By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio Native Chicagoan David Malukas has signed a multi-year contract with Team Penske to drive the No. 12 Verizon Chevrolet beginning with the 2026 NTT IndyCar Series season. Malukas, 23, will be the second driver to wheel team-owner Roger S. Penske’s No. 12 entry heretofore synonymous with Australian Will Power, a two-time series champion (2014, 2022) and winner of the 2018 Indianapolis 500. Free-agent Power, 44, parted company with Penske earlier this month and subsequently signed with Andretti Global to drive the No. Gainbridge 26 Honda formerly wheeled by Colton Herta. Malukas’ move from…
Author: John Sturbin
John Sturbin
John Sturbin is a Fort Worth-based journalist specializing in motorsports. During a near 30-year career with the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, he won the Bloys Britt Award for top motorsports story of the year (1991) as judged by The Associated Press; received the National Hot Rod Association’s Media Award (1995) and several in-house Star-Telegram honors. He also was inaugural recipient of the Texas Motor Speedway Excellence in Journalism Award (2009). Email John Sturbin at jsturbin@hotmail.com.
By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio Alex Palou’s dominant run to a fourth NTT IndyCar Series championship arguably generated appointment TV for open-wheel fans on FOX Sports’ various platforms. The plusses-and-minuses of Palou’s eight-win season during the 17-race schedule remains fodder for bench racers at the start of INDYCAR’s lengthy offseason. FOX Sports executives can counter with real-world numbers, beginning with an average of 1,362,000 viewers per event, according to Nielsen Media Research. That represents a 27 percent year-to-year increase from 2024 (on NBC and its platforms) and the most-watched season in 17 years. In 2025, the NTT IndyCar Series…
By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio Will Power’s well-documented free-agent saga has ended with Andretti Global. Power will re-boot his stellar INDYCAR career in 2026 with Andretti Global, while Colton Herta will transition with the organization into Formula One. Andretti Global announced Wednesday the signing of Power, a two-time NTT IndyCar Series champion and 2018 Indianapolis 500 winner with Team Penske. Power will drive the No. 26 Gainbridge Honda vacated by Herta, a series regular since 2019 who went winless this season and finished seventh in the 2025 driver standings. Power, a 44-year-old native of Australia, won one race en…
By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio Josef Newgarden’s INDYCAR season from hell ended in the front stretch grandstands of Nashville Superspeedway Sunday afternoon, seated-and-celebrating with his hometown fans. All that was missing was a cold Hap And Harry’s Ale. The Nashville-area native broke a 20-race NTT IndyCar Series winless streak dating to August 2024 with his first victory of 2025 and 32nd of his illustrious open-wheel career by winning the season-ending Borchetta Bourbon Music City Grand Prix presented by WillScot. “Very special. Never a bad time to show up and have a good day,” said Newgarden, a two-time series…
By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio Arrow McLaren ace Pato O’Ward secretly began the 2025 NTT IndyCar Series season chasing a rather odd statistic. “My goal was actually completing every single lap of the year,” O’Ward said post-qualifying Saturday afternoon at Nashville Superspeedway. “I didn’t really have a win objective. I didn’t have really anything. I just wanted to finish every single lap. Sadly, that dream was crushed in Portland.” Recall that O’Ward inherited P1 from teammate Christian Lundgaard of Denmark for the BITNILE.COM Grand Prix of Portland presented by askROI at Portland International Raceway on Aug. 10. Lundgaard…
By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio The grinding accident that prematurely ended Chip Ganassi’s promising open-wheel driving career 41 years ago may be ancient history to casual INDYCAR fans. That crash, however, set into motion a motorsports dynasty currently celebrating its latest NTT IndyCar Series championship. Chip Ganassi Racing’s resident wunderkind, Alex Palou, clinched his fourth championship and third in a row with two races remaining on the 17-race 2025 schedule. A 28-year-old native of Spain, Palou is just the fourth driver to three-peat as series champion. His eight wins heading into today’s season-ending Borchetta Bourbon Music City Grand…
By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio NASCAR’s national touring series will again double-up in Texas in 2026 during separate weekends at Circuit of The Americas in Austin and Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth. The NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) and O’Reilly Auto Parts Series (NOAPS) will return to Circuit of The Americas (COTA) for the sixth consecutive season Feb. 27-March 1. The NCS race will be run on Sunday, March 1, preceded by the NOAPS Focused Health 250 (currently badged as the NASCAR Xfinity Series) on Saturday, Feb. 28. On-track activity will begin Friday, Feb. 27, on the world-class permanent road-course…
By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio Denmark’s Christian Rasmussen parlayed deft tire strategy by his Ed Carpenter Racing team during a late caution period and his signature aggressive style to power past all-INDYCAR-everything Alex Palou en route to victory in Sunday’s Snap-on Milwaukee Mile 250. “The race went our way,” Rasmussen said after scoring his first NTT IndyCar Series victory. “We did what we do best on ovals _ running whatever line the car in front is not. Again, we were amazing in traffic, which that’s what made the main difference today again I think. Then with a good…
By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio Newly-minted/repeat INDYCAR champion Alex Palou is stating his case as an oval-track ace. Palou claimed the NTT P1 Award Saturday for today’s Snap-on Milwaukee Mile 250 on the final attempt of the qualifying session, turning a two-lap average speed of 162.971 mph in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. Palou, who clinched his fourth NTT IndyCar Series championship on Aug. 10 at Portland (Ore.) International Raceway, earned his sixth pole this season. SEE: Qualifying Results “I knew I had a good car,” said Palou, a 28-year-old native of Spain. “I just wanted to…
By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio Barring “Breaking News” from The Milwaukee Mile, saving Team Penske from the embarrassment of a winless INDYCAR season has not publicly moved the needle in Will Power’s bid for a new contract. Team Penske’s longest-tenured driver, Power staked his claim for another contract with owner Roger S. Penske by winning the BITNILE.COM Grand Prix of Portland presented by askROI on Aug. 10. “A Team Penske-type day, man,” Power said during a post-race presser in Oregon spiced with comments ranging from confidence to defiance. “When we’re put in the position, we can win. It’s…