Latest news with #WillPower
Fox Sports
20 hours ago
- Automotive
- Fox Sports
Favorites and Sleepers: Road America
INDYCAR Winning nine of the 10 races since the NTT INDYCAR SERIES returned to Road America in 2016, Chip Ganassi Racing and Team Penske are the organizations to beat. Alexander Rossi's win for Andretti Global in 2019 is the lone exception. CGR boasts five wins in that span, including four victories in the last six tries. Also, CGR driver Alex Palou is 3-for-3 on natural terrain road courses this season with victories at The Thermal Club, Barber Motorsports Park and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. Team Penske has four wins at Road America since 2016, including a sweep of the podium last season with Will Power, Josef Newgarden and Scott McLaughlin finishing first, second and third, respectively. Can anyone new join the fray for Sunday's 55-lap XPEL Grand Prix at Road America Presented by AMR? Live coverage starts at 1:30 p.m. ET on FOX, FOX Deportes, FOX Sports app and the INDYCAR Radio Network. Favorites Josef Newgarden (No. 2 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet) Newgarden has six top-three finishes in his last nine Road America tries. He led 32 laps but suffered a mechanical failure while leading on a late-race restart in 2021. He led 26 laps in his 2022 win and finished runner-up the last two years. Scott McLaughlin (No. 3 XPEL Team Penske Chevrolet) He's 0-for-4 at Road America but has finishes of 14th, seventh, eighth and third, respectively. McLaughlin led 18 laps last year. Over his last 16 natural road course starts, McLaughlin has five podiums, six top-five finishes and 11 top 10's. Pato O'Ward (No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet) O'Ward has five top-10 finishes in his last six Road America starts, including a third-place finish after qualifying second in 2023. He finished runner-up to Palou at The Thermal Club and on the IMS road course. O'Ward also has three podium finishes in the last four races this season. Alex Palou (No. 10 Solo Cup Chip Ganassi Racing Honda) Palou is undefeated on natural road courses this season and has a pair of wins in his last four Road America starts. He finished fourth last year. Will Power (No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet) Power had four top-five finishes at Road America, including a 2016 win and a pair of runner-up results, in a five-year span. He's had two over the last five, including a 2024 victory. Power finished sixth at The Thermal Club this spring, fifth at Barber Motorsports Park and third on the IMS road course. Sleepers Christian Lundgaard (No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet) In three Road America starts, Lundgaard finished 10th in 2022, seventh in 2023 and 11th last year. In his first season driving with Arrow McLaren, Lundgaard has been strong on natural road courses by finishing third at The Thermal Club, second at Barber Motorsports Park and 16th on the IMS road course. Colton Herta (No. 26 Gainbridge Honda) The Andretti Global driver led 33 laps from the pole in 2023 at Road America. If not for the decision to pit a lap too soon, Herta was well on his way to a victory. Instead, he finished second. Herta has seven top-eight finishes in as many Road America starts, including five of the last six ending in the top five. Also, since the start of last season, Herta has eight top-eight finishes in nine natural road course starts. The outlier was a 25th-place finish in this year's Sonsio Grand Prix on the IMS road course. Kyle Kirkwood (No. 27 Siemens Honda) Can he score the season hat trick of wins on a street circuit, oval and road course? Kirkwood has improved all three opportunities at Road America, going from 20th as a rookie for AJ Foyt Racing in 2022, to ninth and fifth, respectively, the last two seasons with Andretti Global. Kirkwood also finished eighth in The Thermal Club this season, 11th at Barber and eighth on the IMS road course, leading to nine consecutive top-11 finishes on natural road courses. Marcus Ericsson (No. 28 Fresh Connect Central Honda) Ericsson boasts six consecutive top-10 finishes at Road America, including results of fourth, sixth, second, sixth and ninth, respectively, in his last five starts in Wisconsin. Ericsson has four top-10 finishes in his last seven natural road course starts overall. Marcus Armstrong (No. 66 SiriusXM/Root Insurance Honda) Road America was the site of Armstrong's breakout performance in 2023. He had a top-five car, leading five laps, before going off track late in the race. He qualified third last year, but a mechanical failure relegated him to 26th. Armstrong was seventh at The Thermal Club, 17th at Barber and seventh on the IMS road course. He also has three top-10 finishes in the last four races this season. recommended
