Latest news with #Newgarden
Fox Sports
11 hours ago
- Automotive
- Fox Sports
Despite Season Struggles, Power to 'Keep Pushing' in Contract Year
INDYCAR Will Power enters Sunday's Java House Grand Prix of Monterey ranked ninth in points, but the 2025 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season has been anything but smooth. Team Penske remains winless through the first 13 races of the year, its longest drought to start a season since 1973 when Gary Bettenhausen finally broke through in the 15th race of a 16-race campaign at Texas World Speedway. Team Penske has also gone winless in only four complete seasons: 1976, 1996, 1998, and 1999. Scott McLaughlin delivered the team's most recent victory -- 15 races ago -- at last year's Milwaukee Mile doubleheader. He is 13th in the standings, while teammate Josef Newgarden is 16th. At this point last season, the trio of Power, McLaughlin, and Newgarden had combined for six wins. They totaled just five finishes of 20th or worse in all of 2024. This year? They've already logged 16 with the most DNFs in a single season since 2000. Power, a Team Penske mainstay since 2009 and one of the team's most decorated drivers, finds himself in a particularly difficult spot, with no contract extension yet signed. 'Can you believe the year I'm having, in a contract year?' Power said. Power's 2025 campaign began with a crash on the opening lap of the season opener in St. Petersburg, relegating him to a 26th-place finish. In June, he crashed out of the lead at World Wide Technology Raceway and in July, consecutive race weekend engine failures at Mid-Ohio and the second Iowa race saw him finish 26th and 24th, respectively. 'Two engine failures in two race weekends,' Power said. 'Just one of those things. Not bad luck. It just happens at times.' Amid the struggles, speculation around Power's future has intensified, especially after David Malukas scored a runner-up finish in the 109th Running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge. The 23-year-old drives the No. 4 Clarience Technologies Chevrolet for AJ Foyt Racing, which has a technical alliance with Team Penske. Malukas downplayed the rumors entering the doubleheader weekend at Iowa Speedway. "No matter the rumors or no rumors, I think everybody is trying to strive to always live in the present instead of stressing about the past and the future,' Malukas said. 'I've had a mental coach training me to always stay and live in the present, and as of right now, I'm with the AJ Foyt team, and we're focused on our successes and what we've accomplished so far this season.' Adding to the turbulence, Team Penske underwent a major midseason leadership shakeup. On July 4, Jonathan Diuguid was named president of Penske Racing, with longtime sports car program leader Travis Law appointed competition director. The promotions followed the release of three longtime executives -- Team President Tim Cindric, Managing Director Ron Ruzewski and General Manager Kyle Moyer – being released by team owner Roger Penske in May in the aftermath of penalties incurred during Indy 500 qualifying to Power and Newgarden's cars. Despite the challenges, Power remains resolute in proving he belongs behind the wheel of the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet. Of his 44 career victories -- fourth-most in INDYCAR history -- 41 have come with Team Penske, the most of any driver in the team's storied history. That total includes the 2018 Indianapolis 500 win. He has 11 victories more than Team Penske legend Helio Castroneves. Power also leads all Team Penske drivers in road and street course wins (31), holds the all-time INDYCAR record for pole positions (71), ranks fourth in podiums (107) and is tied with Al Unser Jr. for fifth in top-five finishes (141). A two-time series champion, Power claimed the title in both 2014 and 2022. Perhaps the tide turns at this weekend's Java House Grand Prix of Monterey (3 p.m. ET, FOX, FOX Sports app and INDYCAR Radio Network). Team Penske has a strong recent record at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, with three top-three finishes over the past three years. Power has shown consistency at the California road course, recording three top-four finishes in his last five starts. He finished seventh last year and has three top-six finishes in five natural road course starts this season. Next is Portland International Raceway on Sunday, Aug. 10, where Power claimed victory last year and finished runner-up in 2022. Following that, the series heads to Milwaukee Mile (Aug. 24), a track where Power won in 2014 and recorded three podium finishes in his last five starts on the historic oval. Nashville Superspeedway ends the season on Sunday, Aug. 31. 'Just keep pushing,' Power said. 'Still got (four) races to get great results. I've had great cars everywhere -- we're quick. (I) can only smile about it, because I've been in the sport a long time. I know these sorts of things come around. It's very typical of life that a bad year plays out when you're trying to get a contract. 'I love it here. I do. I really hope I'm back next year.' recommended Item 1 of 2
