IndyCar
Racing Notebook – Monday, February 3

PITTSBURGH, PA (Pittsburgh Racing Now) – A busy Monday in the Motorsports world. Honda Performance Development is funding a scholarship for young open wheelers; Bobby Rahal is adding a NASCAR industry veteran to RLL Racing’s Business Development team; Defending Lernerville Speedway Big Block Modified Champ Brian Swartzlander headed to the 2020 DIRTcar Nationals at Volusia Speedway Park.
- Honda Performance Development (HPD) is continuing their history of supporting the next generation of racing talent. HPD is establishing a scholarship for the F3 Americas Drivers Champion. HPD’s scholarship will enable the F3 Drivers’ Champion to compete in the subsequent year’s Indy Lights full season. This annual HPD scholarship will be used to support the F3 Champion’s chosen Indy Lights team and will be transferable to any HPD partner team supporting the F3 Drivers’ Champion in the Indy Lights or NTT IndyCar Series.
- Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing is expanding their sales and marketing efforts by adding two new team members. Sports marketing veteran Pat Wood has joined the team as Vice President, Business Development. Wood has 20-years of experience in sports marketing and business development with stints in the NBA (Cleveland Cavalier), Motorsports (Charlotte Motor Speedway), and Media (Street & Smith’s Sports Business Group/NASCAR Scene/Sporting News). RLL Racing is also adding Sam Sluga as account executive.
- Defending Lernerville Big Block Modified Champ and Dirt Hall of Famer Brian Swartzlander is heading south to start the 2020 season. Swartzlander is heading to the 2020 DIRTcar Nationals that begin this week at Volusia Speedway Park in Barberville, Florida per the Super DIRTcar Twitter account:
Dirt Hall of Famer @swartzlander83 will join the fun in the sun at Volusia Speedway Park for this year's Super DIRTcar Series @DIRTcarNats opener, which is only 11 days away! #FLinFeb pic.twitter.com/f5idqlWrRd
— Super DIRTcar Series (@SuperDIRTcar) January 31, 2020
- Longtime John Hunter Nemechek sponsor Fire Alarm Services is following him to Front Row Motorsports (FRM). Fire Alarm Services, Inc. (FAS), a leader in fire, life safety, and security services, will serve as the primary partner for the Sunoco Rookie-of-the-Year contender at Martinsville Speedway in May, Indianapolis Motor Speedway in July, Daytona International Speedway in August and the season finale at Phoenix Raceway in November. The brand will also be a major associate partner on Nemechek’s No. 38 Ford throughout the season.
Welcome back long-standing partner Fire Alarm Services, Inc.! Thank you for all of your support over the years. #NASCAR | @Team_FRM https://t.co/6dhxiCyF2u
— John Hunter Nemechek (@JHNemechek) February 3, 2020
- Joe Gibbs Racing announced today that SiriusXM will be featured as the primary sponsor of Martin Truex Jr.’s No. 19 Toyota Camry for five races during the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season. Truex’s Camry will carry the SiriusXM colors for the Busch Clash at Daytona International Speedway (February 9), the first night race at Martinsville Speedway (May 9), both races of the doubleheader weekend at Pocono Raceway (June 27-28) and the series’ annual visit to New Hampshire Motor Speedway (July 19).
- Brennan Poole and Premium Motorsports are thrilled to welcome Spartan Mosquito into the NASCAR Cup Series on the No. 15 Chevy Camaro as their partner for 17 races/15 points races, including the crown jewel Daytona 500 race. The No. 15 Camaro and Poole will represent Spartan Mosquito’s unique and effective consumer products, along with their charitable efforts in support of our Armed Forces and those who have served our country. At the Daytona 500, in addition to unveiling its new Spartan GO! Mosquito repellant, the Spartan Mosquito No. 15 will also proudly display the R.E.D. (RememberEveryoneDeployed.org) organization above the rocker panels and on the back bumper of the race car. “We are extremely thrilled to begin this relationship with Premium Motorsports and Brennan Poole,” Spartan owner Jeremy Hirsch said in a statement. “We are equally proud and humbled to have this opportunity to bring to light the
‘RememberEveryoneDeployed.org’ organization and to help raise awareness about the hardships faced by our troops – those brave men and women who place themselves in harm’s way so that we may rest peacefully at night”.
IndyCar
Kyle Kirkwood wins INDYCAR Detroit Grand Prix

