to be for a long time.' Mario Andretti leads all drivers with 7,595 laps led. VeeKay Off to Great Start The start to the 2025 season for Rinus VeeKay is proving to be a major rebound. His 12.25 average finish through his first four races driving for Dale Coyne Racing is a major gain from the last two seasons with Ed Carpenter Racing, where he had an 18.5 average in 2023 and 16.25 last year. This also marks the strongest start for a DCR driver since Santino Ferrucci in 2020, when he had a 10.5 average result after four races. VeeKay has achieved this despite being the last driver named to a full-time seat this season. That kind of consistency from a team like DCR, which typically isn't among the top tier of contenders, signals strong individual performance and potential technical improvements from the team. VeeKay finished fourth in the No. 18 askROI Honda at Barber, which was particularly notable, not just for the result, but for how he earned it. Starting with the harder Firestone primary tires and adjusting strategy after losing ground early, VeeKay capitalized on the speed of the softer alternate tire and showed racecraft by fending off Will Power's No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet, a two-time Barber winner. That was VeeKay's 10th top-five finish in just 84 starts. 'That was a great race,' VeeKay said. 'I had a lot of fun out there and showed a lot of strength in the car that was really allowing me to be strong. 'I thought we had so much pace because we saved a sticker set of reds (alternate tire) for the race. I told the team let's go long because I think we can beat those guys, and we narrowly did that. I can keep them behind me.' Rossi Charges to Season-Best Finish Alexander Rossi gained seven spots in Sunday's race to finish eighth in the No. 20 ECR Java House Chevrolet. The top 10 is a small but important step forward in his transition to Ed Carpenter Racing and reflects well, particularly with an off-strategy approach. Rossi and ECR chose to run the first couple of stints on the faster Firestone alternate tires. The California native maximized early pace and overtaking potential, though it left him with the less-favorable primary tires for the final 21 laps. 'That was horrible,' Rossi said of his last stint. 'We knew it was going to be bad at some point, but with where we started, we were just trying to get as much track position as we could on the alternate tire and build a big enough gap to the cars we raced.' Holding on to a top-10 finish despite that tire disadvantage shows Rossi's experience and the improving competitiveness of the team. While the season is still early, three top-10 finishes and sitting 10th in points after four races hint at growing chemistry between Rossi and ECR. Dixon Improves Race-Best 12 Spots to 12th Scott Dixon's drive from 26th to 12th at Barber is a textbook example of his relentless consistency and craft. In a caution-free race where opportunities to gain ground were challenging – moving up 14 positions is no small feat. That kind of recovery emphasizes why Dixon is a six-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion. Even on off weekends, he limits the damage. Dixon spun off in his No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda during the first round of NTT P1 Award qualifying Saturday, relegating him to his worst starting spot since August 2021. 'It's definitely frustrating starting 26th, and I think when you have a field that's so strong right now, to pass 14 cars is really tough,' Dixon said. 'We would have loved a caution at some point. Strong day for us and obviously a 12-position gain is great.' Barber continues to be one of the few tracks where Dixon hasn't taken a checkered flag, as he's winless in 15 attempts. Still, finishes like Sunday help keep him in the championship hunt, especially in a long season where consistency can matter just as much as wins. Dixon is seventh in the standings, 92 points behind leader and teammate Palou. Odds and Ends Reigning Miss America Abbie Stockard, who represented Alabama in the pageant, gave the command to start engines for the NTT INDYCAR SERIES race. Sunday was the third consecutive caution-free race. That's the first-time in 39 years this feat occurred in the INDYCAR SERIES. Most recent: Portland, Meadowlands and Cleveland in 1986. There have been 339 consecutive green flag laps run, including all 65 laps of The Thermal Club INDYCAR Grand Prix, the 90-lap Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach and for the first time in 15 years, all 90 laps at Barber. The only caution displayed this season came during the first six laps of the season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg presented by RP Funding due to a first-lap crash between Nolan Siegel, Power and rookie Louis Foster. Simon Pagenaud (2016), Josef Newgarden (2017) and Palou (2021) are the only drivers to win the race at Barber and the INDYCAR SERIES championship in the same season. Honda has four straight victories this season via two different teams – Chip Ganassi Racing (St. Petersburg, The Thermal Club, Barber) and Andretti Global (Long Beach). Palou's victory halted Chevy's three-race win streak in Barber. The first back-to-back races of the season occur with the Sonsio Grand Prix next Saturday, May 10 airing at 4:30 p.m. ET on FOX. Practice begins at 9:30 a.m. ET Friday, May 9 on FS2. Palou is the two-time defending race winner on the 2.439-mile, 14-turn road course. recommended
