Latest news with #USF2000
Fox Sports
01-05-2025
- Automotive
- Fox Sports
Spring Slumber Ends as Series Roars Back to Racing at Barber
INDYCAR The INDY NXT by Firestone season resumes this weekend at Barber Motorsports Park, with a 35-lap Grand Prix of Alabama scheduled for 11:30 a.m. ET Sunday, May 4. The event will be broadcast on FS1 with audio coverage available on SiriusXM channel 218 and the INDYCAR Radio Network. The season began March 2 with an impressive performance by Andretti Global rookies Dennis Hauger and Lochie Hughes, who qualified and finished 1-2 in the season opener on the streets of St. Petersburg. Hauger has since demonstrated his versatility by topping the charts at the Nashville Superspeedway oval test April 1 and the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course test April 22. SEE: Event Details The duo enters the 17-turn, 2.3-mile Alabama road course as the drivers to beat. However, there are plenty of capable rivals among the 20-driver field ready to challenge the Andretti Global rookies' pursuit of victory lane Sunday. Headlining that list could be sophomore teammate Salvador de Alba. After transferring from Andretti Cape INDY NXT to Andretti Global after last season, de Alba aims to build on a strong fifth-place finish at St. Petersburg. His goal is to improve on road courses this season, and Barber could be the perfect venue to showcase his progress. A sleeper is ABEL Motorsports driver Jordan Missig. He impressed with a sixth-place finish in St. Petersburg and was eighth fastest in the Nashville oval test. Here are two other things to watch for this weekend's second race of the 2025 season. Can Sophomores Keep Andretti Global Rookies Honest? Andretti Global is still searching for its first Barber Motorsports Park victory in the INDYCAR development series since 2019. Barber's technical layout could reward experience over raw pace, which could help someone besides Hauger or Hughes enter victory lane. The track has a history of veterans winning. David Malukas won one of the doubleheader races in 2021 for HMD Motorsports. Linus Lundqvist won the single race in 2022 while Christian Rasmussen was victorious for the team a year later. Jacob Abel drove his No. 51 ABEL Motorsports entry to Victory Lane last season. If history holds and trends continue, Myles Rowe could leverage his seasonal surge pattern this weekend. Rowe moved from HMD Motorsports to ABEL Motorsports this offseason. He enters this weekend after placing fourth in the season opener at St. Petersburg and finished sixth in his rookie season last year. Plus, Rowe has driven into victory lane in the second race of the season in two of the last three years. In USF2000 in 2022, he won the second race of the St. Petersburg doubleheader weekend. He then won at the second track of the year at Barber Motorsports Park. In his USF Pro 2000 championship-winning season in 2023, Rowe won the second race of the St. Petersburg season-opening weekend again to follow with a sweep at the second venue of the year – Sebring International Raceway. Rowe's teammate Callum Hedge could threaten, too. Hedge had an eighth-place finish in St. Petersburg and ninth at Barber last year. Hedge, 21, racked up eight top-10 finishes last season, with five top-five finishes. Last year's Rookie of the Year, Caio Collet, needs a good weekend. He finished a distant third in St. Petersburg, the same spot he finished in points last year. The Brazilian had championship aspirations for his sophomore season and aimed to use his experience to finish ahead of the Andretti rookies' inexperience early in the season. Collet finished fourth at Barber last season, leading to a strong rookie year on natural road courses. He finished with seven top-five finishes in eight natural road course starts, including his lone victory at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course last July and a pair of runner-up results in the WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca doubleheader. Driver Changes Hailie Deegan, who finished 14th in her maiden INDY NXT start at St. Petersburg, will be the lone female driver in the field after HMD Motorsports and driver Sophia Floersch announced March 27 that they mutually agreed to part company for the rest of the season. Floersch, from Germany, qualified 17th and finished 12th in her debut in the INDYCAR development series on the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida, in the No. 24 HMD Motorsports entry. Rookie Evagoras Papasavvas will drive the car this weekend. The 17-year-old tested for the team at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and comes to INDY NXT after racing the last three seasons in USF 2000 for Jay Howard Driver Development. He was named as an HMD Motorsports reserve driver early this season. Another driver change is sophomore driver Bryce Aron will switch from HMD Motorsports to the No. 9 Chip Ganassi Racing entry. Aron, from the Chicagoland area, finished 13th in St. Petersburg. He replaces Jonathan Browne in the car. Browne finished seventh in the season opener. Aron joins new CGR teammate Niels Koolen, who remains in the No. 10 entry. Track Specs: 2.3-mile, 17-turn natural road course Qualifying Record: Christian Rasmussen (1 minute, 10.7371 seconds, 117.053 mph, April 29, 2023) Push To Pass Parameters: 150 seconds of total time, with a maximum time of 15 seconds per activation. recommended
Fox Sports
08-04-2025
- Automotive
- Fox Sports
Kyle Kirkwood Knows Race Wins Key to Challenging Alex Palou