New York Times
a day ago
- Automotive
- New York Times
How to watch the 2025 IndyCar XPEL Grand Prix at the iconic Road America
As the NTT IndyCar season hits its midpoint, three names top the marquee for Sunday's XPEL Grand Prix at Road America: reigning series champion Álex Palou, two-time Elkhart Lake winner Josef Newgarden and defending race winner Will Power. The venue? A racing cathedral. Road America is celebrating its 70th anniversary, and its 4-mile, 14-turn layout remains as punishingly raw as it was in its 1955 debut: long straights, blind crests, massive braking zones and the infamous Carousel, where staying flat requires sheer bravery and absolute balance. Advertisement Venue: Road America — Elkhart Lake, Wis. Dates: June 20-22 Race coverage can also be streamed via the Fox Sports app. Fox is available over the air with a broadcast antenna. The championship chase is tightening. Palou still leads with 335 points, but Pato O'Ward (262) and Kyle Kirkwood (260) are closing fast. O'Ward has claimed four podiums so far in 2025 — three of them second-place finishes. Kirkwood is on a tear, with three wins (Long Beach, Detroit and his first oval at World Wide Technology Raceway). Road America is a bellwether. Since 2016, the winner here has finished outside the championship top three only twice, making this race far more than just a picturesque backdrop. Practice and qualifying carry weight. Last season's weekend was unusually tidy, but fans should heed the warning from 2023 — Palou, Dixon and Power all wrecked their cars in a single practice session before qualifying. Road America punishes hesitation and rewards nerve, making every session breathtaking. It's old-school, wide-open and worth watching start to finish. Expect a weekend as rewarding as it is ruthless. Read more from The Athletic's motorsports team ahead of this weekend's Grand Prix at Road America: 'There's some people who don't see or don't read the race early on. They probably look only at the first stint of the race and they don't look that it's a three-stop race. You need to get first at the end, not at the beginning. That's been something that has been working for me, but it's not that I invented it or suddenly I'm more intelligent than everybody else. I'm able to do that because I have a good car and a good team around me that makes me see that.' Streaming links in this article are provided by partners of The Athletic. Restrictions may apply. The Athletic maintains full editorial independence. Partners have no control over or input into the reporting or editing process and do not review stories before publication. (Photo of Álex Palou: Miguel J. Rodriguez Carrillo / Getty Images)
USA Today
3 days ago
- Automotive
- USA Today
IndyCar odds: Favorites to win at Road America in June 2025
IndyCar odds: Favorites to win at Road America in June 2025 The NTT IndyCar Series is ready to compete in the XPEL Grand Prix at Road America for the ninth race of the 2025 season. In 2024, Road America represented the seventh race of the campaign, marking a notable difference from the previous year, 2025. Will Power entered victory lane in last year's race at Road America, with Josef Newgarden and Scott McLaughlin rounding out the top three spots. It was Power's first of three victories during the 2024 season. However, who are the favorites to win this weekend? Below, you can check out the IndyCar odds via BetMGM for the XPEL Grand Prix at Road America as of Wednesday, June 18! IndyCar odds for Road America (June 2025) Alex Palou: +175 Josef Newgarden: +425 Scott McLaughlin: +575 Colton Herta: +575 Kyle Kirkwood: +625 Pato O'Ward: +800 Will Power: +825 Scott Dixon: +1600 Christian Lundgaard: +1600 Marcus Armstrong: +3000 David Malukas: +3000 Felix Rosenqvist: +3500 Alexander Rossi: +3500 Marcus Ericsson: +4500 Santino Ferrucci: +5000 Rinus VeeKay: +6000 Graham Rahal: +6000 Conor Daly: +10000 Christian Rasmussen: +10000 Delvin DeFrancesco: +10000 Louis Foster: +12500 Kyffin Simpson: +12500 Callum Ilott: +20000 Robert Shwartzman: +20000 Sting Ray Robb: +25000 Jacob Abel: +25000 Nolan Siegel: +25000 More: How to watch IndyCar live at Road America in 2025, schedule