Hindustan Times
13-07-2025
- Sport
- Hindustan Times
Palou wins seventh of season at IndyCar Farm to Finish 275
Spain's Alex Palou held off Scott Dixon over the final laps to capture Sunday's IndyCar Farm to Finish 275, stretching his season points lead with his seventh win of the year. HT Image The pole-sitter and Indianapolis 500 champion collected his 18th career IndyCar triumph in 93 starts after 275 laps around the 0.894-mile (1.43km) Iowa Speedway oval. "It has been an unbelievable day, unbelievable weekend but more than anything an incredible year for us," Palou said. "I cannot really believe it, honestly, and winning here is super special. I struggled on short ovals for so long. Super happy. Another win. Seven wins in one year. It's insane." It was only his second career oval triumph after winning at Indy in May. The event completed a double-header weekend in Newton, Iowa, with race one going to Mexico's Pato O'Ward on Saturday. New Zealand's Dixon finished second on Sunday followed by compatriot Marcus Armstrong, who matched his best career IndyCar finish, then American David Malukas and O'Ward. It was Dixon's 14th top-five finish at Iowa without a victory. "We weren't too sure how it was going to go," Dixon said. "Everybody did a great job to basically throw the kitchen sink at it." Palou, with 515 season points, boosted his lead over O'Ward from 105 to 129 points with Dixon 173 adrift in third after 12 races as the Spaniard tries to capture a fourth crown in five campaigns. American Josef Newgarden, Saturday's runner-up and is a six-time race winner at Iowa, finished 10th after twice pitting with the lead only to have a caution flag moments later send him to the back of the lead lap. Palou grabbed the lead at the start but Newgarden overtook him and seized first place on lap 66. Newgarden went into the pits on lap 130 for fuel but moments later Sweden's Marcus Ericsson crashed in turn four, allowing rivals to make pit stops under caution as Newgarden cycled back. Palou returned to the track in the lead with Malukas second and O'Ward third at the restart with Newgarden 11th. Fast-charging Newgarden clawed his way back, passing Malukas with 40 laps remaining and overtaking Palou five laps later to reclaim the lead. Newgarden then pitted to refuel just as American Colton Herta crashed to bring out a caution flag with Palou pitting and staying in the lead and Newgarden fading to ninth. Palou sped away on a restart with 11 laps remaining and held off Dixon to the end. The next IndyCar race will be next Sunday at Toronto. js/bb
France 24
13-07-2025
- Sport
- France 24
Mexico's O'Ward wins at Iowa in 100th career IndyCar start
O'Ward took his first victory of the season by edging six-time Iowa winner Newgarden after 275 laps over the 0.894-mile (1.43km) Iowa Speedway oval in the first of two weekend races at Newton, Iowa. "This is great. We've been waiting for this one all year," O'Ward said. "It's crazy. My 50th race was also a win here in Iowa (in 2022) and that's the only other win I have here so it's a cool story." O'Ward overtook pole-sitter Newgarden on the last pit stop exchange and held him off after a restart with 10 laps remaining. "Josef is the master at these races. He rules around here so I knew we had to be spot on," O'Ward said. Newgarden led 232 laps but settled for second, followed by Penske Racing teammates Will Power of Australia and New Zealand's Scott McLaughlin, who started 27th and last after a qualifying crash but nearly made the podium. "We lost track position there and it was game over," Newgarden said. On lap 153, Newgarden surpassed 2,000 laps led at Iowa, the first time any driver has led that many laps at any IndyCar track. O'Ward had not won since last year at the Milwaukee oval. "This is awesome and we have another chance tomorrow," O'Ward said. "It would be really cool to double up." Spain's Alex Palou, who won the pole for Sunday's race, is the campaign points leader with six wins including the Indianapolis 500 but saw his lead shrink from 114 to 105 points, 461-356 over O'Ward. Pole-sitter Newgarden grabbed the lead at the start and O'Ward charged into second after the first set of pit stops. They stayed that way until Newgarden's last pit stop with 43 laps remaining. He returned to the track just behind O'Ward and the Mexican refueled and stayed ahead of Newgarden until US racer Nolan Siegel crashed, halting the race for outer wall repairs. That set up a restart with 15 laps remaining, but Britain's Callum brushed the outer wall to force another restart with 10 laps remaining, O'Ward speeding away and staying ahead to the finish.
