Author: John Sturbin

By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio Scott McLaughlin’s transformation from world-class road-racer to INDYCAR ovalmeister continued Friday at World Wide Technology Raceway. Team Penske’s McLaughlin earned his fourth NTT P1 award of 2024, ninth of his career and second consecutive on WWTR’s egg-shaped, 1.25-mile bull ring in Madison, Ill., during qualifying for tonight’s Bommarito Automotive Group 500 presented by Axalta and Valvoline. A three-time Australian V8 Supercars champion, McLaughlin’s two-lap average of 179.972 mph was almost nostalgic. “I think I like oval qualifying because it replicates a little bit _ might sound weird _ but it does replicate Supercars…

By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio A.J. Foyt Racing has jumped into open-wheel racing’s Silly Season by signing star-crossed David Malukas to a multi-year contract beginning with the 2025 NTT IndyCar Series season. Malukas, 22, will drive one of Foyt Racing’s Chevrolet-powered Dallaras alongside a teammate yet to be confirmed. The team news release announcing Malukas’ hire did not indicate the 2025 status of its current drivers, Dallas resident Santino Ferrucci and Sting Ray Robb. Ferrucci is 10th in the driver standings in Foyt’s No. 14 Chevrolet, while Robb is 21st in the No. 41 Chevy heading into Saturday…

By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio PHOENIX, Ariz. _ One month after riding-out a catastrophic engine explosion in his nitromethane-burning Funny Car, drag racing champion John Force has been discharged from Barrow Neurological Institute. Force, 75 and NHRA’s highest-profile personality, has been undergoing rehab for a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). According to family members, the 16-time world champion will continue to work with therapists specializing in such injuries on an outpatient basis in his native California. Force is a resident of Yorba Linda, Calif. “He finally gets to sleep in his own bed,” daughter Ashley Force Hood said Tuesday in…

By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio Colton Herta lowered the broom on his NTT IndyCar Series peers Sunday in Toronto, where his victory in the crash-marred Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto at Exhibition Place completed an historic INDYCAR weekend sweep. Herta recorded the fastest laps during both free practice sessions, qualified on-pole Saturday to win the NTT P1 Award then paced Sunday’s warmup session en route to his eighth career series victory. It is believed to be the first such sweep in INDYCAR history. Herta ended a self-described “brutal” 40-race winless streak with his first win in 799 days,…

By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio INDYCAR ace Colton Herta says knockout qualifying on a street-course is the ultimate test of a driver’s skill-set. “I already love, like, street-courses the most out of all the tracks I think that we do,” Herta said Saturday afternoon in Toronto after bagging his latest NTT IndyCar Series pole award. “I think it’s the toughest single lap that you’ll put together all year, is on a street-course.” That said, all Herta needs to do now is complete the weekend sweep of the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto. Herta has been the fastest driver…

By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio Led by Colton Herta, five Honda-powered drivers dominated the time sheet Friday during practice for the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto at Exhibition Place, the final NTT IndyCar Series street race of the season. Herta, of Andretti Global w/Curb-Agajanian, recorded the session’s fastest lap at 1-minute, 1.0399- seconds/105.334 mph around the tight 1.786-mile/11-turn temporary circuit that proved especially problematic for fellow-Californian Alexander Rossi. The final minutes of practice saw Rossi and rookie Linus Lundqvist of Sweden whack tire barriers, reducing the amount of time left for half of the field to complete a…

By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio Iowa Speedway backed-up its reputation as “The World’s Fastest Short-Track” Friday during an intense NTT IndyCar Series practice that saw Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin emerge atop the speed chart. The 90-minute session around the 0.894-mile bull-ring was the prelude to a pair of points-paying races _ Saturday night’s Hy-Vee Homefront 250 presented by Instacart (8 p.m. EDT) and the Hy-Vee One Step 250 presented by Gatorade on Sunday at noon. Both races will air live on NBC, Peacock and the NDYCAR Radio Network. McLaughlin posted the day’s hottest lap at 185.891 mph in his…

By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio Arrow McLaren ace Pato O’Ward says he has “massive respect” for Alex Palou, the two-time/reigning NTT IndyCar Series champion from arch-rival Chip Ganassi Racing. “It’s always been a pleasure racing against him, to be honest,” O’Ward said Saturday during a post-qualifying presser at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, where Palou had pipped him for pole position by 0.0024-seconds. “You always know that you can race him really hard, but you know that you’re going to get the same in return. I think that’s very valuable when you’re going 200-something miles an hour.” Case in…

By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio Alex Palou pipped Pato O’Ward for pole position by a miniscule 24-ten-thousandths-of-a-second Saturday during qualifying for The Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Presented by the 2024 Civic Hybrid. It was an historic debut for INDYCAR’s high-tech Hybrid Power Unit Era, and a mathematical difference O’Ward coyly sussed-out when asked…what does 0.0024-of-a-second mean to you? “It means he (Palou) went to the bathroom before going to qualifying,” O’Ward joked during a post-qualifying presser shared with the Spaniard. “We’re obviously the ones chasing both Alex and Ganassi. We’re all out there pushing, pushing, pushing. That’s…

By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio Championship leader Alex Palou ushered-in INDYCAR’s hybrid power unit era Friday atop the time sheet at Mid-Ohio Sports Course after a soggy practice for the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Presented by the 2025 Civic Hybrid. A 90-minute session conducted in mixed weather conditions prevented most of the field from logging enough track time to give the hybrid system a true workout. Nevertheless, Palou _ the two-time/reigning NTT IndyCar Series champion from Spain _ was quickest at 1-minute, 7.0650-seconds/121.208 mph in the No. 10 Ridgeline Lubricants Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. Palou, who leads…