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Fox Sports
a day ago
- Automotive
- Fox Sports
Red-Hot Kyle Kirkwood Can Round Out Resume at Road America
INDYCAR Kyle Kirkwood checked a major personal box last weekend at World Wide Technology Raceway by earning his first victory on an oval in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES. An opportunity to check another box comes Sunday at Road America. To be considered an all-around standout in the series presenting the most diverse set of venue challenges, a driver should excel on street circuits, road courses and oval tracks. Kirkwood has won races at the first two; only a road course win has eluded him – so far. SEE: Event Details Kirkwood is one of 14 drivers scheduled to compete in this weekend's XPEL Grand Prix at Road America Presented by AMR that have won races in this series. Ten of those have won races on all three types of circuits, with series points leader Alex Palou the most recent to join the club with his oval victory in the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge. Hitting for INDYCAR's cycle is important to Kirkwood, who prior to conquering WWTR had only won on street circuits (four times). '(Last weekend's victory) puts a stamp down a little bit more like, 'Hey, this kid might actually be able to contend for a championship and do things,'' the Andretti Global driver said at WWTR. 'Everybody knows you've got to be diverse in this series. You've got to win at multiple circuits. You've got to win at multiple venues. Whether it's a short oval, long oval, street course, road course, whatever it might be, you've got to win at all of them.' The other active drivers with series wins on all three types of circuits are Scott Dixon, Marcus Ericsson, Colton Herta, Scott McLaughlin, Josef Newgarden, Pato O'Ward, Palou, Will Power, Graham Rahal and Alexander Rossi. McLaughlin and Herta joined the group last year with oval victories. Kirkwood's pursuit of the INDYCAR Triple Crown is just one of the many storylines to watch in this weekend's race (Sunday, 1:30 p.m. ET, FOX, FOX Deportes, FOX Sports app, INDYCAR Radio Network). Can Palou Get Back on Track? Palou salvaged an eighth-place finish in last weekend's Bommarito Automotive Group 500 presented by Axalta and Valvoline to somewhat mitigate the points damage created by Kirkwood and O'Ward – his two closest challengers for the season title – finishing first and second, respectively. While Palou's finishes of 25th and eighth in races held this month have allowed some slippage in his points lead, he is still in a commanding position. He leads O'Ward by 73 points and Kirkwood by 75 points, both amounts more than the equivalent of a single race. Nine races remain. Palou should feel confident in his ability to bounce back. The next two races are on road courses where he has combined to win three times and earn a pole (last year at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course). His wins in 2023 at Road America and Mid-Ohio were part of a three-race winning streak. Palou Among Six Road America Winners Unlike last week when there were only three active drivers had won races at WWTR, twice as many drivers will roll into Road America as past winners. Power (2014, 2024), Dixon (2017, 2020), Newgarden (2018, 2022) and Palou (2021, 2023) lead the way with two wins each at the 14-turn, 4.014-mile road course. Rossi (2019) and Felix Rosenqvist (2020) each have one win on the circuit. INDY NXT by Firestone has been racing at the facility since 2016. Among the current INDYCAR SERIES drivers who won races in that series at Road America are Herta (2018), Rinus VeeKay (2019), Kirkwood (2021), David Malukas (2021), Christian Rasmussen (2022) and Nolan Siegel (2023). So, yeah, a lot of drivers know where victory lane is located. Team Penske Swept Last Year's Competitive Race Last year, Roger Penske's three drivers became the first trio in four years to occupy all three steps on the same podium when Power, Newgarden and McLaughlin did so at Road America. Prior to that, Andretti Global went 1-2-3 at Mid-Ohio in 2020 with Herta, Rossi and Ryan Hunter-Reay. While Team Penske walked away with top honors a year ago, the 55-lap race was statistically one of the track's most balanced. Seven drivers exchanged the lead 13 times, both records for the event. Power's victory pushed him to the series lead, which now is noteworthy. No one other than Palou has led the standings after the races since then. Teams Relatively Even With Hybrid Wins The NTT INDYCAR SERIES is soon to celebrate the one-year anniversary of using hybrid technology, and there has been team parity aplenty in that span. Team Penske, Chip Ganassi Racing and Andretti Global each have won five times in the 17 races in the hybrid has been used. Arrow