Indianapolis Star
12-07-2025
- Automotive
- Indianapolis Star
IndyCar Synk, Farm to Finish 275 at Iowa Speedway qualifying, starting lineup, time
NEWTON, Iowa — In the wake of three consecutive DNFs, including four of his last five (two on ovals), Josef Newgarden snatched pole for IndyCar's first race of a doubleheader weekend at Iowa Speedway on Saturday afternoon, at a track where he's won six times in his career and where Team Penske has won eight of the series' last nine visits. Newgarden's 19th career IndyCar pole award — his first since Race No. 1 at the Milwaukee Mile last season — made him the ninth different polesitter this season in IndyCar. Alex Palou, who nabbed pole for Sunday's Race No. 2, is the only driver in the series to have claimed more than one pole in 2025, Sunday's being his fourth of the year and the 10th of his IndyCar career. The 27-car field completed qualifying for both the weekend's races at one time Saturday, making two-lap runs with Lap 1 slotting the field for Race 1 and Lap 2 for Race 2. The session's biggest moment came as Newgarden's Team Penske teammate Scott McLaughlin crashed just moments after taking the green flag for the first lap of his run, sliding through Turns 1 and 2 and eventually backing it into the outside wall. By virtue of not completing a lap and being the only car to crash in the session, McLaughlin, who won in Race 1 of IndyCar's doubleheader at Iowa Speedway last year, will start last (27th) for both races. Newgarden and Palou will swap spots for the weekend's race's, as both will start on the outside of Row 2 (fourth) for the race in which they don't start on pole. Meyer Shank Racing's Felix Rosenqvist will also start on the first two rows for both races (third for Race 1, second for Race 2), having sat on provisional pole for Race 2 until the closing moments of qualifying when Palou laid down the top lap of the session to take the top spot. Juncos Hollinger Racing driver Conor Daly, who sat on pole at Iowa Speedway in 2020 while racing for Carlin, joins Newgarden on the front row for Race 1 as he continues to search for his first career IndyCar win, having registered his second career IndyCar podium e a year ago on a the Milwaukee short oval and run up near the front in both IndyCar oval races in 2025. He'll start Race 2 seventh. Other drivers starting in the top 10 for both races this weekend at Iowa Speedway include Pato O'Ward (fifth for Race 1, ninth for Race 2), Scott Dixon (sixth for Race 1, eighth for Race 2), Will Power (seventh for Race 1, sixth for Race 2), Nolan Siegel (eighth for Race 1, fifth for Race 2) and David Malukas (10th for Race 1, third for Race 2). Follow live: IndyCar Synk 275 at Iowa Speedway Race 1 live results, crashes: Josef Newgarden on pole Outside McLaughlin's crash and Newgarden's resurgent pole, perhaps the most surprising storyline from qualifying on Saturday came with the relatively lackluster pace across the board from Andretti Global, who won two of IndyCar's last three oval races with Colton Herta (last year's race at Nashville Superspeedway) and Kyle Kirkwood (World Wide Technology Raceway last month). Marcus Ericsson (15th for Race 1, 14th for Race 2) will pace the team for both races, with Kirkwood (18th for Race 1, 21st for Race 2) and Herta (23rd for Race 2, 19th for Race 2) both starting outside the top 20 once this weekend. Here are the starting grids for each race. 