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
More Races Need Pyrotechnics
IndyCar put on a heck of a show on Sunday night under the lights at World Wide Technology Raceway just a few miles from the St. Louis Arch National Park, and it all started with a massive bombastic pyrotechnics display as the cars drove down the back straight under formation heading to green flag to start the race. With dozens of cannons of fire aiming straight up into the late evening sky, loaded down with flammables for a display that would easily pass for a strafing in a Hollywood production of a war film, the WWT team was really prepared for a show, and the 325-mile race absolutely delivered. While WWT Raceway has traditionally set off a pyro display at the start of its IndyCar races, this one was above and beyond anything we've ever seen. The massive explosion scared the crap out of Will Power's wife Liz, for example, and front-row starter Scott McLaughlin took to Twitter after the race ended to say "Brother that head through the helmet was intense." It was definitely enough to make me jump backward from the television screen watching it happen live. Yeah, it's wasteful and bad for the local environment, and probably could have killed an entire flock of birds, but it looks cool and makes the fans excited for the race to come, and I think that's all the more reason to do this more often. I want to see big balls of flame at every race I go to. This is truly an IndyCar kind of thing, F1 could never. Read more: These Are The Cars You Love Getting As Ubers And Lyfts There was more to this race than just a few dozen giant balls of flame, though, because the racing across the so-called Bommarito Automotive Group 500 was truly stellar and at times even more explosive. Polesitter Will Power hit the wall with a cut tire early on. Onetime race leader Josef Newgarden drove full-speed into the side of Jacob Abel's spun car, causing one of the worst-looking crashes I've seen in quite a few years, with thankfully both drivers walking away unscathed from a crash that would likely have been career-ending 15 years ago. In the end it was another victory for Kyle Kirkwood, holding off Pato O'Ward for his third win from the last six races, and his first win on an oval. Despite the strong field of drivers and fighting at the front, only Kirkwood and series points leader Alex Palou have won races this season. Anyway, I, uh, really like fire. Want more like this? Join the Jalopnik newsletter to get the latest auto news sent straight to your inbox... Read the original article on Jalopnik.
Fox News
5 days ago
- Automotive
- Fox News
Will Power opens up about infamous Plower Move: 'I just want it to go away'
Bruce MartinSpecial to MOORESVILLE, North Carolina — "I just want it to go away." That's what veteran INDYCAR driver Will Power said in the wake of the controversy involving him and the now infamous Plower Move that he made during practice at last week's Detroit Grand Prix. Power is one of the most accomplished and respected drivers in the INDYCAR SERIES. Although he is a highly aggressive driver, his peers enjoy racing against the two-time INDYCAR champion and former Indianapolis 500 winner at Team Penske because they know Power will race them hard, but cleanly. That is why last Friday's Plower Move on Kyle Kirkwood of Andretti Global was surprising. It was early in practice last week and Power's No. 12 Honda entered the slow Turns 5 and 6 area of the Detroit street course in front of the Renaissance Center. He encountered another slow car, Kyle Kirkwood's No. 27 Honda. It's the slowest portion of the race course and Power was trying to get a gap. But on an extremely narrow race course that is also very short at 1.645-miles in length, that can be a maddening experience at Detroit. Power drove up from behind and put the nose of his car under the rear attenuator of Kirkwood's Honda and at slow speeds, pushed him up the course similar to a tow truck trying to push-start a passenger car with a dead battery. Once Power was past Kirkwood, the Andretti driver put his hand in the air, similar to someone on the highway asking another driver, "What the hell?" But the incident became a viral video. As FOX Sports Motorsports Insider Bob Pockrass called it, Will Power gave new meaning to the term push to pass. The nose on the No. 12 Chevrolet had