Author: John Sturbin

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…

By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio With the Month of May almost completely in his rearview mirrors, Alex Palou returned to the business of chasing another NTT IndyCar Series championship Friday in Downtown Motown. Palou entered last year’s Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix on an ethanol high after winning the Sonsio Grand Prix and 109th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Palou qualified on-pole for this month’s separate events on the 2.439-mile IMS Road-Course and famed 2.5-mile oval before finishing fifth and seventh, respectively. SEE: Practice Results The four-time/reigning series champion and current point-leader, Palou drove to the…

By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio Felix Rosenqvist’s last-lap victory dash in the 110th Indianapolis 500 was rewarded Monday by a record $4.34-millon payday, a windfall shared by the workmanlike driver from Sweden and the “little team that could” from Pataskala, Ohio. Indeed, the only two victories in the brief INDYCAR history of Meyer Shank Racing have been scored in “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.” Helio Castroneves earned his record-tying fourth Indy 500 victory in his debut drive at Indianapolis Motor Speedway with MSR in May 2021. The popular Brazilian’s improbable win immediately raised the profile of the organization…

By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio Whenever Felix Rosenqvist dared to dream about winning the Indianapolis 500, this is what he imagined – a last-gasp dash across the Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s Yard of Bricks start/finish line and into open-wheel history. That’s exactly how Rosenqvist, a 34-year-old native of Sweden, won the 110th running of “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” Sunday by 0.0233-seconds over a star-crossed David Malukas. “What an incredible finish,” Rosenqvist said during his post-race presser. “That’s the way I’ve always pictured it in my head for some reason. It was almost like muscle memory when it happened because…

By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio His second Indianapolis 500 victory in May 1976 capped a remarkable three-year run of success for Fort Worth’s Johnny Rutherford and his favorite Papaya Orange McLaren race car at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Fifty years later, “Lone Star J.R.” retains a prominent place in the INDYCAR history of Team McLaren, Ltd. _ and its current iteration, Arrow McLaren _ during “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.” “Well, I suppose, yes,” Rutherford said during a phone interview from IMS this week with racedaySA.com. “I was the first to put McLaren on the map at Indy and they…

By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio Carb Day at Indianapolis Motor Speedway is for sending messages. And the word from two-time Indianapolis 500 champion Josef Newgarden is…he’s sneaky-fast. Newgarden emerged atop the speed chart during Friday’s final practice for the 110th running of the Indianapolis 500 via a top lap of 228.342 mph in the No. 2 Shell Fuel Rewards Team Penske Chevrolet. Recall that Newgarden also paced Monday’s rain-shortened post-qualifying practice at 226.198 mph. Winner of “The Greatest Spectacle In Racing” in 2023 and 2024, Newgarden led an all-Team Chevy top-four. Newgarden’s hot lap _ which took 39.4145-seconds _…