'You feel that intensity.' Will IndyCar return to Iowa Speedway? Pivotal weekend may decide future Race 1 at Iowa begins at 5 p.m. ET. 1. Josef Newgarden, 183.999 mph 2. Conor Daly, 183.714 mph 3. Felix Rosenqvist, 183.635 mph 4. Alex Palou, 183.596 mph 5. Pato O'Ward, 183.096 mph 6. Scott Dixon, 182.924 mph 7. Will Power, 182.824 mph 8. Nolan Siegel, 182.807 mph 9. Santino Ferrucci, 182.756 mph 10. David Malukas, 182.596 mph 11. Marcus Armstrong, 182.483 mph 12. Louis Foster, 182.381 mph 13. Alexander Rossi, 181.939 mph 14. Graham Rahal, 181.478 mph 15. Marcus Ericsson, 181.463 mph 16. Robert Shwartzman, 181.319 mph 17. Callum Ilott, 181.257 mph 18. Kyle Kirkwood, 181.13 mph 19. Christian Rasmussen, 181.107 mph 20. Devlin DeFrancesco, 181.097 mph 21. Christian Lundgaard, 179.975 mph 22. Kyffin Simpson, 179.966 mph 23. Colton Herta, 179.27 mph 24. Sting Ray Robb, 178.885 mph 25. Rinus VeeKay, 177.157 mph 26. Jacob Abel, 175.255 mph 27. Scott McLaughlin, no time Race 2 at Iowa begins at 1 p.m. ET. 1. Alex Palou, 184.014 mph 2. Felix Rosenqvist, 183.975 mph 3. David Malukas, 183.369 mph 4. Josef Newgarden, 183.316 mph 5. Nolan Siegel, 183.194 mph 6. Will Power, 183.072 mph 7. Conor Daly, 182.943 mph 8. Scott Dixon, 182.664 mph 9. Pato O'Ward, 182.645 mph 10. Graham Rahal, 182.489 mph 11. Robert Shwartzman, 182.489 mph 12. Marcus Armstrong, 182.409 mph 13. Callum Ilott, 182.214 mph 14. Marcus Ericsson, 182.154 mph 15. Alexander Rossi, 181.846 mph 16. Louis Foster, 181.805 mph 17. Christian Rasmussen, 181.681 mph 18. Kyffin Simpson, 181.589 mph 19. Colton Herta, 181.472 mph 20. Santino Ferrucci, 181.205 mph 21. Kyle Kirkwood, 181.181 mph 22. Christian Lundgaard, 180.920 mph 23. Devlin DeFrancesco, 180.664 mph 24. Sting Ray Robb, 177.683 mph 25. Jacob Abel, 177.145 mph 26. Rinus VeeKay, 170.822 mph 27. Scott McLaughlin, no time
Fox Sports
12-07-2025
- Automotive
- Fox Sports
Josef Newgarden, Alex Palou Win Poles at Iowa
INDYCAR Josef Newgarden and Alex Palou will be the polesitters for this weekend's Sukup INDYCAR Race Weekend at Iowa Speedway. In qualifying, Team Penske driver Newgarden earned the top spot for today's Synk 275 powered by Sukup with a lap of 183.999 mph. Palou, the NTT INDYCAR SERIES points leader who drives for Chip Ganassi Racing, grabbed the No. 1 starting spot for Sunday's Farm to Finish 275 powered by Sukup with a session-best 184.014. Today's race (5 p.m. ET, FOX, FOX Sports app, INDYCAR Radio Network) will be the 11th race of the season. Sunday's race will be at 1 p.m. on the same broadcast outlets. Coincidentally, Newgarden and Palou will each start fourth in the race where they aren't the polesitter. Qualifying was based on two-lap runs, with the first lap setting the table for Race 1 and the second lap determining where the driver will start in Race 2. Newgarden is a six-time series race winner at this short oval. Newgarden's pole was his first of the season and the 19th of his career. That ties him with Danny Sullivan for 16th place on the sport's all-time list. Palou earned his fourth pole of the season and the 10th of his career. He became the 42nd driver to score double-digit poles in INDYCAR. His other poles this season came at Barber Motorsports Park, on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course and last weekend at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. He has a series-high six race wins and leads Andretti Global's Kyle Kirkwood by 113 points with a pole point earned here. Juncos Hollinger Racing's Conor Daly will join Newgarden on the front row for today's race; Felix Rosenqvist of Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb-Agajanian will be alongside Palou when the green flag drops Sunday. Scott McLaughlin and Will Power won last year's races at this .894-mile oval. McLaughlin will start at the tail end of both fields this weekend after crashing in Turn 1 on his first lap. He was not injured. recommended Item 1 of 2