INDYCAR Kyle Kirkwood is making a strong impression in the early stages of the 2025 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season, but he admits to feeling the heat from Alex Palou's dominance. The Andretti Global driver is sixth in the point standings, one of six drivers joining Palou, Scott Dixon, Christian Lundgaard, Felix Rosenqvist and Alexander Rossi in producing top-10 finishes in both races this season. But the frustration of having to chase down a three-time champion, including two consecutive championships, in Palou can be tough on a driver's mindset. Remember, Palou has won both races so far this season. Kirkwood's fifth- and eighth-place finishes this season are certainly respectable, but he is aiming for more, and Palou's pace is high. 'I should be a lot more satisfied than I am,' Kirkwood said. 'Because if you look back at (the season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg presented by RP Funding), one of our better races, I pretty much followed Alex Palou the entire race and watched him win, which is disappointing. 'Then (at the second race, at The Thermal Club), we were on pace for what seemed like a locked top-four result, which would have been two top-five (finishes) in a row. As a driver, as a competitor, you always want better.' Kirkwood has a 48-point deficit to Palou. To really challenge Palou for the Astor Cup, Kirkwood will need to convert those solid finishes into wins. Given his background – winning championships in USF2000 (2018), USF Pro 2000 (2019) and INDY NXT by Firestone (2021) -- it's evident Kirkwood knows how to win and has the experience to handle the pressure of a title fight. He just needs to find a way to outpace Palou on these race days. That pursuit begins this weekend with the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, the third race of the season (4:30 p.m. ET, FOX, FOX Sports App, INDYCAR Radio Network). 'We've got to do the same thing that they're doing -- we got to win races,' Kirkwood said of Palou. 'We can't let them get a big head start. That is one thing that Palou has done in the past couple years: He gets a huge head start, then everybody claws back at him at the end of the season. He's kind of on cruise control at that point. We need to not let him get out front and hold him back a little bit. 'It's turning into a thing that when you beat Alex Palou, you've clearly had a really good day. He's kind of the No. 1 guy that everyone is looking at now.' This weekend's 50th anniversary race could be a perfect place for Kirkwood to strike. He earned his maiden NTT INDYCAR SERIES victory and NTT P1 Award in this event. Add in the fact that Andretti Global has been strong at Long Beach with four of the last six race winners coming from the team, the stars could be aligning for Kirkwood. 'This is a very crucial weekend for us to turn things around in the championship hunt,' Kirkwood said. 'Even though it's still early in the season, a lot of people don't look at points. They're like, well, it's only two races in of the 17-race season. But if the guy is 60 points ahead of you, you've got to kind of pay attention to that. There is a long way to go. You're also falling behind very early, which is not something you want to do. 'I think this weekend is one of our best opportunities (to gain on Palou). If you look back at history in general, Long Beach has been one of the best tracks for Andretti Global. I think Toronto and Detroit are starting to grow on that. Street courses in general are really, really good. Long Beach has been a top one for the team. 'We're obviously going to be looking for a win. Honestly, at this time we need wins to be able to win a championship here because Alex Palou is just walking away with (the championships) at the moment. We need to turn that ship around.' Kirkwood is also aware that he is creating pressure for himself. He embraces the added dynamic. When a driver has a car that's capable of winning, the expectations naturally shift and bring a whole new level of pressure to deliver. It's one thing to be aiming for a top-10 finish and dealing with the challenges that come with trying to extract everything from a less-than-optimal car, but when you know your car has the speed and the potential to win, the stakes are raised significantly. 'I would say the weekends that you feel like you have a really good shot are the easiest,' he said. 'I guess you wouldn't think that coming into it, but now that I've had a couple years in the series, the hardest weekends are the ones that you're struggling. It's the ones that you're struggling to get into a top-10 finish. When you have kind of pace under your belt in a race weekend or across practices and qualifying, etc., it just makes things a lot easier.' Another interesting dynamic is Long Beach is a shared weekend with IMSA leading to a compressed schedule. Kirkwood sees that as an advantage for his No. 27 Honda. 'That doesn't give you a lot of time to really focus on changes, to hone in on stuff,' he said. 'Coming off the trailer very quick is very important. It just gives you a sense of ease, if I'm being honest. 'Of course, you have the pressure that now you have a fast car, now it's all on you to go out there and win. If anything, that just gives me comfort. I'm pretty confident that I can get it done if I have everything in my arsenal. So yeah, it's not really managing emotions; it's more just an easier weekend if everything is kind of flowing right.' in this topic
Fox News
03-04-2025
- Automotive
- Fox News
Which INDYCAR driver will earn first career win in 2025? We rank them
