IndyCar

The seven-time NASCAR Cup champion was contesting his first Indy 500 and only his second oval race in an open-wheeler after adding ovals to his road-course-only 2021 schedule. After a strong Month of May for the five-car Ganassi squad, with his four team-mates making the Fast Six pole shootout, Johnson impressed by qualifying 12th. In

Ericsson had picked up the lead following the final series of pitstops, moving past O’Ward as the Mexican driver rejoined behind Arrow McLaren SP team-mate Felix Rosenqvist. This was after Scott Dixon, who had led the majority of laps in the race, was caught speeding in the pitlane on his final stop and thus had

Following the final round of stops, in which his Chip Ganassi Racing team-mate Scott Dixon had led 95 laps but was penalised for speeding in the pitlane, Ericsson emerged in third behind the two Arrow McLaren SP cars of Felix Rosenqvist and Pato O’Ward. But he passed the pair of them to take the lead,

Ericsson, who had been leading by three seconds before the red flag came out for Jimmie Johnson’s shunt, employed a series of weaving defensive manoeuvres down the straight over the final two lap shootout to stave off the Arrow McLaren SP driver’s attack over the penultimate lap. But on the exit of Turn 4 the

How has the prize fund for the Indy 500 evolved? Since its first running in 1911, the winner’s take-home cheque has ballooned from the $14,250 that Ray Harroun received that year.  Over time, some serious financial barriers were broken, notably in 1957 when Sam Hanks took home $103k, Danny Sullivan’s famous spin-and-win in 1985 was

The famous event was first run in 1911, so picking out the best editions was a tough task. Among those to miss out are Takuma Sato’s storming drive to victory in 2017 – a year when Honda engines had a considerable engine advantage over Chevrolet – Jacques Villeneuve profiting from Scott Goodyear passing the pace

America’s biggest race has largely been won by homegrown talents, or at least competitors from the regular IndyCar series, but Formula 1 does have its place in Indy 500 history. In particular, an F1 invasion in the 1960s changed American single-seater racing forever. In this episode of “Short View Back to the Past”, Autosport chief

The 36-year-old Andretti Autosport driver, who scored 10 podium finishes in F1 before switching to IndyCar for the 2021 season, will be making only his third oval start in the Indy 500. He made his oval debut at Gateway’s 1.25-mile World Wide Technology Raceway last year, finishing 14th, and retired due to mechanical dramas at

The 24th Indy 500, held in 1936, was the first to feature the Borg-Warner Trophy as the award for the winner, and the first time the winner was given the official pace car. But it’s what winner Louis Meyer did immediately after the race that initiated the most unusual of traditions. Meyer, born in Manhattan and

Following his win at Barber Motorsports Park earlier this month, O’Ward hinted a new deal was imminent and this was confirmed by McLaren CEO Zak Brown mere days later.  Prior to Sunday’s Indianapolis 500, which O’Ward will start from seventh position, the team confirmed that the 23-year-old Mexican would indeed be staying on. “I am incredibly

Shell’s new fuel will consist of a blend of second-generation ethanol derived from sugarcane waste and other biofuels. Currently, the fuel used by IndyCar is a variation of E85, which contains 85% ethanol and 15% high-octane racing fuel. The new renewable fuel offers at least a 60% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions compared to the

“I never felt I won anything before I had actually won it, except one time,” says 1999 Indianapolis 500 winner Kenny Brack, “and that was when I made the comeback to Indy in 2005.” Brack had broken both ankles, a leg, his sternum and back in the 2003 Indy Racing League crash at Texas that

Power and his Team Penske Chevrolet team-mates Josef Newgarden and Scott McLaughlin will roll off 11th, 14th and 26th on Sunday, which means all are starting from the middle of their respective rows on the 11-rows-of-three grid. Power will have feisty former winner Takuma Sato to his left and Indy 500 rookie Jimmie Johnson to

McLaughlin, like team-mate Josef Newgarden, pulled his time to try and improve and join team-mate Will Power in the Top 12 segment after setting the 15th-fastest time with his first qualifying run on Saturday, held in the heat of the day. But in dense, muggy air that followed a rainstorm, his car had too much

