Author: John Sturbin

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 _…

By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio Arrow McLaren ace Pato O’Ward confirmed he needs to log laps on the new/old No. 5 Chevrolet he will wheel this weekend at Indianapolis Moto Speedway, beginning with today’s traditional Carb Day practice for the 110th running of the Indianapolis 500. O’Ward’s primary Dallara chassis was damaged in the Turn 2 crash triggered by Alexander Rossi during Monday’s post-qualifying practice for “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.” As has been the case throughout this Month of May, today’s weather forecast is best described as “iffy” during the two-hour window scheduled for 11 a.m. to 1…

By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio Alexander Rossi has been medically cleared to park his crutches long enough to participate in today’s traditional Carb Day practice at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the final dress rehearsal for Sunday’s 110th running of the Indianapolis 500. Miller Lite Carb Day is scheduled from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. (EDT, FS1, FOX One and INDYCAR Radio powered by OnlyBulls). On-track activity also includes the popular Oscar Mayer Indy 500 Pit Stop Challenge from 2:30 to 4 p.m. Rossi suffered injuries to his hand and right foot in a grinding, high-speed crash in Turn 2 during…

By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio A switch to Race Day chassis setups predictably flipped the qualifying script during Monday’s rain-shortened practice for the 110th Indianapolis 500. A pair of two-time Indy 500 champions _ Josef Newgarden and Takuma Sato _ topped the speed chart as they prepped for a possible third visit into Victory Circle after Sunday’s 200-lap/500-mile dash around the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Newgarden _ who qualified a disappointing 23rd in the traditional 33-car field Sunday _ emerged as fastest of the day at 226.198 mph after 34 laps in the No. 2 Shell Fuel Rewards…

By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio FORT WORTH – North Texas’ annual rite of spring for serious “Car Guys” – the Pate Swap Meet – unpacked its 54th edition of SWAG at Texas Motor Speedway over three days in late April. For the uninitiated, SWAG is an acronym for “Stuff We Ain’t Got” – a term coined by veteran motorsports TV personality Dave Despain. It’s a perfect fit for the rows upon rows of items spread out in the main fan parking lot of “The Great American Speedway.” Pate President Robert Wheeless noted this spring’s event added to a…

By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio INDYCAR superstar Alex Palou will chase a second consecutive Indianapolis 500 victory on Sunday from the best seat in the wide world of motorsports at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The mercurial, 29-year-old Spaniard secured his second career pole for “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” during Sunday afternoon’s Firestone Fast Six session via a four-lap/10-mile average speed of 232.248 mph. Palou’s trip around the famed 2.5-mile oval required a quick 2-minutes, 35.0066-seconds. “I have no words,” said Palou, driver of the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. “So, that was incredible. It just feels…

By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio A persistent Midwest rain forced postponement of Day 1 of qualifications for the 110th Indianapolis 500 on Saturday, prompting INDYCAR to update its schedule for PPG Presents Armed Forces Qualifying at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Beginning at noon (EDT) today, all 33 qualifiers will line up based upon Friday’s qualifying draw and have one attempt to post a traditional four-lap/10-mile qualifying speed and the opportunity to advance to subsequent qualifying rounds. SEE: Qualification Order Due to the time parameters required Sunday for “knockout rounds,” initial qualifying runs will determine positions 13-33, with the fastest 12…

By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio Sweden’s Felix Rosenqvist emerged as first driver to top 233 mph at Indianapolis Motor Speedway this week during the traditional “Fast Friday” practice leading into qualifying for the 110th Indianapolis 500. Rosenqvist turned his top lap in 38.5650-seconds/233.372 mph around the 2.5-mile oval late in a session shortened from six hours to five after morning rain forced a two-hour delay to the start of on-track activity. Friday’s practice was the fourth and final session before PPG Presents Armed Forces Qualifying scheduled for Saturday and Sunday. “We started pretty slow, to be honest,” said…

By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio As a four-time Indianapolis 500 champion, Helio Castroneves certainly knows how to successfully navigate 200 laps/500-miles around the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway. However, INDYCAR’s updated qualifying procedure for the 110th edition of “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” is another matter. A field of 33 drivers and cars have been practicing at IMS since Tuesday _ enough entries to keep the traditional car-count intact. However, that also means the drama associated with “Bump Day” during Sunday’s final session of time trials will once again not take place. Enter the revised format announced Monday by…