McLaren has won twice. As with most categories over the past year, Palou leads all drivers in hybrid wins with five, Kirkwood has three such wins. Four drivers have won twice (McLaughlin, Power, O'Ward and Herta). Newgarden has won one. Hybrid technology made its debut last July at Mid-Ohio. O'Ward won that race. Road America's Schedule After a two-day show at WWTR, INDYCAR's traditional three-day weekend is back in play at Road America. Friday's practice at 4:30 p.m. ET will be live on FS2, the FOX Sports app and the INDYCAR Radio Network. Saturday, the televised action shifts to FS1 with the second practice at 11 a.m. ET followed by qualifying for the NTT P1 Award at 2:30 p.m. ET. Ahead of Sunday's race on FOX and FOX Deportes is the morning warmup at 10 a.m. on FS1. recommended
Fox Sports
a day ago
- Sport
- Fox Sports
Alex Palou is human after all, but the INDYCAR title still remains his to lose
Alex Palou is in a slump. OK, not really. Palou won five of the first six INDYCAR races — including the Indianapolis 500 — to start the 2025 season before finishes of 25th (when he got wrecked) and eighth in his past two starts. His points lead with nine races remaining has gone from 112 to 73. More finishes like he had his last two weeks and he won't be the 2025 champion as most expected after such a strong start. "You always keep an eye on it, obviously, but I would say that focusing on the championship, that only goes on the last two races, whenever it's like you already know that hopefully you're in the fight or not," Palou said. "Hopefully it's only yourself and three other drivers, and you know what you need to do or you know who you need to fight for." The Chip Ganassi Racing driver, who has won the last two INDYCAR titles and three of the last four, shouldn't sweat too much. The series heads to Road America (Sunday, 1:30 p.m. ET on FOX) this weekend, a track where Palou has two wins on his resume. "The way we got here was by racing hard and going aggressive on strategies and trying to go for wins, and I think that's the way we need to continue racing," Palou said. "Hopefully we can have a look at who we're racing against towards the last two, three races of the year." Palou has a 73-point lead on Pato O'Ward, 75 points on Kyle Kirkwood (whose three wins make him the only driver other than Palou to win this year), 114 on Christian Lundgaard and 129 on six-time champion Scott Dixon. "Now we're fighting against everybody, so it just doesn't really make much sense to count points," Palou said. "It's good to have a look at them when you're leading and see that hopefully we can extend a little bit more the gap." Palou still has what many would say is a comfortable lead. He said he doesn't worry about the last two results when it comes to the standings because, as he said, he hasn't focused on the standings yet. Kirkwood, who lost 24 points because of a postrace technical penalty following the Indianapolis 500, has won the last two races heading into Road America. "It didn't add any pressure at all just because I didn't ever think that it was done or it was ours or anything like that," Palou said. "I knew that we just had a perfect start of the season, and obviously you could see a big point difference. "I expect that it's going to get very tight. It's going to make it interesting. I just hope that we are there at the end to fight for it." Palou isn't looking for a couple of wins to put the competition for the championship in an impossible position to win the title. He's looking for a couple of wins to, well, win races. "We were lacking performance [last week] and we struggled a lot," Palou said. "It's not concerning, like, urgency, but it's obviously not good. ... There's always urgency to win. Nobody likes to see somebody else win. "But I think at the same time, we got used to too much success. Not we as the team, but everybody expects us to win every single weekend. It's not possible, unfortunately. Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR and INDYCAR for FOX Sports. He has spent decades covering motorsports, including over 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass. recommended Get more from NTT INDYCAR SERIES Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more
Newsweek
a day ago
- Automotive
- Newsweek
Arrow McLaren Issues Statement After Driver's Explosive F-Bomb Rant on Live TV
