By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin continued to master his unofficial home away from New Zealand Friday, pacing P1 for the Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix powered by AmFirst. McLaughlin posted a top lap of 1-minute, 7.7245-seconds/122.878 mph around the picturesque, 2.3-mile/17-turn natural-terrain road-course in Birmingham, Ala., during a 64-minute session. “Pretty good start for us,” said McLaughlin, a 32-year-old native of Christchurch, N.Z., and driver of the No. 3 Odyssey Battery Team Penske Chevrolet. “We were all strong, which is a good sign for the team. We’ve done a lot of hard work…
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 ARLINGTON _ Complete with a catchy nickname, INDYCAR’s inaugural Java House Grand Prix of Arlington went into the record book as “the new standard” for hosting and staging a domestic open-wheel street race. Dubbed “America’s Street Race” by the FOX Sports broadcast team during Sunday’s live telecast from the Arlington Entertainment District, the hyperbole began days before Kyle Kirkwood’s winning pass against Alex Palou in Race No. 3 of the NTT IndyCar Series’ 18-event 2026 schedule. “It’s been an incredible event,” said Kirkwood, Andretti Global’s 27-year-old emerging star. “This event was done right.…
By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden reaffirmed his position as INDYCAR’s ovalmeister with a calculated victory in Saturday’s Good Ranchers 250 at Phoenix Raceway. A two-time NTT IndyCar Series champion, Newgarden earned his first victory of the 2026 season and 33rd of his career by reeling-in and passing leader Kyle Kirkwood of Andretti Global with seven laps remaining around the 1-mile oval in suburban Avondale, Ariz. Newgarden, who started second to teammate David Malukas, drove to a 1.7937-second victory after leading only eight of 250 laps, including the final six. Nineteen of Newgarden’s career…
By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio At one point during his post-race press conference Sunday in St. Petersburg, Fla., four-time/reigning NTT IndyCar Series champion Alex Palou was asked if he felt “beatable.” “Unfortunately, yeah,” said Palou, shortly after scoring a runaway victory in the 2026 season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. Palou cruised to his 20th career INDYCAR victory in just his 99th start by wheeling the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda to a 12.4948-second victory over Scott McLaughlin, the NTT P1 Award-winner and driver of the No. 3 DEX Team Penske Chevrolet. Recall that Palou…
By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin is determined to put “the worst year of my life” permanently in the rearview mirrors of his race car in 2026. That process began Saturday afternoon, when “Scotty Mac” qualified on-pole for INDYCAR’s season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg in Florida. McLaughlin earned his 12th career NTT P1 Award and third in the last five years on St. Pete’s 1.8-mile/14-turn temporary street circuit, leading the Firestone Fast Six with a best lap of 1-minute, .5426-seconds/107.032 mph in the No. 3 DEX Team Penske Chevrolet. “Maybe I need to…
By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio Scott McLaughlin set the pace for Team Penske’s revised 2026 INDYCAR lineup Friday during Practice 1 for the season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. The NTT P1 Award winner at the Florida venue in 2022 and last season, McLaughlin was quickest around the 1.8-mile/14-turn temporary street circuit at 1-minute, 1.1020-seconds/106.052 mph in the No. 3 DEX Team Penske Chevrolet. McLaughlin led both the earlier portion of the 85-minute practice for all 25 cars and improved upon that time during the smaller session after the field was divided into two groups. “Decent first…
By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio Phil Krueger, a versatile mechanic and fabricator who made two Indianapolis 500 starts, died on Monday, Feb. 9, 2026 after sustaining injuries from a fall at his home in Freetown, Ind. Mr. Krueger was 74. A native of Milwaukee, Phillip E. Krueger was born on June 22, 1951. Krueger competed in “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” in 1986 and 1988, completing a combined 263 laps around Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s 2.5-mile oval. Krueger qualified the No. 42 Squirt/Moran Electric March/Cosworth 24th in the traditional 33-car field in ‘86 en route to a 31st-place result.…
By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio Led by Alexander Rossi, Ed Carpenter Racing muscled-up against open-wheel powerhouses Team Penske and Chip Ganassi Racing during Day 2 of the Unser INDYCAR Open Test at Phoenix Raceway. Rossi led both sessions Wednesday around the 1-mile oval in Avondale, Ariz., including the fastest overall lap. The 2016 Indianapolis 500 champion, Rossi recorded his top lap of 174.542 mph in the No. 20 ECR Java House Chevrolet during the afternoon session, which started 90 minutes late due to passing sprinkles. Rossi also paced the morning session at 174.444 mph. “We got through everything…
By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio David Malukas delivered a fast first impression with Team Penske during Day 1 of the Unser INDYCAR Open Test at Phoenix Raceway. Malukas was fastest around the 1-mile oval in Avondale, Ariz., at 172.605 mph in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet. Tuesday’s session marked Malukas’ official NTT IndyCar Series debut since exiting A.J. Foyt Racing for Team Penske and the car formerly driven by Will Power. SEE: Day 1 Results | Open Test Entry List “It feels good to be P1, but at the end of the day, we just ran through our test…
By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio Arrow McLaren IndyCar Team has scheduled a fan-friendly, meet-and-greet event leading into next month’s inaugural Java House Grand Prix of Arlington street race. The Arrow McLaren Arlington Fan Fest presented by Mission Foods is booked for Wednesday, March 11, from 4-8 p.m. (CT) at the Arlington Backyard inside the Texas Live! Fans are invited to join the Arrow McLaren IndyCar Team for a kick-off party prior to the headline NTT IndyCar Series race on Sunday, March 15. Arrow McLaren drivers Pato O’Ward, Christian Lundgaard and Nolan Siegel will be on-site and sign autographs at…