Author: John Sturbin

By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio Calculating risk vs. reward at 200-plus mph, Tony Kanaan won the INDYCAR championship in 2004 and the 97th Indianapolis 500 in 2013. Seventeen months into his role as Team Principal at Arrow McLaren and with the blessing of McLaren CEO Zak Brown, Kanaan has revamped the team’s fulltime driver lineup around ace Pato O’Ward for 2027. Sir Scott Dixon, a six-time NTT IndyCar Series champion and 2008 Indy 500 winner, and Felix Rosenqvist, reigning Indy 500 champ, will join Team Pato in ‘27 on multi-year agreements. Dixon and Rosenqvist will replace rising star…

By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio Pato O’Ward’s first INDYCAR victory of the 2026 season at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course not only re-asserted his standing as de facto team leader at Arrow McLaren. It also was a de facto shut-the-bleep-up retort to his critics. “People need to chill,” O’Ward said after scoring his 10th series victory at the facility in Lexington, Ohio. “It’s just, the championship is long. There’s plenty of racing to go. I sure as hell am not getting worse.” O’Ward snapped a streak of 14-races without a podium with his victory over teammate/pole-sitter Christian Lundgaard in…

By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio Scott Dixon’s days at Chip Ganassi Racing truly are numbered. Specifically, the 2026 NTT IndyCar Series schedule will end in 65 days _ on Sunday, Sept. 6 _ at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. At the fall of the checkered flag in Northern California, Dixon will take his six series championships, his impeccable race craft and 25 years of memories and exit CGR. That fact was confirmed Thursday, when CGR officials issued a statement on Dixon’s impending departure. Industry-wide speculation has Dixon headed for Arrow McLaren under a two-year contract that will see 45-year-old New…

By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio A dazed-and-confused Christian Lundgaard asked his Arrow McLaren team over the radio what everyone else wondered moments after the Dane had taken the checkered flag for the XPEL Grand Prix at Road America on Sunday, June 21. “How did we do that?” an incredulous Lundgaard inquired. SEE: Race Results Lundgaard parlayed strategy, speed and a bit of good fortune to climb from last in the 25-car field after contact on Lap 1 to earn his second victory of the season in the No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet. The race ended under caution when Graham…

By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio Alex Palou’s pole-winning streak shows no sign of abating. The four-time/reigning NTT IndyCar Series champion earned his fifth consecutive NTT P1 Award Saturday during knockout qualifying for the XPEL Grand Prix at Road America presented by AMR. Palou turned a best lap of 1-minute, 43.6615-seconds/139.400 mph around the 4.014-mile/14-turn natural-terrain circuit in Elkhart Lake, Wis., to secure his sixth pole in 10 races this season and 18th of his illustrious career. SEE: Qualifying Results “It’s incredible, five in a row this year,” said Palou, driver of the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda.…

By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward and Eric Siegel capitalized on a recent test at “America’s National Park of Speed” to emerge as best-in-class among Chevrolet-powered teams after Friday’s opening INDYCAR practice for the XPEL Grand Prix at Road America. O’Ward turned a lap in 1-minute, 44.3688-seconds/138.455 mph around the 4.014-mile/14-turn natural terrain circuit in Elkhart Lake, Wis., to place his No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet fourth on a chart topped by Marcus Armstrong’s No. 66 Honda. Suffering from a bout with the flu, Armstrong led a 1-2 effort by Meyer Shank Racing with Curb Agajanian…

By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio Native Texan Ben Keating added to Corvette Racing’s 24 Hours of Le Mans legacy as one of three co-drivers who wheeled TF Sport’s No. 33 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R to victory in the LMGT3 class. Recovering from surgery on a shattered right elbow, Keating shared the Competition Yellow No. 33 Corvette with Nicky Catsburg of Belgium and Jonny Edgar of Great Britain during the 94th edition of the twice-around-the-clock classic in Le Mans, France. “You always believe it can happen, absolutely,” said Keating, a 54-year-old racer/businessman from Victoria, Texas. “I don’t care how…

By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio Alex Palou’s relentless pursuit of the INDYCAR record book now includes the section marked “Qualifying.” Palou posted his fourth consecutive NTT P1 Award Saturday during time trials for the 10th annual Bommarito Automotive Group 500 presented by Axalta and Valvoline at World Wide Technology Raceway. Palou’s two-lap average time/speed of 50.6195-seconds/174.353 mph around the 1.25-mile oval in Madison, Ill., cleared closest pursuer David Malukas by more than 1 mph. “The team I have around me is incredible,” said Palou, alluding to the crew prepping his No. 10 HRC Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. “My…

By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio Arrow McLaren has appointed former INDYCAR champion Ryan Hunter-Reay as the organization’s new Sporting Director. Winner of the 2012 series championship and 2014 Indianapolis 500 with Andretti Autosport, Hunter-Reay will report to Arrow McLaren Team Principal Tony Kanaan. The announcement was made Saturday in Madison, Ill., site of Sunday’s 10th annual Bommarito Automotive Group 500 NTT IndyCar Series night race on the 1.25-mile World Wide Technology Raceway oval. Hunter-Reay takes on his new job after competing for Arrow McLaren in the 110th running of the Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on May…

By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio INDYCAR superstar Alex Palou is operating in a league of his own. Palou’s numbers as four-time/reigning NTT IndyCar Series champion stand as undisputed statistical evidence. But also consider this observation from series regular Graham Rahal in the aftermath of Palou’s latest victory in Sunday’s Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix. “Yeah, it’s frustrating in some ways, but you’ve got to respect it. It’s impressive. It’s absolutely impressive,” Rahal said after finishing third to Palou and his Chip Ganassi Racing crew on the tight, bumpy and unforgiving 1.645-mile/nine-turn circuit in Downtown Motown. “The team, it’s not…