cosmetic damage. Kirkwood's crew had to repair a hole in the floor of the No. 27 Honda, but Kirkwood was able to return to practice. INDYCAR officials reviewed the incident and because it did not bring out a red flag or a local caution, there were no penalties. It was similar to an official in the NBA Playoffs ruling, "No harm, no foul" and not whistling a foul on a hard basketball play. "I think they said it was a 50-50 sort of deal where he had stopped in the middle of a corner when I was coming hard and we made contact," Power said. "INDYCAR did speak to me." A week later, Power believes the incident has become overblown and would like it to fade away, just as a non-call in the NBA is quickly forgotten. "I just want it to go away," Power said. But Power did go into a detailed explanation of what he thought in last Friday's opening practice session for the Detroit Grand Prix. "From my perspective, we were doing about five to 10 miles an hour to be honest, and he (Kirkwood) stopped in the middle of the corner," Power recalled. "I made contact, and at that point I thought he was going to then drive off and he didn't. And I started putting the throttle down and he started braking and I thought at any point he could have just put the throttle off and driven off and he never did. "It was just a misunderstanding. I shouldn't have done it, basically. I certainly wouldn't do it again." Was it the long, grueling month of May at the Indianapolis 500, combined with an extremely bumpy and narrow street course five days later that created a moment of road rage? Or was it simply an unfortunate incident? Power explained. "You're on a lap and the guy stops in the middle of the corner," Power said. "I don't know why I did it. "It is frustrating at these tracks, how tight it is, it just is, it's just very frustrating. I felt he could have moved out of the way. But, you know, I don't know. "I have a lot of respect for Kirkwood. If I'd known it was him, I wouldn't have done it. I can't be making enemies in the paddock, man, right now." This is an important time for Power because he is in the final year of his contract at Team Penske. Power is one of the most successful drivers in INDYCAR history. He is INDYCar's fourth winningest driver with 44 wins and the record for most poles with 70. He won the INDYCAR Series championships in 2014 and 2022 and won the 2018 Indianapolis 500. At 44, he is just as fast as ever. But Team Penske may be considering a younger driver, such as 23-year-old David Malukas of AJ Foyt Racing, to take his place in a move for the future. Power has enlisted former driver Oriol Servia as his agent, but for now, the driver remains under contract with Team Penske and is not allowed to talk to other teams about the potential of joining their operation if a Penske deal is not offered. That is why Power was a bit sensitive about discussing the infamous move in practice. "For me, it just felt like I was back playing iRacing or rFactor," said Malukas, who was on the track in that area when Power pushed Kirkwood. "I was like, 'Yeah, I'd totally do that in a video game.' "…But it was interesting to see. I couldn't believe it. I was very confused at the start. I thought something was wrong with Kirkwood and Power was towing him across like the "Cars" movie. "It was interesting at first, but then I realized it was not that, so..." It was certainly unconventional, but Kirkwood understood why Power did it after the practice concluded. "The track is not big enough to fit all the cars, and he got frustrated," Kirkwood said last Friday after he was the fastest in practice despite the incident with Power. "I'm not upset. I don't care. We had damage from that, too, so maybe we (could have been) a little bit faster." Power made sure to talk to Kirkwood and explain the incident. "I didn't get to see him after the session," Power recalled. "I went to look for him. I saw his guys, I apologized. When I saw Kyle the next day just before the session … we kind of laughed about it because it was obviously at an incredibly low speed with the very bottom of first gear just sort of idling along, I guess. "It wasn't like we're doing 100 miles an hour so we're doing literally 15 miles an hour or something, if that. "I thought it was Marcus Ericsson, and he had held me up a couple of times in the previous races, so I had a little bit of frustration there, but had I known it was Kirkwood's car, probably wouldn't have