Newgarden snaps streak on 50th anniversary of 1st Penske win
Josef Newgarden snapped his streak of late race misfortunes to win for the first time this season, earning the first IndyCar victory of the year for Team Penske on the same weekend the storied organization celebrated the 50th anniversary of its first win.
Grosjean moves to IndyCar with Coyne after 9 seasons in F1
AdGrosjean has tried to make comparisons from the F1 race in Austin to IndyCar's two events at the Texas track. Coyne had been talking to Grosjean even before the Bahrain crash about the move to IndyCar. AdThe Coyne organization has not won an IndyCar race since Sebastien Bourdais won the 2018 season opener, but Grosjean is excited to join a team that has a chance in each race. Haas is not a race-winning contender in F1 and Grosjean texted this week with former teammate Magnussen about the thrill of being competitive again. โI really want to keep racing and racing fast cars and I believe that's the case in IndyCar.
Johnson invigorated after stint in prestigious Rolex 24
The seven-time NASCAR champion is beginning a new chapter of his career โ at 45 years old โ in unfamiliar race cars. He was tabbed to start the most prestigious sports car race in America for his Action Express team and Johnson had just one goal for his first stint in the Cadillac. 48 over to teammate Simon Pagenaud and then turned to Kamui Kobayashi, the two-time reigning winner of the Rolex 24, for an animated debrief. AdElliott seemed despondent after his first run in his first sports car race. 31 Action Express entry had slipped to last in his class after the driver change between Elliott and Mike Conway.
The Latest: Oaklawn Park to allow limited attendance
(Stu Forster/Pool via AP)The Latest on the effects of the coronavirus outbreak on sports around the world:___Oaklawn Park in Arkansas plans to allow limited fans during its winter-spring horse racing meet that runs Jan. 22-May 1. Current season box seat-holders and Oaklawn Jockey Club members can enter the grandstand with weekly reservations. The switch gives St. Pete promoters hope that more spectators will be permitted to attend the popular street festival as pandemic restrictions loosen. That move opened room on the schedule for St. Pete to request a later race date. The season ultimately did not start until June and St. Pete was moved to October as the finale.
Newgarden wins IndyCar finale but can't deny Dixon 6th title
Newgarden won the season finale, using a spectacular two-car pass for the lead in a valiant effort to win a second consecutive title. Dixon has won two of the last three championships, a run interrupted last year when Newgarden won his second title. Newgarden tied Dixon with his series-best fourth win of the season but Newgarden was in too large of a hole to catch his rival. It came to a close in front of a sold-out 20,000 spectators, the largest crowd of the season for IndyCar. There was nothing Newgarden could do, even on a day he did everything he had to, to deny Dixon a sixth championship.
IndyCar back in St. Pete seven months later to finish season
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. โ IndyCar opened the second week of March giddy to finally start its season. The entire industry left St. Pete in March unsure how IndyCar could survive. Yet here IndyCar is, back on the St. Pete streets preparing to crown a champion in Sunday's season finale. Now this cruel 2020 season closes right back at St. Pete, the only street course to survive the schedule disruptions and where it all fell apart in March. Askew missed two races but returned for St. Pete, his final race in another unpopular firing by Arrow McLaren.
McLaughlin makes long journey for overdue IndyCar debut
McLaughlin's pandemic-postponed IndyCar debut at last comes Sunday in the season finale at St. Petersburg, Florida. โI obviously never thought Iโd get a chance this year due to the nature of the beast with COVID,โ McLaughlin said Thursday before boarding yet another flight, this one headed to his first IndyCar race. Itโs something that Iโm just going to go in like a sponge, soak everything up, see what comes out of it. Iโm pretty confident that Iโm going to like the series, Iโm going to like the cars, Iโm going to like everything.โMcLaughlin has accomplished all he can racing touring cars in Australia, where he's won 56 races, including last year's Bathurst 1000, and all those titles. He drives for Roger Penske in Supercars and in 2019 the boss asked McLaughlin if he was interested in driving an Indy car.
Pato O'Ward inching toward first IndyCar Series victory
The start-and-stop uncertainty of this IndyCar season has not bothered Pato O'Ward, leader of a young fleet of drivers new to the series but capable of keeping up with the veterans. Had the pandemic not decimated the IndyCar schedule, O'Ward might have built some momentum to have already earned his first series win. O'Ward was entered in one Formula 2 race then Red Bull moved him to Japan's Super Formula category. They asked me to come to Austria like five, six days before the race," O'Ward said. Sam Schmidt's race team had been overhauled via a partnership with McLaren, and McLaren boss Zak Brown moved fast to grab O'Ward.
Jimmie Johnson teams with Ganassi on 2-year IndyCar program
FILE - In this image provided by Jimmie Johnson Racing II, Inc., seven-time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson poses with an IndyCar during testing with Chip Ganassi Racing on the road course at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Tuesday, July 28, 2020, in Indianapolis. Jimmie Johnson will transition from NASCAR to IndyCar with Chip Ganassi Racing in a partnership that could pair two of the most dominant drivers of this generation on one team. (Jimmie Johnson Racing II, Inc. via AP, File)CHARLOTTE, N.C. Jimmie Johnson will transition from NASCAR to IndyCar with Chip Ganassi Racing in a partnership that could pair two of the most dominant drivers of this generation on one team. If funding is secured, Johnson would be teammates with five-time IndyCar champion Scott Dixon. Both were instrumental in piquing Johnson's interest in IndyCar and Dixon assisted Johnson at the July test.
Penske reverses course, closes Indianapolis 500 to fans
FILE - In this May 26, 2019, file photo, Simon Pagenaud, of France, leads the field through the first turn on the start of the Indianapolis 500 IndyCar auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis. Roger Penske has reversed course and decided not to allow fans at the Indianapolis 500 later this month. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings, File)Roger Penske has reversed course and decided not to allow fans at the Indianapolis 500 later this month. Penske had initially said he wouldn't run the 500 without fans. The situation was compounded last week when IU Health, the states largest health care system and a partner of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, said it opposed fans attending the 500.