Latest news with #FirestoneFirehawk
Fox Sports
an hour ago
- Automotive
- Fox Sports
Rookie Louis Foster Earns First Career Pole at Road America
INDYCAR First, it was Robert Shwartzman at Indianapolis. Now it's Louis Foster's turn. Foster became the second rookie to earn an NTT P1 Award this season, grabbing his first career NTT INDYCAR SERIES pole for the XPEL Grand Prix of Road America Presented by AMR with a stunning lap of 1 minute, 44.5141 seconds Saturday in the No. 45 Droplight/Desnuda Tequila Honda of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. Foster's best previous start this season was third at the Sonsio Grand Prix in May on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. SEE: Qualifying Results 2024 INDY NXT by Firestone champion Foster became the first rookie to claim an NTT INDYCAR SERIES pole for a road course or street circuit race since Linus Lundqvist won the top spot for this race last year. Shwartzman shocked the racing world in May by becoming the first rookie since 1983 to win the Indianapolis 500 pole. Foster's pole marked the first INDYCAR SERIES season with two rookie pole winners since 2019, when Felix Rosenqvist and Colton Herta achieved the feat. 'I said to the guys as we got into the Fast 12 to not put reds (Firestone Firehawk alternate tires) on because I wasn't confident we would make it through to the Fast Six,' Foster said. 'Boy, was I wrong. Absolutely awesome. The 45 crew has been amazing all weekend. 'Couldn't ask for a better start to the weekend. I still can't believe it. We went fast on old and new (tires). I'm going to celebrate well tonight.' The 55-lap race starts at 1:30 p.m. ET Sunday (FOX, FOX Deportes, FOX Sports app, INDYCAR Radio Network). A 25-minute warmup session will precede the race at 10 a.m. ET (FS1, FOX Sports app, INDYCAR Radio Network). Championship leader Alex Palou rebounded from two consecutive races off the top three finishers' podium by qualifying second at 1:44.6300 in the No. 10 SOLO Cup Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. Kyle Kirkwood, who has won the last two races, qualified third at 1:44.8523 in the No. 27 Siemens Honda of Andretti Global. Scott McLaughlin will join him in Row 2 of the starting grid after qualifying fourth at 1:45.0137 in the No. 3 XPEL Team Penske Chevrolet. Christian Lundgaard, quickest in pre-qualifying practice Saturday morning, will start fifth after his best lap of 1:45.0828 in the No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet. Graham Rahal qualified sixth at 1:45.4877 in the No. 15 Hendrickson International Honda as Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing was the only team to place two drivers into the Firestone Fast Six in the three-segment qualifying format. Pato O'Ward, second in points, qualified 11th at 1:45.3704 in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet. O'Ward trails Palou by 73 points, while Kirkwood is third, 75 back of the leader. The six drivers in the Firestone Fast Six final segment used an interesting mix of tire strategies to try and cope with air temperatures tickling the 90s and track temperatures in the triple digits on the 14-turn, 4.014-mile circuit. Foster got the pole job done on lightly used Firestone Firehawk alternate tires and was the only driver in the Firestone Fast Six to not use the harder, more durable primary tires during any of the three segments. Palou opted for scuffed alternates before using new alternates on his final laps. Rahal was the only one of the six drivers to use primary tires in the last segment as he did not run the harder, more durable tire in either of the first two segments. recommended
Fox Sports
an hour ago
- Automotive
- Fox Sports
Rookie Louis Foster Earns First Career Pole in Road America Qualifying
INDYCAR First, it was Robert Shwartzman at Indianapolis. Now it's Louis Foster's turn. Foster became the second rookie to earn an NTT P1 Award this season, grabbing his first career NTT INDYCAR SERIES pole for the XPEL Grand Prix of Road America Presented by AMR with a stunning lap of 1 minute, 44.5141 seconds Saturday in the No. 45 Droplight/Desnuda Tequila Honda of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. Foster's best previous start this season was third at the Sonsio Grand Prix in May on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. SEE: Qualifying Results 2024 INDY NXT by Firestone champion Foster became the first rookie to claim an NTT INDYCAR SERIES pole for a road course or street circuit race since Linus Lundqvist won the top spot for this race last year. Shwartzman shocked the racing world in May by becoming the first rookie since 1983 to win the Indianapolis 500 pole. Foster's pole marked the first INDYCAR SERIES season with two rookie pole winners since 2019, when Felix Rosenqvist and Colton Herta achieved the feat. 