By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio FORT WORTH _ Reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion Joey Logano rallied from a controversial disqualification one week ago to claim victory in Sunday’s Würth 400 presented by LUQUI MOLY at Texas Motor Speedway. Which begs this question for NASCAR officials: Can Joey have the spoiler from his No. 22 Ford at Talladega Superspeedway back now? A three-time Cup champion with Team Penske, Logano patiently survived a chaotic afternoon triggered by 12 caution flags to bag his first victory of the 2025 Cup season. The climatic, two-lap overtime dash extended the race distance 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 Check “pole position” off Alex Palou’s 2025 INDYCAR to-do list. Palou emerged from a frantic 40 final seconds of Firestone Fast Six qualifying Saturday for the Children’s Alabama Indy Grand Prix to clinch his first pole of the NTT IndyCar Series season. Palou toured BMP’s 2.3-mile/17-turn natural-terrain road-course in Birmingham in 1-minute, 7.2918-seconds/123.046 mph to continue his relentless early season bid for a fourth driver’s championship and third in a row. In case you blinked, Palou has won two of the season’s first three races and finished second in the other. The 28-year-old…
By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio FORT WORTH – His reputation for raw speed proved spot-on for Carson Hocevar Saturday at Texas Motor Speedway, where the Michigander qualified on-pole for the WÜRTH 400 presented by LIQUI MOLY with a record-setting lap. Hocevar claimed his first career Busch Light Pole Award ahead of Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race by touring TMS’ high-banked/1.5-mile oval in 28.175-seconds/191.659 mph. A second-year driver for Spire Motorsports, Hocevar earned his first Cup pole in his 56th event. At age 22, the native of Portage, Mich., is the youngest NCS pole-winner at “The Great American Speedway.”…
By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio FORT WORTH _ Kevin Harvick’s NASCAR career at Texas Motor Speedway has seen him walk the garage area in the ever-evolving roles of mechanic, race-winning driver, team-owner and TV analyst. Indeed, evolution has been a hallmark of the native Californian dubbed “Happy,” who humbly added the title of Texas Motorsports Hall of Fame inductee Friday during a Speedway Children’s Charities luncheon presented by Würth in The Speedway Club Ballroom. The ceremony featured the unveiling of Harvick’s Texas Motorsports Hall of Fame podium destined for the Speedway Club circle. Harvick is the 24th driver…
By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio FORT WORTH – It was early in his high school football career that Ricky Stenhouse Jr. realized he was not destined to become a future phenom for his beloved Ole Miss Rebels. “Absolutely not!” Stenhouse said with a laugh during a visit to the TCU campus and Amon G. Carter Stadium here on Tuesday. An established driver in the NASCAR Cup Series with Hyak Motorsports, Stenhouse arrived in Cowtown early to promote the WURTH 400 presented by LIQUI MOLY tripleheader weekend at Texas Motor Speedway. Stenhouse’s four-part tour of North Texas began with a…
By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio The 2025 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 _ a production car capable of posting Indianapolis 500-comparible lap speeds _ will pace the 109th edition of “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday, May 25. Designed for speed and performance, the Corvette ZR1 reportedly is capable of 233 mph _ highest top-speed of any car ever made in America by an auto manufacturer. In a remarkable comparison, 2024 Indy 500 pole-winner Scott McLaughlin recorded the fastest lap around the famed 2.5-mile oval during last week’s two-day Indy 500 Open Test at 232.686…
By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio Scott McLaughlin and Alex Palou took turns atop the speed chart Thursday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway during Day 2 of the Indianapolis 500 Open Test featuring two segments with distinct engine performance parameters. Team Penske’s McLaughlin, the reigning Indy 500 pole-winner, was fastest during the morning session run with the same elevated turbo boost levels that will be in effect for the “Fast Friday” practice on May 16 and PPG Presents Armed Forces Qualifying on May 17-18. McLaughlin’s top lap of 232.686 mph in the No. 3 Pennzoil Team Penske Chevrolet was the…
By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio Six-time NTT IndyCar Series champion Scott Dixon launched his bid for a second Indianapolis 500 victory Wednesday during Day 1 of the 109th Indianapolis 500 presented by GainbridgeOpen Test. SEE: Test Results | No-Tow Results The 2008 Indy 500 champion, Dixon topped the speed chart around the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval at 225.182 mph in the No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. Dixon recorded his fastest speed during the last hour of hot-lapping. “It’s testing _ just trying to get through the test list, lots of changes,” said Dixon, a 44-year-old native of New Zealand and…
By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio Alex Palou, beware! Andretti Global’s Kyle Kirkwood has emerged as a bona fide NTT IndyCar Series championship contender, courtesy of a near-perfect weekend on the famed Streets of Long Beach. Kirkwood mastered a fascinating afternoon of tire strategy and flat-out speed to win the 50th Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, ending Palou’s two-race win streak to start the 2025 INDYCAR season. Kirkwood earned his second Long Beach win from pole position in the last three years, driving the No. 27 PreFab Honda to a 2.6859-second victory over runnerup Palou in the No.…
By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio Andretti Global teammates Kyle Kirkwood and Colton Herta temporarily upstaged three-time/reigning INDYCAR champion Alex Palou on Saturday, locking-out the front row during qualifying for the 50th Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. Kirkwood scored his first NTT P1 Award of the season and third of his career by touring the 1.968-mile/11-turn temporary street circuit in 1-minute, 6.1921-seconds/107.034 mph in the No. 27 PreFab Honda on his final Firestone Fast Six flyer. Kirkwood registered his first career pole at Long Beach in 2023, when he also won the crown jewel street race of the…