After the thrill of seeing the 2008 Indy 500 winner nail a record-breaking lap to take his fifth pole position for the championship’s most famous event, it’s time for the main business to begin. If that sounds like it’s trivialising the efforts of all the teams last week, it isn’t: the thing is, it’s almost

Rossi confirmed to Autosport his new contract could not be disclosed at this stage for legal reasons, leaving questions open about whether he is continuing with Andretti Autosport or making a switch to Arrow McLaren SP. Asked what was his priority when weighing up options for a new deal, the 2016 Indy 500 winner said:

Under the programme, dubbed ‘Project 91,’ Trackhouse Racing will enter the #91 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 at least once during the remainder of this Cup season with plans to expand it in the future. The first international driver to participate in the program will be announced with the next few days. Previous international drivers in the

Dixon’s four-lap average around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway was 234.046mph, making it the fastest ever pole run in Indy history, and the second fastest run of all time. (Arie Luyendyk’s famous 236mph run in 1996 was not set on Pole Day). The six-time champion praised the whole Ganassi operation for that achievement, and also for

The air at Indianapolis Motor Speedway was dense and relatively still this morning, vastly different from yesterday’s hot and gusty conditions, and the speeds reflected this as drivers attempted four-lap qualifying simulation runs. In Group 1, Jimmie Johnson turned the fastest lap with the aid of a tow, a 233.961mph, and turned a 233.7 four-lap

Pato O’Ward made the initial run with an average of 233.037mph, but it was eclipsed by the very next runner, VeeKay. The Ed Carpenter Racing driver, who started fourth and third for his first two Indy 500s, delivered an opening lap of 234.702mph, and although his fourth lap dropped to 232.655mph, his average was a

Sato, who led practice on the opening day before Wednesday’s running was called off due to rain, put the Dale Coyne Racing car on top of the speed charts with a lap of 227.519mph, just 39.5572s around the iconic 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Endorsing the promise shown by the Coyne cars in traffic was his

Last season Helio Castroneves joined an exclusive club of four-time winners, and now sits alongside the likes of AJ Foyt, Rick Mears and Al Unser as the most successful drivers to compete at the Brickyard. Many will be trying to stop him from claiming win number five this year, including reigning IndyCar champion Alex Palou

Dixon lies fifth in the championship after the first five rounds of the season and only 34 points off the lead, but has yet to finish higher than fifth in a race. He had to come back from a lap down after running out of fuel in last weekend’s Grand Prix of Indianapolis to finish

Dale Coyne’s team has a history of fast cars around Indianapolis Motor Speedway, but Sato is the first driver to have arrived at the team having already scored triumphs in the Memorial Day Weekend classic and therefore having knowledge of what it takes to succeed there. Sato was second fastest in the test here in

Castroneves went on to score the fourth, record-matching Indy 500 win of his career, while Palou finished half a second down, but believes he learned a lot during his battle with the Brazilian veteran. “There was a lot I was able to learn just because it was my first time doing some stuff like defending,

Japanese veteran Sato ran only four laps in the morning’s two hour session, unhappy with the aero balance of his car, but shone in the afternoon to top the timesheets at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The 2017 and 2020 Indy winner got a strong tow from several cars on his 63rd of 64 laps and lapped

Daly finished fifth in a chaotic race hampered by changeable weather, that was made worse by visibility issues when peering through the aeroscreen, fitted to his Ed Carpenter Racing entry.  Daly reported he had water building up around the dividing ridge in the centre of his aeroscreen in the worst of the wet conditions in

Despite starting from 14th, Herta ended up leading 50 of the 75 laps, on his way to victory in a chaotic weather affected race held on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. The race started in wet conditions but Herta quickly switched to the red walled slicks on lap 3 before rain showers doused the

The Andretti Autosport driver led 50 of the 75 laps completed before the race hit its two-hour maximum duration. He headed Simon Pagenaud, who scored his best result since switching from Team Penske to Meyer Shank Racing over the off-season, while polesitter Will Power (Penske) took the lead of the championship by finishing third. With a

After the second practice session on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s 2.439-mile road course, 18 of the 27 cars finished within half a second of top spot, so small mistakes were expected to be costly in qualifying. Power took pole in the Fast Six shootout by a mere 0.042s ahead of reigning champion Alex Palou (Chip