The NASCAR Cup Series has already had its first, first-time winner this season. What about the NTT INDYCAR Series? There are thirteen drivers who have not won. Here they are in order of career starts: — Conor Daly, Juncos Hollinger Racing (117 career starts) — Santino Ferrucci, A.J. Foyt Racing (79) — David Malukas, A.J. Foty Racing (46) — Callum Ilott, Prema Racing (40) — Devlin DeFrancesco, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (36) — Sting Ray Robb, Juncos Hollinger Racing (36) — Marcus Armstrong, Meyer Shank Racing (31) — Kyffin Simpson, Chip Ganassi Racing (19) — Christian Rasmussen, Ed Carpenter Racing (16) — Nolan Siegel, Arrow McLaren Racing (14) — Jacob Abel, Dale Coyne Racing (2) — Louis Foster, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (2) — Robert Shwartzman, Prema Racing (2) Who has the best chance to win? Here are six drivers to watch, from sixth to first: 6. Robert Shwartzman Shwartzman had no INDYCAR experience before this year. Prema is a new team with no INDYCAR track record. So how does Shwartzman make this list? Word on the street is that he is an incredible talent. Shwartzman was a Ferrari reserve driver, after all. He started the year with finishes of 20th and 22nd. 5. Christian Rasmussen Rasmussen was solid on road courses last year and is now in his first full season for Ed Carpenter Racing. He won the USF2000 title in 2020, the USF Pro 2000 title in 2021 and the INDY NXT Series title in 2023, so he is used to being up front. He opened the year with finishes of 15th and 12th. 4. Nolan Siegel Driving for Arrow McLaren, Siegel has had inconsistent results in his first 14 races for the organization. But if he develops quickly, he has a strong organization to help get him across the finish line first. He started the year with finishes of 25th and 19th. 3. David Malukas Malukas finished second at WWTR Gateway in 2022 and has three career top-five finishes. With the Foyt relationship with Penske, it wouldn't be a surprise to see him win. He started the season with finishes of 13th and 18th. 2. Santino Ferrucci With a career-best third in the 2023 Indianapolis 500, Ferrucci has seven top-five finishes — so he's certainly been close. He had 11 top 10s last year in the first season of the Foyt-Penske relationship, as he posted top 10s in each of the final four races in 2024. The 2025 season hasn't been great for him so far, with his pair of 14th-place finishes. 1. Marcus Armstrong Armstrong finished third at Detroit last year, one of four top-five finishes for him last season. He finished seventh at Thermal, giving him a top 10 already this year. Although he is in his first year with Meyer Shank Racing, many of the people on his team came with him from Chip Ganassi Racing as part of the new alliance between the two teams. 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
03-04-2025
- Automotive
- Fox Sports
Which INDYCAR driver will earn first career win in 2025? We rank them
The NASCAR Cup Series has already had its first, first-time winner this season. What about the NTT INDYCAR Series? There are thirteen drivers who have not won. Here they are in order of career starts: — Conor Daly, Juncos Hollinger Racing (117 career starts) — Santino Ferrucci, A.J. Foyt Racing (79) — David Malukas, A.J. Foty Racing (46) — Callum Ilott, Prema Racing (40) — Devlin DeFrancesco, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (36) — Sting Ray Robb, Juncos Hollinger Racing (36) — Marcus Armstrong, Meyer Shank Racing (31) — Kyffin Simpson, Chip Ganassi Racing (19) — Christian Rasmussen, Ed Carpenter Racing (16) — Nolan Siegel, Arrow McLaren Racing (14) — Jacob Abel, Dale Coyne Racing (2) — Louis Foster, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (2) — Robert Shwartzman, Prema Racing (2) Who has the best chance to win? Here are six drivers to watch, from sixth to first: 6. Robert Shwartzman Shwartzman had no INDYCAR experience before this year. Prema is a new team with no INDYCAR track record. So how does Shwartzman make this list? Word on the street is that he is an incredible talent. Shwartzman was a Ferrari reserve driver, after all. He started the year with finishes of 20th and 22nd. 5. Christian Rasmussen Rasmussen was solid on road courses last year and is now in his first full season for Ed Carpenter Racing. He won the USF2000 title in 2020, the USF Pro 2000 title in 2021 and the INDY NXT Series title in 2023, so he is used to being up front. He opened the year with finishes of 15th and 12th. 4. Nolan Siegel Driving for Arrow McLaren, Siegel has had inconsistent results in his first 14 races for the organization. But if he develops quickly, he has a strong organization to help get him across the finish line first. He started the year with finishes of 25th and 19th. 3. David Malukas Malukas finished second at WWTR Gateway in 2022 and has three career top-five finishes. With the Foyt relationship with Penske, it wouldn't be a surprise to see him win. He started the season with finishes of 13th and 18th. 2. Santino Ferrucci With a career-best third in the 2023 Indianapolis 500, Ferrucci has seven top-five finishes — so he's certainly been close. He had 11 top 10s last year in the first season of the Foyt-Penske relationship, as he posted top 10s in each of the final four races in 2024. The 2025 season hasn't been great for him so far, with his pair of 14th-place finishes. 1. Marcus Armstrong Armstrong finished third at Detroit last year, one of four top-five finishes for him last season. He finished seventh at Thermal, giving him a top 10 already this year. Although he is in his first year with Meyer Shank Racing, many of the people on his team came with him from Chip Ganassi Racing as part of the new alliance between the two teams. 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 Get more from NTT INDYCAR SERIES Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more