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. The situation during Sunday's IndyCar race at the World Wide Technology Raceway escalated quickly after Nolan Siegel launched an F-word-laden rant at Penske driver Scott McLaughlin. The clash between the two drivers was likely carried forward from the previous race in Detroit, where McLaughlin crashed into Siegel from behind, causing him to get knocked out of the race. McLaughlin was hit with a drive-through penalty for causing the incident. At the WWT Raceway, Siegel tried to block McLaughlin to avoid being lapped. However, he was handed a drive-through penalty for the move, which led to the radio outburst on live TV. He said: Nolan Siegel, driver of the #6 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, looks on during the Carb Day practice prior to the 109th Running of the Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on May 23, 2025 in Indianapolis,... Nolan Siegel, driver of the #6 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, looks on during the Carb Day practice prior to the 109th Running of the Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on May 23, 2025 in Indianapolis, Indiana. More"Bull***t. F****** bull***t. Absolutely not. Absolutely not. He f****** takes me out at the last race and gets to f****** continue? No. F*** that s**t. Tell Penske to go f*** themselves. I want you to talk to them about that penalty. That's f****** bull***t." Now, the Arrow McLaren team has clarified in a statement that Siegel's language "does not reflect who we are as a team." It read: "At Arrow McLaren, we hold ourselves to the highest standards of professionalism, respect and sportsmanship - on and off the track. The language expressed over our radio during this past race weekend does not reflect who we are as a team. "We do not condone that behavior. We've addressed it directly with Nolan, and he is taking responsibility for his actions. Accountability is a core value at Arrow McLaren, and we expect every team member to represent our partners, fans and organization with integrity. "Additionally, we expect our fans and online community to act with respect and civility, and we will not tolerate hate, abuse or discrimination within our social media platforms. It is vital that we collectively maintain a safe and welcoming community for all involved." Siegel posted a video as his Instagram story, apologizing for his rant. He said: "What happened on Sunday, I had an outburst on the radio that should not have happened. "So I just want to apologise to everyone at Arrow McLaren, everyone on the 6 car, all of our partners, all of our fans that are here to support us. "And that was not a proud moment for me. It's something I regret, and it was a mistake. I have a lot of respect for Scott, for Team Penske, for everyone at IndyCar that are doing their jobs to the best of their ability and doing a really good job. "And, yeah, it's a pressure cooker in IndyCar. It's an extremely stressful situation. It was frustrating, and I let that get to me when I shouldn't have. "I'm human. I make mistakes. I made a mistake, and unfortunately, in a series like IndyCar, we're on a big stage, and that happened to be on live TV, and it's not something I'm proud of. I think we all make mistakes. I made one on Sunday, and I'm going to learn from it, and I'm going to move forward." Watch: IndyCar Driver Flips Violently Before Coming Under 'Shower Of Sparks'
Fox Sports
2 days ago
- Automotive
- Fox Sports
Pato O'Ward Stays Confident of Title Hopes as Second Half Approaches
INDYCAR Pato O'Ward certainly wanted to win last weekend's NTT INDYCAR SERIES race at World Wide Technology Raceway, but finishing second allowed him to have an optimistic tone. Nine races remain this season, and he stands second in the championship standings. He has won races at three of the eight venues still to come on the schedule, and he has finished second in races at two of the other tracks. Thus, O'Ward is ready – and eager – for what's to come. 'There's plenty of racing to go,' the Arrow McLaren driver confidently said in the hour after the checkered flag at WWTR. 'So much has happened already, so I expect the same for the next half of the championship.' O'Ward had expected to have won a race this season by now, but that feeling is shared by many of the drivers not named Alex Palou (five wins) or Kyle Kirkwood (three wins). Still, O'Ward has finished second in three of the year's first seven races, the most by any driver, and he is at least within shouting distance of the series lead. He trails Chip Ganassi Racing's Palou by 73 points. Mexican driver O'Ward has distinguished himself as one of the series' top oval-track drivers, particularly on short ovals like Iowa Speedway, which hosts a doubleheader July 12-13, and the Milwaukee Mile, site of the season's penultimate race Aug. 24. The driver of the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet has won at both tracks in the past three years, including the sport's return to Milwaukee race last year. O'Ward also finished second in a 2022 race at Iowa and was second in last year's season-ending race at Nashville Speedway, the other oval track still to come this year. Those results, plus past race wins at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course (last year) and a pair of podium finishes at Road America, the site of this weekend's XPEL Grand Prix at Road America, add to his confidence. 