'I said to the guys as we got into the Fast 12 to not put reds (Firestone Firehawk alternate tires) on because I wasn't confident we would make it through to the Fast Six,' Foster said. 'Boy, was I wrong. Absolutely awesome. The 45 crew has been amazing all weekend. 'Couldn't ask for a better start to the weekend. I still can't believe it. We went fast on old and new (tires). I'm going to celebrate well tonight.' The 55-lap race starts at 1:30 p.m. ET Sunday (FOX, FOX Deportes, FOX Sports app, INDYCAR Radio Network). A 25-minute warmup session will precede the race at 10 a.m. ET (FS1, FOX Sports app, INDYCAR Radio Network). Championship leader Alex Palou rebounded from two consecutive races off the top three finishers' podium by qualifying second at 1:44.6300 in the No. 10 SOLO Cup Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. Kyle Kirkwood, who has won the last two races, qualified third at 1:44.8523 in the No. 27 Siemens Honda of Andretti Global. Scott McLaughlin will join him in Row 2 of the starting grid after qualifying fourth at 1:45.0137 in the No. 3 XPEL Team Penske Chevrolet. Christian Lundgaard, quickest in pre-qualifying practice Saturday morning, will start fifth after his best lap of 1:45.0828 in the No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet. Graham Rahal qualified sixth at 1:45.4877 in the No. 15 Hendrickson International Honda as Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing was the only team to place two drivers into the Firestone Fast Six in the three-segment qualifying format. Pato O'Ward, second in points, qualified 11th at 1:45.3704 in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet. O'Ward trails Palou by 73 points, while Kirkwood is third, 75 back of the leader. The six drivers in the Firestone Fast Six final segment used an interesting mix of tire strategies to try and cope with air temperatures tickling the 90s and track temperatures in the triple digits on the 14-turn, 4.014-mile circuit. Foster got the pole job done on lightly used Firestone Firehawk alternate tires and was the only driver in the Firestone Fast Six to not use the harder, more durable primary tires during any of the three segments. Palou opted for scuffed alternates before using new alternates on his final laps. Rahal was the only one of the six drivers to use primary tires in the last segment as he did not run the harder, more durable tire in either of the first two segments. recommended
Fox Sports
a day ago
- Automotive
- Fox Sports
Kyle Kirkwood Turns Up Heat in First Road America Practice
INDYCAR Two heat waves are arriving this weekend at the XPEL Grand Prix at Road America Presented by AMR. One is a weather system expected to hike air temperatures into the mid-90s Saturday and Sunday at the iconic Road America circuit in Wisconsin. The other is named Kyle Kirkwood. SEE: Practice Results Kirkwood, who has won the last two NTT INDYCAR SERIES races, continued his hot form Friday by leading the first practice with a top lap of 1 minute, 44.9881 seconds in the No. 27 Siemens Honda fielded by Andretti Global. Kirkwood is third in the series standings, two points behind second-place Pato O'Ward and 75 behind leader Alex Palou. 'Good start,' Kirkwood said. 'Definitely a session that was hindered a little bit by the red and the timing (of red flag). Happy to be quick once again here. We were quick last year, so I guess that's a good positive to take away from today, and hopefully that trend continues. 'But the weather is going to be so much different tomorrow that I'm not sure what we learned from today is going to be applicable tomorrow or the next day. We'll see what happens.' The air temperature, in the low 80s Friday, is expected to climb at least 10 degrees into the mid-90s Saturday and Sunday. That will reduce the grip of the Firestone Firehawk tires and test the stamina of drivers. Devlin DeFrancesco, 25th in points, ended up a surprising second at 1:45.1414 in the No. 30 Manitou Group Honda of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. Team Penske began its rebound from a tough event last Sunday night at World Wide Technology Raceway by placing third and fourth on the 14-turn, 4.014-mile natural-terrain road