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Fox News
21 hours ago
- Automotive
- Fox News
Questions Linger For 2026 INDYCAR Schedule: Which Tracks Should Be Added?
As NASCAR has made some announcements about its schedule over the last several weeks, the INDYCAR paddock is awaiting word on several races for next year. Should INDYCAR return to Iowa Speedway after a sparsely attended doubleheader weekend? Will INDYCAR go to Mexico City? Those questions remain top of mind for 2026, a year for which one new event — the Grand Prix of Arlington in March — has already been announced. New events often generate buzz and excitement. The race around the Cowboys and Rangers stadiums should be a sight to see. Mexico City would be a second new race for 2026 and also an incredible sight. A Mexico race has been a major priority with the popularity of Pato O'Ward, who is optimistic about having a race at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez. But going to Mexico City is more than just about O'Ward. It would be the lone place where INDYCAR would race on the same circuit as Formula 1, giving fans an idea of the similarities and the differences between the two series. One of the world's biggest cities, Mexico City would provide the exposure INDYCAR needs to help the brands of the sport's biggest names beyond O'Ward. As far as Iowa, it is a NASCAR-owned track that has been rented out by INDYCAR to host events. In other words, the track owner doesn't pay a sanction fee and then makes money by selling tickets. Instead, INDYCAR has handled the ticket sales to cover its costs of renting the track. Sponsorship revenue can also cover those costs, and after Hy-Vee ended its sponsorship of the Iowa doubleheader, that obviously impacted the weekend with no big concerts and in-market activations. It would be nice to see how Iowa could do with a single-race weekend (rather than a doubleheader). With it being so close to one of sprint-car racing's most iconic tracks (Knoxville Raceway), it only seems right that the fastest open-wheel cars race nearby. But that might be more of a desire of the heart than a sound business decision. INDYCAR needs to have ovals, and preferably a variety of them, so if Iowa is dropped, where would INDYCAR go next? Could that be Homestead? Could that be Richmond? Could that be Phoenix? All of those are owned by NASCAR and they have had INDYCAR races in their track history. Richmond would fill in a much-needed hole in the schedule, which currently doesn't have a race in the mid-Atlantic or the Northeast. A return to Pocono, where INDYCAR has seen its share of injuries and loss, is unlikely. Watkins Glen (another NASCAR-owned track) doesn't seem to be in the conversation. Thermal won't be on the 2026 race schedule. Having races at the private club near Palm Springs was intriguing, but the race lacked that big-event vibe. It makes for a great potential testing facility but not necessarily a great location for a race. INDYCAR is at its best as the anchor for a big event where people want to come and hang with friends and see fast cars. And then also the place where die-hard fans can come see and root for their favorite drivers (or against the ones they dislike most). So it needs diverse places. It needs diverse facilities. Hopefully the 2026 schedule has all of that. 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.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
The winners and losers of IndyCar's 2025 Indy Toronto
For the only time this year, the NTT IndyCar Series ventured north of the U.S. border for a race around Toronto, the final street circuit event of the 2025 season. Some used the opportunity to return to the states with hard-earned gains. Others were left eager to return home from The Six after a difficult race at a challenging circuit. And for one driver, the weekend was over before the green flag ever flew. Here are the winners and losers from the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto. Winner: Pato O'Ward times it right Patricio O'ward, Arrow McLaren, Zak Brown Few series in all of motorsport are more prone to major race shakeups when cautions fly than IndyCar. One timely yellow can be the difference between competing for the win and getting trapped in the they work out in your favor. Other times you're less fortunate. But rarely do those fates swing so significantly in the span of seven days. O'Ward was one of a few Chevrolet drivers caught out by the timing of a late caution last Sunday at Iowa Speedway, leaving them to take the wave around and fall out of contention for the last stint. But in Toronto, the Mexican driver caught every timely yellow and rode them to an unexpected win from 10th. So it goes in IndyCar. Loser: The shoe goes on the other foot for Palou, Ganassi Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing On the opposite end of the spectrum was Alex Palou. One week after he snagged a victory at the expense of David Malukas and Josef Newgarden, Palou found himself on the wrong strategy in Toronto. A decision to start on primaries and push the first stint long paid costly for himself, Scott Dixon and Malukas. Palou led a race-high 37 laps, but wound up 12th at race's end. Malukas and Dixon cycled out ahead of him to salvage ninth and 10th. They were all disappointing results. And at least on Palou's side, he had no one to blame but himself. 'I chose the strategy, so there's what we did wrong today,' Palou said. 