ST. PETERSBURG, FL (Pittsburgh Racing Now) – Team Penske’s Will Power wins the pole position for the INDYCAR race at St. Petersburg plus Harrison Burton wins the NASCAR Xfinity Series Race at Texas Motor Speedway; Road To Indy Winners and Carvana partners with Jimmie Johnson and Chip Ganassi Racing for their 2021 INDYCAR effort.

Will Power Wins INDYCAR Pole At St. Pete:

• Team Penske’s Will Power is on the pole position for Sunday’s NTT INDYCAR SERIES Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.  Power’s fast lap of 1-minute, 1.0369-seconds (106.165 mph) was 0.14-seconds faster than Andretti Autosports Alexander Rossi (01:01:1730/105.929 mph) in the third and final round of knockout-style qualifying.  Championship contenders Josef Newgarden will start eighth and Scott Dixon will start eleventh after failing to advance past the second round.  The green flag drops at 2:30 p.m. on NBC. St. Pete Starting Lineup

Harrison Burton Wins NASCAR Xfinity Series Race At Texas:

• Joe Gibbs Racing’s Harrison Burton took home the victory in the NASCAR Xfinity Series O’Reilly Auto Parts 300 at Texas Motor Speedway on Saturday.  The victory was Burton’s third this season.  JR Motorsports Noah Gragson finished second followed by Richard Childress Racing’s Anthony Alfredo.  Team Penske’s Austin Cindric finished fourth.  Points leader Chase Briscoe finished 24th. Xfinity Texas Results  Xfinity Drivers Points

Sting Ray Robb Wins At St. Pete:

• Juncos Racing’s Sting Ray Robb wired the field in Saturday’s Indy Pro 2000 Grand Prix of St. Petersburg presented by Cooper Tires.  Robb, who started on the pole position, quickly pulled out to a 1.2-second lead and never looked back. “That was a hard race, even though I was leading the whole way. The team set a goal for me to hold a certain lap time and I did, until I saw Danial starting to catch me. I started pushing harder and set the quick race lap time, bettering my own race record from last year. Two lap records in one day here, that’s pretty special!”  Danial Frost finished second followed by Robb’s teammate Artem Petrov.  Robb will also start on the pole in Sunday’s season finale.  Colin Kaminsky, the goalie for the University of Pittsburgh hockey team, finished ninth.  indypro2000-race-results-r1

Porto Grabs USF 2000 Victory At St. Pete:

• Kiko Porto claimed a well-deserved maiden Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship victory Saturday afternoon in the USF2000 Grand Prix of St. Petersburg Presented by Andersen RacePark. Eduardo Barrichello finished in second place for Pabst Racing with Reece Gold taking third for Cape Motorsports.

Carvana Partners With Jimmie Johnson & Chip Ganassi Racing:

• Carvana, the nations leading online auto retailer, is partnering with Jimmie Johnson and Chip Ganassi Racing for Johnson’s 2021 NTT INDYCAR SERIES campaign.  Johnson will run the No. 48 Carvana Chip Ganassi Racing Honda on the road and street course.  Ganassi told Pittsburgh Racing Now he plans to enter the car in all of the races but the driver has yet to be determined.

ST. PETERSBURG, FL (Pittsburgh Racing Now) – A busy start to the weekend in the racing world as Team Penske confirms Scott McLaughlin’s switch to the NTT INDYCAR SERIES plus Indy 500 winner Takuma Sato will return to Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing in 2021; Firestone renews sponsorship of St. Pete and Cup Series starting lineup.

Scott McLaughlin Leaving Supercars For INDYCAR:

• Team Penske is leaving Australian Supercars but is brining Scott McLaughlin over to the NTT INDYCAR SERIES.  The team announced late Friday that McLaughlin will transition from Supercars to complete the team’s four-car, full-season lineup in the 2021 NTT INDYCAR SERIES. The 27-year-old McLaughlin will make his INDYCAR SERIES debut this weekend at the 2020 season finale at the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.

Takuma Sato To Return To Rahal Letterman Lanigan In 2021:

• Takuma Sato is returning to Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (RLL) for the 2021 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season.  Four of Sato’s six INDYCAR wins have come with RLL.  Sato, a two-time Indy 500 winner (2017 & 2020), joined RLL for the 2012 season and then returned in 2018.  2021 will mark his fourth consecutive season with the team and fifth overall. “Clearly it has been a successful partnership over the last several years, culminating in this year’s Indy 500 victory and I look forward to further success with Takuma throughout 2021.” said Bobby Rahal, co-owner of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing with David Letterman and Mike Lanigan.

