By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio At the insistence of Kyle Kirkwood, INDYCAR’s Astor Challenge Cup trophy has been re-packed and re-routed from Washington, D.C., to West Allis, Wis. Kirkwood’s runaway victory in Sunday’s Freedom 250 Grand Prix _ first motorsports race conducted in the nation’s capital _ momentarily punched the pause button on Alex Palou’s inevitable march to a fifth NTT IndyCar Series championship. The designated street-race ace of Andretti Global, Kirkwood emerged as commander-in-chief of the temporary 1.7-mile/seven-turn temporary circuit winding around the National Mall and several iconic District of Columbia monuments/buildings en route to a comfortable…
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 INDYCAR’s contribution to America’s 250th birthday celebration is poised to become another signature moment in the 2026 Summer of Spain. Alex Palou zeroed-in on a record-tying fourth consecutive NTT IndyCar Series championship and fifth overall by qualifying on-pole Saturday for the Freedom 250 Grand Prix of Washington, D.C. _ the historic first motor race conducted on the streets of the District of Columbia. SEE: Qualifying Results The Spaniard recorded a single-season best seventh pole and 19th of his mercurial career with a lap of 56.8993-seconds/107.558 mph in the No. 10 OpenAI Chip Ganassi Racing…
By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio Armed with a new contract and renewed self-confidence, Andretti Global’s Marcus Ericsson snapped a 63-race INDYCAR winless drought with a masterful drive to victory in the inaugural Ontario Honda Dealers Indy at Markham. Ericsson charged through the field late in Sunday’s chaotic 90-lap/197.1-mile Canadian race to hunt down and pass longtime rival Romain Grosjean of Dale Coyne Racing. SEE: Race Results Ericsson scored his fifth career NTT IndyCar Series victory while denying Grosjean what would have been his first. A former Formula One regular, Grosjean finished second for the sixth time in his disjointed domestic…
By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio Second-year INDYCAR driver Louis Foster upstaged a handful of prominent NTT IndyCar Series street race aces to claim pole position Saturday for the inaugural Ontario Honda Dealers Indy at Markham. The Streets of Markham’s newly paved/all-asphalt 2.19-mile/12-turn layout emerged as the proverbial “level playing field” as Foster recorded a pole-winning hot lap of 1-minute, 13.2883-seconds/103.225 mph. That was enough to pip Arrow McLaren’s Christian Lundgaard by four-tenths of a second (1:13.6352-seconds/102.668 mph) for the NTT P1 Award. “When I came across the line I was like, ‘This is going to be quick,’^” said…
By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio Practice 1 for INDYCAR’s inaugural Ontario Honda Dealers Indy at Markham was cancelled Friday due to the failure of Green Savoree Racing Promotions to complete the temporary street circuit. Round 14 of the NTT IndyCar Series is scheduled for a new, all-asphalt 2.19-mile/12-turn circuit in the city of Markham, Ontario, located about 18 miles north of Toronto’s Exhibition Place where the race was first held in 1986. All on-track activity will now be compressed into a two-day schedule beginning today. INDYCAR has announced an updated schedule (all times EDT) for FOX Sports television programming…
By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio INDYCAR’s second annual Java House Grand Prix of Arlington street race weekend has been confirmed for March 19-21, 2027 as part of “Phase One” of next year’s NTT IndyCar Series schedule. The spring event lineup announced Wednesday includes a launch featuring three straight weekends beginning on the Streets of St. Petersburg, Fla., on Sunday, March 7; Phoenix Raceway on Saturday, March 13 and the Streets of Arlington’s Entertainment District on Sunday, March 21. Overall, INDYCAR announced the dates and locations for the first eight races of the 2027 season. For the third consecutive season,…
By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio Alex Palou’s relentless rewrite of the INDYCAR record book added another entry Sunday, when the Spaniard combined pure pace and tire management to win the OnlyBulls Grand Prix of Portland in Oregon. Palou, 29, closed in on his record-tying fourth consecutive NTT IndyCar Series championship and fifth title overall via his sixth victory of the season and 25th of his mercurial career. Driver of the No. 10 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, Palou finished 4.1167-seconds in front of NTT P1 Award-winner Felix Rosenqvist in the No. 60 SiriusXM Honda of Meyer Shank Racing with…
By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio INDYCAR’s new-for-28 NTT IndyCar Series IR-28 chassis package will undergo its first on-track validation tests this weekend on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road-Course. Series regulars Alex Palou and Alexander Rossi are scheduled to turn hot laps on the 2.439-mile/14-turn layout that incorporates 3,700-feet of the 2.5-mile IMS oval’s front stretch. Unveiled Tuesday, the new chassis and powertrain package features a modernized look designed to provide faster lap times and improved race-ability in a bid to create more wheel-to-wheel action. The latest chassis from Dallara Automobili is touted as the safest car ever produced for…
By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio INDYCAR has fast-forwarded to 2028 with the official unveiling of its new NTT IndyCar Series chassis and powertrain package. The modernized IR-28 is designed to provide faster lap times, more wheel-to-wheel competition and the safest open-wheel car ever. Working in collaboration with Dallara on the IR-28 chassis, the new car will make its competition debut at the start of the 2028 NTT IndyCar Series championship. First renderings of the IR-28 were shared Tuesday morning in Indianapolis via a video narrated by Matt Damon, Academy Award winner and star of the box office hit…
By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio Alex Palou’s path to another Astor Challenge Cup trophy haul looms considerably shorter following his victory in the rain-delayed Borchetta Bourbon Music City Grand Prix presented by OnlyBulls at Nashville Superspeedway in Lebanon, Tenn. Palou, the four-time/reigning NTT IndyCar Series champion from Chip Ganassi Racing, has amassed an 83-point lead _ a gap of more than one full race _ over Team Penske’s David Malukas via his fifth victory of the season and 24th of his mercurial career. Six races remain on the schedule as Palou attempts to earn a record-tying fourth consecutive series…