'I was pushing for that strategy. I thought it was going to give us the best opportunity to win.' Not this time. Winner: Everyone that didn't get caught up in carnage Will Power, Team Penske If your favorite driver made it to the checkered flag on Sunday and did so without a trip to the wall or broken wing along the way, they probably netted out alright. Only 16 drivers finished Sunday's race on the lad lap. Seven were lost to after crashes, with three others multiple laps down after contact ruined their runs. It was an attrition-filled race, particularly in the opening half. Related: See how crashes and on-track incidents defined the 2025 Toronto Indy Of those that made it to the end, many still endured contact along the way. Kyle Kirkwood was spun on pit road and rallied to sixth. Marcus Armstrong endured a penalty for causing the contact and quietly slotted 14th. Will Power ended up against the outside wall at one point, but came home a respectable 11th. Just reaching the finish was enough for a salvageable result. Loser: Santino Ferrucci falls out in the warmup Santino Ferrucci, A. J. Foyt Enterprises It's been a good summer stretch for Santino Ferrucci. The Connecticut native has four top-fives, five finishes of eighth or better and had risen up into the top 10 in the series standings entering Toronto. But IndyCar's law of averages tends to catch up with everyone at some point. It was Ferrucci's turn on Sunday. The 27-year-old was rolling through turn 7 in the final minutes of the morning warmup session when his car snapped loose, sending him into the wall hard at corner exit before sliding into the tire barrier and runoff in turn 8. That proved to be a day-ender for Ferrucci's AJ Foyt Racing team. There wasn't enough time to repair his No. 14 Chevrolet, sending the controversial star out hours before the green flag. Winner: Two-stop strategy bears fruit for Veekay, Simpson Rinus Veekay, Dale Coyne Racing If you don't qualify at the front of an IndyCar field, it can be difficult to rise into contention. But with eventual race's like Sunday's comes opportunity for those willing to be different. Enter Rinus VeeKay and Kyffin Simpson. After qualifying ninth and 13th, the pair took advantage of the early cautions and stretched their alternates for 13 (Veekay) and 16 (Simpson) laps. That put the duo on a two-stop strategy, which they executed to perfection to score a pair of unexpected podiums in second and third. Creativity rewarded. Loser: Team Penske's turmoil continues in Toronto Josef Newgarden, Team Penske This week in Team Penske trauma, we saw a new twist on the organization's seemingly endless string of crashes, mistakes and general poor luck. Scott McLaughlin had pitted to get off the quickly-degrading alternate tires at the end of lap 2 and was getting his first primary set up to temp when he lost a wheel, sending him out of the race in 26th. Josef Newgarden avoid incidents during the opening stint, but wound up crashed when a slowed Jacob Abel made contact with Louis Foster and checked up into - and then on top off - his No. 2 Chevrolet on a lap 37 restart. That ended his day in 24th. Will Power, Team Penske Will Power continued on, surviving an early run-in with Christian Rasmussen. But he got the worst of a mid-race battle with winner O'Ward and wound up having to back up off the wall before rallying to a serviceable result. Loser: Ed Carpenter Racing's very bad, no good weekend Alexander Rossi, Ed Carpenter Racing The good news is that Ed Carpenter Racing announced Tuesday that it's building a new headquarters in Westfield, Indiana. The bad news? Pretty much everything else that played out for the team this week. ECR's promising duo had a weekend to forget in Toronto. Christian Rasmussen qualified 22nd and fell out of contention with a broken front wing after contact with Will Power early on. Alexander Rossi started behind him in 24th and fell out after 29 laps when he hit a jut in the outside wall and destroyed his car's right-rear. Winner: Another good day for Prema Racing Callum Ilott, Prema Racing IndyCar's promising newcomer is making a habit of this at this rate. On another challenging weekend, Callum Ilott and the No. 90 team made the Fast 12, qualified 11th - even with poor timing keeping Ilott from completing a full lap at pace - and then put together a complete race to finish a respectable Shwartzman was less fortunate, ending up mid-pack in 16th on a similar primary tire strategy to Palou and co. But in the end Prema saw both cars survive, finish on the lead lap and end the weekend better than they started. This season's all about growth for a rookie team. Results like this are exactly what it needs. Loser: The pace car runs out of juice Street circuit races are known for their attrition - but it doesn't usually include the pace after Rossi's race-ending shunt in the race's opening half, race officials had to change pace cars after the field-leader pulled off to the side with a sudden loss of power. Embarrassing? Sure. But the impact was thankfully minimal. And it could always have been worse (see above)… Read Also: See how crashes and on-track incidents defined the 2025 Toronto Indy Pato O'Ward, Arrow McLaren score strategic win in Indy Toronto Kyffin Simpson rides two-stop strategy to breakthrough first IndyCar podium Ed Carpenter Racing announces new Westfield headquarters, set to open in 2027 To read more articles visit our website.
