By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio Two-time NTT IndyCar Series champion Josef Newgarden insisted Friday he is neither a cheater nor a liar, denying he intentionally manipulated the push-to-pass system in his Team Penske car en route to victory in the season-opening street race in St. Petersburg, Fla. Newgarden’s victory in the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on March 10 was wiped from the record book by sanctioning body INDYCAR on Wednesday _ first disqualification by the series in 29 years. The reigning Indianapolis 500 champion, Newgarden addressed the festering issue prior to the opening practice for Sunday’s Children’s…
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 Major rules infractions committed by Team Penske have negated Josef Newgarden’s victory in INDYCAR’s season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, the sanctioning body announced Wednesday morning. The penalties levelled against Team Penske include disqualifications for Newgarden’s No. 2 Chevrolet and Scott McLaughlin’s No. 3 Chevrolet, as well as a 10-point penalty against Will Power’s No. 12 Chevrolet during the Florida street race conducted on Sunday, March 10. Newgarden’s DQ has handed a belated victory to Pato O’Ward, driver of the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet. Power was awarded second with Colton Herta of…
By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio Scott Dixon reaffirmed his position as “greatest open-wheel driver of this generation” Sunday afternoon, winning INDYCAR’s 40th edition of the Acura Long Beach Grand Prix via a cerebral combination of patience and aggression. The NTT IndyCar Series’ master of fuel-saving, Dixon completed the last 34 laps of the 85-lap/167.28-mile street event on one tank of Shell 100 percent Renewable Race Fuel to hold off a charging Colton Herta _ running a more conventional, less risky fuel strategy _ by 0.9798-seconds. “That was tough; that was really tough,” said Dixon, driver of the No.…
By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio Overdue for an NTT INDYCAR SERIES victory, Arrow McLaren ace Pato O’Ward promptly paced Friday’s opening practice for Sunday’s Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. O’Ward turned a top lap of 1-minute, 6.6874-seconds/106.239 mph in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet on the 1.968-mile/11-turn temporary street circuit. O’Ward, who finished second in the season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg (Fla.) presented by RP Funding, is chasing his first series victory since July 2022 at Iowa Speedway. That’s a winless stretch of 24 races. “The car is in the window, and we’ve been…
By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio FORT WORTH _ The maturation of NASCAR favorite son Chase Elliott was on full display Sunday during a post-race presser at Texas Motor Speedway 18 months _ and one snowboarding wipeout _ in the making. Elliott snapped a nagging, 42-race Cup Series winless streak with a double-overtime/green-white-checkered flag victory over Brad Keselowski in the AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400 that undoubtedly thrilled his devotees and temporarily at least silenced his detractors. And in the process of dissecting his day with the media, Elliott acknowledged that his 19th career Cup victory was mostly about “the journey.”…
Chase Elliott wins in double overtime, snaps 42-race winless streak at Texas Motor Speedway.
By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio FORT WORTH _ Kyle Larson added another “first” to his NASCAR Cup Series resume at Texas Motor Speedway, where he qualified on-pole for Sunday’s AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400. Larson toured TMS’ high-banked/1.5-mile oval Saturday morning in 28.366-seconds at 190.369 mph in the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 fielded by Hendrick Motorsports. Larson’s 19th pole in 340 Cup races was his third consecutive of the season and sixth top-10 start. Remarkably, it’s Larson’s first Busch Pole Award in 17 races at “The Great American Speedway.” Larson’s lap pipped Ty Gibbs’ run of 28.401-seconds at…
Winner of three of the season’s first eight NASCAR Cup Series races, William Byron has emerged as an April-early favorite for the 2024 championship.
By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio FORT WORTH – Kyle Busch added to his NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series legacy Friday night with a dominant, record-tying victory in the SpeedyCash.com 250 at Texas Motor Speedway. Busch scored his NCTS-best 66th career victory after a spirited, late-race battle with rising stars Corey Heim and Nick Sanchez. Busch held off Heim by 0.112-seconds after a series of cautions in the scheduled 167-lapper around TMS’ high-banked/1.5-mile oval. Busch’s sixth victory moved him into a tie with Todd Bodine for most NCTS wins at “The Great American Speedway.” Earlier Friday, Busch had qualified fourth…
By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio FORT WORTH – NASCAR Xfinity Series rookie Jesse Love certainly knows how to get to the point. Love notched his third pole of the 2024 season Friday afternoon at Texas Motor Speedway in his latest bid to bag his first series victory in Saturday afternoon’s Andy’s Frozen Custard 300. Love toured TMS’ high-banked/1.5-mile oval in 29.093-seconds at 185.612 mph to secure P1 in the No. 2 Whelen Chevrolet Camaro fielded by Richard Childress Racing. A 19-year-old native of Menlo Park, Calif., Love previously qualified first in his initial two series starts _ at Daytona…