Firestone Renews Sponsorship of Grand Prix of St. Petersburg:

• Bridgestone Americas, Inc. is extending their Firestone brand’s title sponsorship of the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg for an additional three-years. “While the road to St. Petersburg has certainly been different this year, we are thrilled to return to the streets of St. Pete and help crown an NTT IndyCar Series champion,” said Lisa Boggs, director of Bridgestone Americas Motorsports. “Firestone tires have taken the checkers with the winner at all 15 IndyCar Series races here, and we’re proud to continue growing our partnership with Green Savoree Racing Promotions to support this marquee event in a community that shares our passion for the sport.”

Kevin Harvick On Cup Series Pole Position:

• Stewart Haas Racing’s Kevin Harvick will start Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Autotrader Echo Park Automotive 500 at Texas Motor Speedway from the pole position.  Team Penske’s Joey Logano will start on the outside of the front row.  Penske’s Brad Keselowski and Hendrick Motorsports Chase Elliott will makeup row 2.  The race is Sunday at 3:30 p.m. ET and can be seen on NBCSN.  The starting lineup was determined by NASCAR’s ‘performance matrix’. Texas Cup Series Starting Lineup

PITTSBURGH, PA (Pittsburgh Racing Now) – The latest edition of The Pittsburgh Racing Notebook includes Chase Briscoe getting a promotion to the NASCAR Cup Series plus INDYCAR News as Oliver Askew is cleared to drive and Road To Indy teams gear up for the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg and a manufacturer title will be decided too.

Chase Briscoe To Replace Clint Bowyer:

• Stewart Haas Racing is promoting Chase Briscoe from the NASCAR Xfinity Series to the NASCAR Cup Series in 2021.  Briscoe will the No. 14 High Point Ford Mustang (pictured above), replacing Clint Bowyer who is retiring from competition to work in the television booth for Fox Sports.  Briscoe has 9-wins, has led 957-laps and he has 16 top-fives in 30 starts this season in the Xfinity Series.

Askew Cleared For Racing At St. Pete:

• Oliver Askew has received clearance from INDYCAR to compete in this weekend’s season finale at the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.  Askew missed the Harvest Grand Prix on the road course at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway due to the effects of a concussion.  Askew received treatment from Dr. Mickey Collins at the UPMC Sports Medicine Concussion Program.  Askew is out of a ride after the race.  He is being replace by Felix Rosenqvist according to published reports.

Hear from @Oliver_Askew: pic.twitter.com/qUFSn97jn7

— Arrow McLaren SP (@ArrowMcLarenSP) October 20, 2020

Honda Leads INDYCAR Manufacturer Battle:

• The drivers Championship isn’t the only title fight heading into this weekend’s Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.  Honda goes into the event with a 54-point lead over Chevrolet thanks to seven wins in thirteen races, including a top 5 sweep at last month’s Honda Indy 200.  Honda is seeking its third consecutive manufacturer title and ninth overall in the multi-manufacturer era.

Indy Pro 2000 Points Battle In St. Pete:

• The 2020 Indy Pro 2000 Championship has already been decided with Sting Ray Robb earning that title but several points positions are up for grabs in St. Pete. Second place in the championship remains very much undecided as top rookie Devlin DeFrancesco (Andretti Steinbrenner Autosport), from Miami, Fla., holds a 20-point edge over Robb’s teammate, Russian Artem Petrov. Singapore’s Danial Frost (Turn 3 Motorsport) currently stands just 10 points shy of Petrov with two races remaining, while rookie Hunter McElrea (Pabst Racing), from New Zealand, and DEForce Racing teammates Parker Thompson, from Canada, and Mexico’s Manuel Sulaiman also retain hopes of placing among the top three in the final championship standings.

Second Place Tie In USF2000:

• Second place in the USF2000 points standings is up for grabs this weekend at the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.  Brazilian Eduardo Barrichello (Pabst Racing) and Reece Gold (Cape Motorsports), from Miami, Fla., are currently tied with 306 points apiece. Barrichello holds the tie-breaker at present after claiming three wins this season compared to Gold’s two. Denmark’s Christian Rasmussen has already wrapped up the season-long championship – and a scholarship worth $328,225 to graduate into Indy Pro 2000.