Fox News
3 days ago
- Sport
- Fox News
INDYCAR Power Rankings: Pato O'Ward Dethrones Alex Palou, Moves To No. 1
Print Close Published July 21, 2025 Yes, Alex Palou is expected to win the championship. A couple of wins by Pato O'Ward isn't going to change that. But O'Ward winning two of the last three races? Yes, Palou won the race between, but that's enough to lift O'Ward to the top of the rankings. And that's because Pato's other finish was a fifth, while Palou has a fifth and a 12th in the two races he didn't win. How long will he stay there? Both drivers are strong at Laguna Seca Raceway, the site of the race this weekend. Here are this week's power rankings after Toronto: Dropped out: Josef Newgarden (Last Week: 8), Santino Ferrucci (Last Week: 10) On the verge: Conor Daly, Josef Newgarden, Will Power 10. Rinus VeeKay (Last Week: Not Ranked) VeeKay enjoyed his first podium finish in three years with a second at Toronto. But it also was his seventh top 10 of the season. Few would expect that from a Dale Coyne driver. 9. Colton Herta (Last Week: Not Ranked) A fourth-place finish might have been mildly disappointing for the Andretti driver, considering he won from the pole last year. But it still was a more than respectable finish and his fourth top five of the season. 8. David Malukas (Last Week: 9) Malukas finished ninth at Toronto for his fourth top 10 in his last eight starts. Maybe the most impressive thing about his ninth-place finish was that he started 15th. 7. Christian Lundgaard (Last Week: 7) Lundgaard finished 13th in a little bit of an off-day in a race where an Arrow McLaren teammate won. He's still fifth in the season point standings. 6. Felix Rosenqvist (Last Week: 5) Rosenqvist battled an ill-handling car after suffering damage early and ended up hitting the wall with a few laps remaining. The Meyer Shank driver is sixth in the season standings. 5. Marcus Armstrong (Last Week: 4) Armstrong got an early penalty for avoidable contact and never could dig himself out of the hole with the strategy, as he finished 14th. A frustrating day for the Meyer Shank driver after starting third. He is seventh in the season standings. 4. Kyle Kirkwood (Last Week: 6) Kirkwood started sixth and finished sixth at Toronto and moved up a spot to third in the standings. It wasn't the great street-course race he has had at times earlier this year, but the Andretti driver just needed a good day after a horrible Iowa. 3. Scott Dixon (Last Week: 3) Dixon finished 10th in a race where the Ganassi drivers didn't come out on the right end of the strategy. He now sits ninth in the series standings. 2. Alex Palou (Last Week: 1) No one will cry for Palou. His strategy to start on primary tires ended up not being the right one, and he finished 12th. He still has a comfortable points lead at 99 over O'Ward with four races remaining. The Ganassi driver doesn't have much to worry about. 1. Pato O'Ward (Last Week: 2) O'Ward should enjoy having won two of the last three races and that hey came on two different tracks — a short oval (Iowa) and a street course (Toronto). That win on Sunday was a big one and shouldn't be underestimated on what it could do for him and his future. 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. Print Close URL
Fox News
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Fox News
Who Is Pato O'Ward? A Boxing, Cooking, Mexican Living Life On The Edge
Pato O'Ward is the most popular driver in INDYCAR. His international presence and outgoing personality is infectious. For instance, to see the joy of him milking a cow at Indianapolis in the days leading up to the Indy 500 will make anyone smile. So what makes the native of Monterrey, Mexico, tick? Well, the Arrow McLaren driver loves to win, as he has done two of the last three INDYCAR races. But he also loves to go fast — whether that is in the race car or other phases of his life. O'Ward sat down with FOX Sports ahead of his weekend win in Toronto to give some insight into who he is off the track. Who is Pato O'Ward? Who is Pato O'Ward? I am a 26-year-old Mexican racing driver for a pretty badass brand called McLaren. And I am a fan of anything that has to do with adrenaline — cars, airplanes, motorcycles. What else? My drink of choice is tequila. And I like living life on the edge. How would your friends describe you? Unhinged. Definitely honest. Loyal. And you can always count on the truth when you ask me something — it doesn't matter if it's going to be a good or bad answer. Do people still think you're Irish? Yeah, sometimes actually. I'm the Mexican-Irish guy. They ask me because they say you don't look Mexican, because apparently I'm not like tan enough. So