course. Reigning Road America winner Will Power was third at 1:45.1795 in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet, while two-time Road America winner Josef Newgarden was fourth at 1:45.2228 in the No. 2 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet. Christian Lundgaard rounded out the top five at 1:45.2246 in the No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet. Scott McLaughlin helped Penske's recovery by clocking in sixth at 1:45.3191 in the No. 3 XPEL Team Penske Chevrolet. McLaughlin, Newgarden and Power finished 24th, 25th and 27th, respectively, last Sunday night on the oval at WWTR. Championship leader Palou was ninth at 1:45.3664 in the No. 10 SOLO Cup Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. Palou led with seven minutes left in the 75-minute session, but nearly the entire field pitted late for Firestone Firehawk alternate tires, which provide more grip and speed but have less durability. That shuffled the order considerably until the checkered flag, although a red flag with five minutes left caused by a trip into the Turn 1 gravel by 2019 Road America winner Alexander Rossi in the No. 20 ECR Java House Chevrolet interrupted some late attempts to dash up the speed charts. Up next is pre-qualifying practice at 11 a.m. ET Saturday, followed by NTT P1 Award qualifying at 2:30 p.m. ET. FS1, the FOX Sports app and the INDYCAR Radio Network will provide live coverage. The 55-lap race starts at 1:30 p.m. ET Sunday (FOX, FOX Deportes, FOX Sports app, INDYCAR Radio Network). recommended
Fox Sports
01-06-2025
- Automotive
- Fox Sports
Dennis Hauger Runs from Chaos To Win in Detroit, Pad Points Lead
INDYCAR Dennis Hauger quickly figured out the best way to avoid potential and real chaos Sunday in the INDY NXT by Firestone Detroit Grand Prix – stay out front. Pole sitter Hauger, from Norway, led all 45 laps of the race on the streets of downtown Detroit in the No. 28 Rental Group car for his fourth victory in five races this season in the INDYCAR development series. He held off the No. 76 HMD Motorsports car of 2024 series Rookie of the Year Caio Collet by 1.0460 seconds in a one-lap dash for the checkered flag after a restart at the end of Lap 44. SEE: Race Results 'The tires, they cool down really quickly, so that last lap was sketchy,' Hauger said. 'I think I heated up the tires nicely, and we got a good gap after the back straight. 'Super happy with that. We kept it clean, and we got a good win today.' Hauger expanded his series lead to 38 points over fellow rookie teammate Lochie Hughes, who is the only other driver to win a race this season. Rookie Juan Manuel Correa earned his career-best finish of third in the No. 39 HMD Motorsports car. His previous best result was 14th in the second race of the Indianapolis road course doubleheader last month. Series veteran Josh Pierson completed a solid day for HMD Motorsports, which fielded the cars that finished second, third and fourth, with a fourth-place result in the team's No. 16 machine. Hughes rallied from a late pit stop due to a damaged front wing to round out the top five in the No. 26 McGinley Clinic/USF Pro Championship car. Just six of the 20 cars in the race finished on the lead lap, as the tight confines of the nine-turn, 1.645-mile temporary circuit on the streets of downtown Detroit induced chaos nearly from the green flag. At the start, Hauger and Hughes raced side by side into the first turn, with Hauger clinging to the top spot. In Turn 4 on the same lap, the No. 99 Abel/Force Indy car of Myles Rowe was sent into a spin due to rear contact from the No. 17 car of teammate Callum Hedge. That incident spawned a caution period due to a bottleneck that blocked the track and led to an accordion effect of collisions, with nine cars involved and many suffering damage. Hauger held steady on the restart on Lap 3 and gradually eased away from Hughes and Andretti Global teammate Salvador de Alba in the No. 27 Grupo Indi machine. De Alba passed Hughes for second place on Lap 5 and stayed within four-tenths of a second of Hauger by Lap 10. But Hauger expanded his lead to 1.5 seconds by Lap 19 as de Alba, Hughes, Collet and Correa dueled – often side by side – for second through fifth. There was some contact, and the front wings on the cars of Hughes and de Alba were damaged. The wing damage, which also included rubbing a deep groove into his right front Firestone Firehawk tire, forced de Alba to pit from second place on Lap 24. Hauger had all but checked out up front by then, ahead