Author: John Sturbin

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…

By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio RIVER OAKS – The city where Johnny Rutherford grew up thinking he might want to become a race car driver officially honored him recently with a proclamation and a spirited round of “bench-racing.” Rutherford spent the Month of May at Indianapolis Motor Speedway celebrating the 50th anniversary of the first of his three Indy 500 wins with McLaren Racing. River Oaks Mayor Darren Houk and the City Council responded by inviting “Lone Star J.R.” to its monthly meeting at City Hall. “I can’t tell you how much we appreciate what you mean to this…

By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio Alex Palou remains almost untouchable at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, the picturesque Northern California road-course where the Spaniard scored his second victory in three years in Sunday’s Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey. Palou also assumed the championship point lead in his bid for a third NTT IndyCar Series title with his second victory of the season in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. The two-time/reigning series champ beat native Californian Colton Herta and his No. 26 Gainbridge Honda of Andretti Global with Curb-Agajanian to the finish by 1.9780-seconds. “It was a…

By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio Pole-sitter Alex Palou paced a parade of four Honda-powered drivers atop the speed chart Saturday during qualifying for this afternoon’s Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. Palou secured his second NTT P1 Award of the season and fifth of his NTT IndyCar Series career via a best lap of 1-minute, 7.1465-seconds/119.988 mph in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. A two-time/reigning series champion, Palou is second in the point standings _ five (236-231) behind Will Power of Team Penske. Another two-time series champ, native Australian Power qualified…