By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio INDYCAR’s second annual Java House Grand Prix of Arlington street race weekend has been confirmed for March 19-21, 2027 as part of “Phase One” of next year’s NTT IndyCar Series schedule. The spring event lineup announced Wednesday includes a launch featuring three straight weekends beginning on the Streets of St. Petersburg, Fla., on Sunday, March 7; Phoenix Raceway on Saturday, March 13 and the Streets of Arlington’s Entertainment District on Sunday, March 21. Overall, INDYCAR announced the dates and locations for the first eight races of the 2027 season. For the third consecutive season,…
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 Alex Palou’s relentless rewrite of the INDYCAR record book added another entry Sunday, when the Spaniard combined pure pace and tire management to win the OnlyBulls Grand Prix of Portland in Oregon. Palou, 29, closed in on his record-tying fourth consecutive NTT IndyCar Series championship and fifth title overall via his sixth victory of the season and 25th of his mercurial career. Driver of the No. 10 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, Palou finished 4.1167-seconds in front of NTT P1 Award-winner Felix Rosenqvist in the No. 60 SiriusXM Honda of Meyer Shank Racing with…
By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio INDYCAR’s new-for-28 NTT IndyCar Series IR-28 chassis package will undergo its first on-track validation tests this weekend on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road-Course. Series regulars Alex Palou and Alexander Rossi are scheduled to turn hot laps on the 2.439-mile/14-turn layout that incorporates 3,700-feet of the 2.5-mile IMS oval’s front stretch. Unveiled Tuesday, the new chassis and powertrain package features a modernized look designed to provide faster lap times and improved race-ability in a bid to create more wheel-to-wheel action. The latest chassis from Dallara Automobili is touted as the safest car ever produced for…
By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio INDYCAR has fast-forwarded to 2028 with the official unveiling of its new NTT IndyCar Series chassis and powertrain package. The modernized IR-28 is designed to provide faster lap times, more wheel-to-wheel competition and the safest open-wheel car ever. Working in collaboration with Dallara on the IR-28 chassis, the new car will make its competition debut at the start of the 2028 NTT IndyCar Series championship. First renderings of the IR-28 were shared Tuesday morning in Indianapolis via a video narrated by Matt Damon, Academy Award winner and star of the box office hit…
By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio Alex Palou’s path to another Astor Challenge Cup trophy haul looms considerably shorter following his victory in the rain-delayed Borchetta Bourbon Music City Grand Prix presented by OnlyBulls at Nashville Superspeedway in Lebanon, Tenn. Palou, the four-time/reigning NTT IndyCar Series champion from Chip Ganassi Racing, has amassed an 83-point lead _ a gap of more than one full race _ over Team Penske’s David Malukas via his fifth victory of the season and 24th of his mercurial career. Six races remain on the schedule as Palou attempts to earn a record-tying fourth consecutive series…
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.…