by 6.5 seconds. Hughes' front-wing damage compromised his car's performance, and Collet passed him for second on Lap 38. Hughes was forced to pit for a front wing change on Lap 39 from third place. It looked like Hauger was going to canter to the checkered flag, as his lead had reached double digits by Lap 40. But Jordan Missig spun exiting Turn 2 on Lap 41 in the No. 48 Abel Motorsports car, triggering the second and final caution of the race and erasing Hauger's big lead. The field lined up for a final restart and one-lap shootout at the end of Lap 44, but Hauger got a big jump at the green and never was threatened by Collet or Correa. The next INDY NXT by Firestone race is Sunday, June 15 at World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, Illinois, just across the Mississippi River from St. Louis. It's the first of four oval races this season for the series. recommended
Fox Sports
31-05-2025
- Automotive
- Fox Sports
Colton Herta Keeps Andretti Global Rolling with Motor City Pole
INDYCAR While it appeared since the first practice Andretti Global was a favorite for the pole position for the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear, Colton Herta ended the suspense about which one of the team's drivers would end up on top. Herta repeated as the NTT P1 Award winner for this race on the streets of downtown Detroit, earning his first pole of the season and 15th of his NTT INDYCAR SERIES career with a best lap of 1 minute, .4779 of a second in the No. 26 Gainbridge Honda during the Firestone Fast Six. SEE: Qualifying Results The pole came after a bit of a gamble in the final qualifying segment Saturday, as Herta was the only driver to start the session on used primary Firestone Firehawk tires before switching to a new set of the softer but grippier alternate tires early in the session. The other five drivers ran the entire Firestone Fast Six session on a combination of new and used Firestone Firehawk alternates. 'It was such an unknown, and we were not really strong, to be completely honest, yesterday with the softer tires,' Herta said. 'The guys did a great job overnight. The Gainbridge Honda was super fast today. 'Happy to start P1 tomorrow – the best seat in the house. Now we just need a nice, easy race – no yellows, go back to how it was before Indy – and make it easy on us.' Up next is the warm-up session at 9:30 a.m. ET Sunday (FS1, FOX Sports app, INDYCAR Radio Network), followed by the 100-lap race at 12:30 p.m. ET (FOX, FOX Sports app, INDYCAR Radio Network). David Malukas continued his recent hot streak for A.J. Foyt Enterprises, following his runner-up finish in the 109th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge last Sunday with a career best-tying second qualifying spot at 1:00.6492 in the No. 4 Clarience Technologies Chevrolet. That was Malukas' best career qualifying performance on a road or street circuit, as his two previous second-place starts came on ovals. Kyle Kirkwood continued the strong weekend for Andretti Global by qualifying third at 1:00.7312 in the No. 27 Siemens AWS Honda. Kirkwood led practice Friday, while Herta paced the practice session this morning on the nine-turn, 1.645-mile street circuit. Christian Lundgaard will join Kirkwood in Row 2 after qualifying fourth at 1:00.8938 in the No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet. Starting on the inside of Row 3 will be Graham Rahal, who qualified fifth at 1:01.0651 in the No. 15 JJ Curran Crane Company Honda. That strong effort continued Rahal Letterman Lanigan's recent unlocking of more speed on circuits with left and right turns, as Rahal qualified second earlier this month for the Sonsio Grand Prix on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. Series points leader Alex Palou rounded out the Firestone Fast Six at 1:01.4680 in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. Palou has won five of the first six races this season, including the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge last Sunday for his first career oval victory. While sixth tied Palou's second-worst qualifying performance this season, it was a solid recovery from the first two practices in which he ranked 15th and 12th, respectively. Palou leads second-place Pato O'Ward of Arrow McLaren by a staggering 112 points – more than two races' worth – after just six of 17 races this season. O'Ward failed to advance out of the first round of qualifying and will start 18th in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet. recommended