'All we need to do is just keep on our wagon and keep pushing forward, and yeah, we'll see if we're sitting pretty in Nashville,' said O'Ward, who has seven career series race wins. Unfortunately, the challenge of catching and perhaps overtaking Palou for the series lead will be daunting. But O'Ward sees his deficit in a positive light; it could be worse, and it once was. After finishing third in last month's Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge, O'Ward trailed Indy winner Palou by 112 points. O'Ward has gained ground on Palou this month by finishing ahead of him in each of the two races. O'Ward finished seventh and second, Palou finished 25th and eighth. 'The guy has been on a run (with) five wins or something,' O'Ward said of the driver seeking his third consecutive series championship and fourth in five years. 'I've got zero wins – just got a handful of podiums. 'We need to start racking up some wins, and that'll make that points count come down a lot faster than what you're seeing now. I feel like we're just sitting at bay right there just waiting for our run to come, so hopefully that does come to life. 'Yeah, I think it's going to be a tight end to the championship.' Sunday's XPEL Grand Prix at Road America Presented by AMR will be live on FOX, FOX Deportes, the FOX Sports app and the INDYCAR Radio Network beginning at 1:30 p.m. ET. recommended
Newsweek
3 days ago
- Automotive
- Newsweek
Watch: IndyCar Driver Flips Violently Before Coming Under 'Shower Of Sparks'
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. IndyCar driver Josef Newgarden crashed into Louis Foster, causing his own car to flip and land upside down before sliding down the track in a dramatic "shower of sparks." The incident occurred after Foster lost control of his car and came into Newgarden's path during the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 at World Wide Technology (WTT) Raceway in Madison, Illinois. Footage from FOX IndyCar's broadcast shows how the halo saved Newgarden when the car slid down the road in an inverted position. The incident occurred when Foster lost control of his car and made contact with the wall, spinning out and coming down the track. Unfortunately, it was too late for Newgarden to avoid him due to a lack of space. Josef Newgarden flips at WWT Raceway. — INDYCAR on FOX (@IndyCarOnFOX) June 16, 2025 Both drivers received immediate assistance from the safety officials and were taken to the medical center. After he was released from the infield care center, Foster addressed the incident and Newgarden's condition. He said: Josef Newgarden, driver of the #2 Shell Powering Progress Team Penske Chevrolet, looks on during practice prior to the 109th running of the Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on May 19, 2025 in Indianapolis,... Josef Newgarden, driver of the #2 Shell Powering Progress Team Penske Chevrolet, looks on during practice prior to the 109th running of the Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on May 19, 2025 in Indianapolis, Indiana. More"I got a bit of a wiggle ... got a bit too high and went into the marbles," Foster said. "I just couldn't stop the car from spinning and, obviously, a pretty scary impact with myself and Josef. I'm glad he is OK." Newsweek Sports reported another dramatic crash involving Foster from early this month in Detroit. Foster suffered from a front right suspension failure on the fastest section of the circuit, leading him to lose control of his car and clip the barrier. Unfortunately, the momentum meant he went straight into Felix Rosenqvist before sliding down the escape road. Rosenqvist's car was sent into the tire wall with significant force. Foster released a statement on social media after the crash. He said: "Firstly thank you to everyone for all the messages, I am ok. I've talked to Felix and I'm also very happy that he is ok. Massive thank you to the IndyCar medical team and IndyCar as a whole for continuing to put driver safety first. "To explain what happened: on lap 83, approaching T3 at 180mph, my front right suspension failed. This was by far the biggest and scariest crash I've had in my career. I'm very thankful to be able to get out under my own power. "We believe it was caused by a bolt failure on the mounting block, but more internal investigation is required to be sure. "Biggest bummer is that we were on for our season best result, and we led multiple laps, up the front on our strategy. But this is racing, sometimes it doesn't love you back. See you all in two weeks."