then I say, "It must be the Irish." Your first name is Patricio not Patrick? Patricio. My great-grandfather was Patrick. And then I'm No. 4. My dad's No. 3, so my kid's going to be No. 5. We'll see how that works. And it's your great-grandfather who was Irish? Yes, he was the Irishman. Very redhead as well. A ginger. You didn't get any of that? No, I've got some ginger for sure. If I let my beard grow out, it's definitely red. Do you still do any boxing for training? Oh yes, I do. I love boxing. I don't box in Indy. I box in San Antonio. Great trainer. I've known him for more than a decade. I used to go there when I was in high school and I was trying to lose weight. I still go train with him, and it's probably my favorite way of training. It's just different every time. So if you got on a fight on the track, would that be considered, like, illegal, because you're a boxer? No. They say a boxer's hands are weapons, but I'm not quite to that level. So I think I would be able to use it to my advantage. Do you fight? Do you have a boxing bag? I don't have a heavy bag at my house, but I've sparred before — actually just with my cousins and I, typical boys. We just moved the cars from the garage, and we made a ring and we just bought gloves and the face things, and we just sparred. I actually have a video where I thought my cousin's back was going to snap because he was [bent over], but that was funny. I don't know if [McLaren Racing CEO] Zak [Brown] should see that? He probably wouldn't want to see you get hit in the face? Yeah. I need my face. And my hands, too. And you are a foodie, right? Massive foodie. I went to a fabulous restaurant yesterday here in Toronto, called the Amal. Mediterranean. Can you cook? I can cook. Don't expect homemade pasta sauce from me, but I can do any steak. I can do quesadillas, tacos, handmade tortillas. I can do great guacamole. I can do chicken, I can do rice. I want to learn how to do a proper risotto, like a truffle risotto. But I'm not so fancy yet. I only know how to do the simple things. Eggs any style. Do you like to cook? I like to cook, I love my kitchen, and I love to cook in my kitchen. Whenever I moved from my apartment to my house, that was one of the biggest, most exciting things that I was doing because then it meant that I wouldn't stink up the whole place when I was cooking. But here's the thing, if you're an adrenaline guy, cooking takes patience. How do you handle doing it right? I can't follow recipes. I get overwhelmed by recipes, kind of like when I get overwhelmed by emails. I will never answer an email, very rarely, and if I do, it's going to be in a text style. I don't follow recipes. The problem here in America is that they make such a simple, delicious dish, most of the time, a very non-simple dish when it just tastes great with just some salted lemon or whatever. And so whenever I want something like that, and I like to know what I'm putting in my body, I like to cook it because it's the only way to really know what you're putting in your body. I really learned how to enjoy it. I feel like you appreciate a meal more because you know what's gone into it. But I live in extremes. Bob, I'm either like, at 15,000 rpm, or I'm at, like, 3,000 rpm. I don't really live in the middle. What city has the best food on the circuit? Wow, you got me there. Toronto is big. Like Toronto is the most international city in the world. You've got literally everything you're looking for. There's good sushi, there's good Mediterranean, there's good Italian, there's good everything. But if it wasn't Toronto, I would probably go — it's from where we race, right? — L.A. has got some great stuff. But I'm going to go with Toronto. And if Mexico City were added with that, Mexico City would be No. 1? Mexico City would be No. 1. Yeah, by far, probably? Oh yeah. So if there's any reason to go to Mexico City, should be that? Fast race cars. Beautiful culture. And fabulous food. And how much do you identify with Mexico and Mexico City considering you were born in Monterrey but kind of grew up in San Antonio, right? So I was born and raised in Monterrey for the first 11 years of my life. Then I moved to San Antonio, Texas. There's still a big part of San Antonio that's very Latin. A lot of Mexicans were there at the time when I went as well because Monterrey got a little bit ugly. But I've always said that doesn't matter where I am in Mexico. It feels like home. I could be in Puerto Vallarta. I could be in Guadalajara. I can be in Monterrey. I can be in Mexico City. Puebla. Like it doesn't matter where in Mexico, it all feels like home to me. And it goes back to something that I live by: Home isn't a place but rather who's there. And that's what I miss most about my heritage and just growing up in Mexico is the language, the food, the people. They're very nice people and it's really a beautiful place. So, every time I go on a vacation and it's a beach, 98 percent of the time you're going to run into me in Mexico. And the tequila is better? The tequila there is phenomenal, I can say that. And I've got the cure after having a tequila with [sponsor drink] Electrolit. They hook us up with the recovery process. 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. Meet the stars of INDYCAR:
CTV News
3 days ago
- Automotive
- CTV News
Pato O'Ward wins Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto, ending frustrating run in Canada
Pole sitter Colton Herta of the United States leads the field into turn 1 at the start of the 2025 Honda Indy Toronto in Toronto, on Sunday, July 20, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn TORONTO — Mexico's Pato O'Ward has always enjoyed the sights and sounds of Toronto, it's just the IndyCar Series race around Exhibition Place he didn't like, struggling year after year on the street course. O'Ward finally won the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto on Sunday, for the seven-year veteran's first victory in Canada. A pep talk from Arrow McLaren team principal Tony Kanaan to the crew the night before, some solid strategy, and a little bit of luck made the win happen. 'It's a big day. It's a very big day,' said O'Ward at this post-race news conference. 'It feels pretty special in a place that has arguably been one of the biggest headaches every single year that we come here.' Like most of the drivers in the 11-turn, 2.874-kilometre race, O'Ward started on a set of less-favourable alternate Firestone Firehawk tires. He had them switched out in his first pit stop just ahead of a Lap 3 caution. That meant O'Ward only had to use the less-favourable set for the better part of two green-flag laps. Although that strategy forced him into a three-stop race, he was able to run the primary compound the rest of the way. 'It's a really good feeling that we didn't just nail the strategy and get lucky, but we also had to earn our win today,' said O'Ward. 'It wasn't given to us. We had the car to be able to do that.' Kanaan, the IndyCar Series champion in 2004 and the winner of the 2013 Indianapolis 500, said he was sick of the narrative that O'Ward and Arrow McLaren struggle in Toronto. 'It hasn't been historically a good weekend for us here, which I didn't want to hear that coming in here,' said Kanaan. 'I was never that type of person. 'As a team, we got together last night and I said, 'Let's change that.' (...) I don't want to believe that's why we won, but...' Rinus VeeKay of the Netherlands finished second and Kyffin Simpson of the United States placed third. Defending champion Colton Herta, who started in pole position on Sunday, was closing in on Simpson with a handful of laps to go when a caution solidified the podium. 'Definitely the final part, looking forward, really trying to close the gap to Pato, it was really hard to close,' said VeeKay. 'I think the track didn't really allow many overtakes. 'All three of us were kind of hovering around the same pace, closing in, making the gap bigger at times. It wasn't very exciting at the end, but it was a lot of work in the car.' Although VeeKay felt there wasn't a lot of opportunities to overtake at the front of the pack, there were actually many passes in the 90-lap race around Toronto's downtown fairgrounds. There were 226 on-track passes (most in the event since 2014) and 201 passes for position (most since 2019). Spain's Alex Palou, the overall standings leader, finished 12th on Sunday, losing significant ground to O'Ward in the points list. O'Ward entered the weekend trailing Palou by 129 points, but cut that to 99 points with four races left in the season. 'We need to make sure that we continue to have days like today, not just one but a few,' said O'Ward. 'Obviously, we're at a time in the championship where we're going to have to get a little bit more into the conversation of getting our elbows out because that's what I had to do today just to open the doors to having a chance to win this race. 'That's the only way we're even going to catch a whiff of making him sweat a little bit.' Toronto's Devlin DeFrancesco, the only Canadian on the grid, finished 22nd, completing 57 laps. His day was derailed when he had to take a lengthy pit stop to have his car repaired after taking some damage in an accident in the 37th lap. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 20, 2025. John Chidley-Hill, The Canadian Press