happened." Because Kirkwood was able to have a successful practice and ultimately win Sunday's Detroit Grand Prix for his second win this season, he was able to laugh it off with his teammates, including Ericsson and Colton Herta. "I think he was laughing about it, but he was definitely surprised," Ericsson said. "He said that as well. He never experienced anything like that previously in his career. "I think he was probably a bit shocked when it happened for sure. I think we all would have been." Although Power originally thought it was Ericsson's car that he was pushing instead of Kirkwood's, Ericsson has a great deal of respect for the Team Penske driver from Toowoomba, Australia. "For me, I only have good things to say about racing with Will," Ericsson said. "I've always had good and fair fights with him. So for me, we've always been racing hard but fair. And like you say, you know, he's a legend of the sport and a very unique character. "I always enjoy racing him and having him around in the paddock." Ericsson, however, believes some type of penalty should have been issued for the move, such as missing 10 minutes of practice. "Obviously, nothing more serious happened, but I think we should not as drivers use our cars to show our frustration like that," Ericsson explained. "I think that's not the way to do it. "I'm sure Will wasn't intending to put Kyle in the fence, but it was not that far from happening. He was shoving him for quite a while there and then it doesn't take much to lose the car there. So yeah. I think the consequences and also like if he had shoved into David Malukas there and they both crashed into the fence, I'm pretty sure INDYCAR would have ruled in a different way." Alex Palou of Chip Ganassi Racing continues to lead the championship by 110 points over Pato O'Ward and 111 over Kirkwood. Palou thought last Friday's incident in practice was interesting and concerning at the same time. "I would say in between," Palou said from his home in Indianapolis. "I don't think it's funny. "I mean it's funny when you look at it after and it looks like a video game. But that's the fact that it's not a video game, so I don't think it's funny. "I don't think it's overly crazy either, but I would say that this cannot happen again. I think INDYCAR should have said something about it." He added: "Now it's like this is okay to do and somebody else could do it and you cannot penalize somebody else because they didn't penalize Will. "I think maybe INDYCAR should have stepped on and said, 'Hey, 10-minute penalty for Practice 2, don't do it again' and we would not see that happening again." Palou believes every driver in INDYCAR gets frustrated at Detroit because of the nature of the street course. It can't be expanded or widened because the City of Detroit owns the streets, so the course is pretty much set. Palou is another driver who has great respect for Power as one of the most experienced drivers in the series. "I love Will," Palou said. "I have great battles with him, but I'm a big fan of him. So, yeah, honestly, I think coming from Will, it's like it's okay, right? Because it's Will. "I spoke to him, and he actually told me and told Kyle that he wasn't feeling like he was super upset or anything. He just thought, 'Oh, having this position, let's just continue pushing and see if I can get a gap and it worked.' "I was surprised to see that anybody would be able to do that in an Indy car. Like I would never think of like, oh, this is possible to do." Scott Borchetta is the Founder and CEO of Big Machine and the first to sign Taylor Swift to a recording contract. Borchetta is also a race team owner, a promoter and a partner of the INDYCAR Championship Race at Nashville Superspeedway on August 31. While Power is genuinely sorry that he made his Power Move, Borchetta believes it generated some organic interest. That helps sell tickets, especially for Borchetta's race at Nashville Superspeedway that will conclude the 2025 INDYCAR series season. "That's Will Power," Borchetta said. "Will wears his heart on his sleeve, and the guy always wants to go fast. "Not that we encourage that kind of behavior, but bring it, man. It's elbows out. These guys want to win. They want to win every practice. They want to win qualifying. They want to win every race. "Those are the drivers we want in the series." Bruce Martin is a veteran motorsports writer and contributor to Follow him on X at @BruceMartin_500.