DETROIT, MI (June 1, 2025) – Kyle Kirkwood is the winner of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix. The win was Kirkwood’s second of the season and fourth of his career.
Kirkwood started third on the grid and moved up to second early in the race and took advantage to grab the lead from teammate Colton Herta who finished third.
“This AWS Honda was on rails all weekend long,” said Kirkwood. “There were some challenges out there, that’s for sure. We had to pass our way back through a handful of times, and it was definitely not a walk in the park.”
This 100-lap race on the notoriously bumpy and tight nine-turn, 1.645-mile circuit on the streets of downtown Detroit came down to strategy and survival.
The 27-car field divided into two strategic camps at the start, with 12 cars beginning the race on Firestone’s grippier but less durable Firehawk alternate tires and 15 on the slower but more durable primary tires. The top nine starters, which included pole sitter Herta and teammate Kirkwood, opted to start on the softer alternate tire and shed it as soon as possible for the durability of the harder tire. INDYCAR rules require that all drivers must use both tire compounds for at least two laps per race.
That divided the field into separate pit cycles, with drivers on both strategies being forced to fight their way through the field after each stop while waiting for drivers on alternative tactics to pit.
The win has Honda Racing’s seventh of the season, continuing a season-long lockout of victories among engine manufacturers and gave Honda a weekend sweep after their Acura brand won the IMSA race on Saturday in the Motor City.
“ Amazing weekend for Honda, HRC, and also Acura,” said Kevin Fu, Vice President, Honda Racing Corporation USA. “Between our IndyCar and IMSA programs we got two poles and two wins in Detroit, and our seventh victory in a row in IndyCar. This is unprecedented start to the season for us. As always, thanks to the teams and all the folks back at HRC in Santa Clarita for all their continuous hard work, and the work they’ve done off season to get us to this point.”
The win moved Kirkwood up to second in the Championship points standings, 78-points behind leader Alex Palou, who was taken out by David Malukas going into Turn 1 on a restart.
AJ Foyt Racing’s Santino Ferrucci came home second for his best career finish and the team’s best finish of the season and best road or street course finish in a decade.
“It feels great,” said Ferrucci. “Honestly, the strategy plays into everything that we do, especially at road and street courses it’s very tough, and I can’t thank the team enough. This is more deserving of them than it is even of me. We probably drove to 11th minus the strategy just running our race.”
Team Penske’s Will Power finished fourth in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet followed by Chip Ganassi Racing’s Kyffin Simpson in fifth. The fifth place finish was a career best for Simpson, the second-year driver from the Cayman Islands.
“It was a great, great race for us in the #8 Ridgeline Honda,” said Simpson. “I think we had a lot of pace, especially when running on the green tires, and we were able to really make strong gains through the field on that strategy.”
The next NTT INDYCAR SERIES event is the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 presented by Axalta and Valvoline on Sunday evening, June 15 at World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, Illinois, just across the Mississippi River from St. Louis.
IndyCar
Contact ends Alex Palou’s day in Detroit

DETROIT, MI (June 1, 2025) Alex Palou’s race on the streets of Detroit is over early after contact on a restart from David Malkus sent the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda into the tire barriers at the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix.
The Indianapolis 500 winner was running fourth on Lap 72 when the race restarted following a caution and entering Turn 1, Malukas came in too fast, made contact with Palou ending his day and his almost perfect season.
Palou came into the race with five wins in six event with a worst finish of second at the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. Detroit ended that streak and Palou was credited with a 25th place finish.
“We were just biding our time there in fourth,” explained Palou. “Hoping to sneak onto the podium there at the end but we were hit from behind. Not much we could do there.”
Palou came into the race with a 112-point lead in the season long Championship over Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward.
IndyCar
Colton Herta wins pole for the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix

DETROIT, MI (May 31, 2025) – Andretti Global’s Colton Herta is on the pole position for Sunday’s Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix, the 1.645-mile, nine-turn temporary street course run on the streets of downtown Detroit.
Herta’s fast lap of 1 minute, .4779 of a second in the No. 26 Gainbridge Honda was good enough to claim his first pole of 2025 and 15th of his NTT INDYCAR SERIES career.
“I was happy with it,” said Herta. “Friday was pretty bad from us as far as what we’re used to on street courses, just the feel of the race car. So it kind of — Friday night to go over everything and turn everything around. The engineering group did a great job.”
David Malukas, coming off a strong finish at the Indy 500, continued the momentum grabbing the second starting spot at 1:00.6492 in the No. 4 Clarience Technologies Chevrolet for A.J. Foyt Enterprises.
“Everything just clicked,” said Malukas. “We kept our heads down and just committed. I thought we had a good car, and clearly it went out and showed that.”
Herta’s teammate Kyle Kirkwood lines up third after a fast lap of 1:00.7312 in the No. 27 Siemens AWS Honda. Kirkwood led practice Friday, while Herta paced the Saturday morning practice session.
Arrow McLaren’s Christian Lundgaard will start beside Kirkwood in the fourth position after a quick lap of 1:00.8938 in the No. 7 Chevrolet.
Rahal Letterman Laningan Racing’s Graham Rahal will start fifth after posting a 1:01.0651 in the No. 15 JJ Curran Crane Company Honda.
Lining up beside Rahal will be Championship points leader and 109th Indianapolis 500 winner Alex Palou who put up a 1:01.4680 in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. Palou, who’s won five of the six races this year, holds a 112-point lead over Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward, who will start 18th after failing to advance out of the first round of knockout-style qualifying.
Palou’s CGR teammate Scott Dixon qualified 10th in the No. 9 PNC Bank Honda after turning a 1:01:1595.
Dixon and Rahal however will have those qualifying efforts nullified after being penalized for unapproved engine changes prior to the Sunday, May 25 race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Rahal and Dixon will receive a six-position starting grid penalty for violating the INDYCAR rule. Rahal now rolls off 11th and Dixon 16th.
The 100-lap race starts Sunday at 12:30 p.m. ET (FOX, FOX Sports app, INDYCAR Radio Network).