(March 22, 2025) – Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward leads a front row lockout for Sunday’s NTT INDYCAR SERIES race at The Thermal Club, where Chip Ganassi Racing’s Alex Palou starts third, plus Alex Bowman edges Josh Berry for the NASCAR Cup Series pole position at Homestead Miami Speedway; Paul Tracy wins in Trans Am and Anthony Macri and Rich Eckert grab wins Saturday night at Port Royal all in today’s Racing Notebook.

Pato O’Ward Wins IndyCar Pole at Thermal

• Pato O’Ward led an Arrow McLaren front row lockout for Sunday’s NTT INDYCAR SERIES race at The Thermal Club. O’Ward’s fast lap of 1 minute, 39.9567 seconds (110.460 mph) was 0.1678-seconds quicker than teammate Christian Lundgaard.  The front row lockout is the first for the team in the series. Thermal Starting Lineup

Alex Palou leads CGR qualifying at Thermal

• Two-time defending NTT INDYCAR SERIES Champion and current points leader Alex Palou lines up third for Sunday’s race at The Thermal Club.  Palou’s fast lap in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda was 1-minute, 40.3092 (110.072 mph). Palou’s teammate Scott Dixon failed to make the Firestone Fast Six and will line up 11th in the No. 9 PNC Bank Honda.  Second-year CGR driver Kyffin Simpson failed to make it out of the first round and will start 20th.

Alex Bowman on NASCAR Cup Series Pole

• Hendrick Motorsports Alex Bowman is on the pole position for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Homestead-Miami Speedway after a fast lap of 168.845 mph around the 1.5-mile oval.   Last week’s winner Josh Berry will start second in the Wood Brothers Ford.  Noah Gragson, who sat atop the speed chart for a time, will line up third.  Championship points leader William Byron will start fifth.

Paul Tracy, Matthew Brabham grab Trans Am wins at Road Atlanta

• Paul Tracy started on the pole position and led from start to finish to grab the Trans Am Series XGT Class win at Road Atlanta.  Matthew Brabham snagged the win in the TA Class subbing for Chris Dyson, who is recovering from a crash at Sebring.   Joshua Carlson dominated in the SGT class for the second race in a row, leading from green flag to checkers.  Chris Coffey grabbed the GT Class win and Rob Dickey claimed the GT1 Challenge.

Macri, Eckert win at Port Royal

• The green flag was flying at Port Royal on Saturday night where Anthony Macri grabbed the 410 Sprint Car feature win and defending late-model Champion Rich Eckert snagging the win at ‘The Speed Palace’ in a throwback paint scheme. Next week, Port Royal Speedway will present a three-division program. Joining the 410 Sprint Cars and Super Late Models will be the Limited Late Models. Race time will be at 4 p.m.

PITTSBURGH, PA (January 14, 2025) – Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell shine at the opening night of the Chili Bowl Nationals in Tulsa, Oklahoma.  Fox Sports has filled out their broadcast booth for the inaugural NTT INDYCAR SERIES season.  Mid-Ohio puts season passes and tickets to 2025 events on-sale and runners can sign up for the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg 5k.

Kyle Larson Gets Preliminary Win In Tulsa

• Kyle Larson opened the 2025 Chili Bowl Nationals by grabbing the opening night preliminary win.  Larson took the lead coming to the white flag and held off Shane Golobic for the win.  The Top 2 are locked into Saturday night’s feature.

Christopher Bell Wins ‘Race of Champions’ Invitational

• Christopher Bell’s week at the Chili Bowl started out in fine style as Bell took the win in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Invitational Race of Champions during Monday’s 2nd Opinion Auto Center Qualifying Night.  Bell led all 55-laps en route to his third win in the event.  The win comes 9-days after Bell and Larson staged an epic battle at the 40th annual Tulsa Shootout.

Fox Sports Names INDYCAR Booth

• Fox Sports is gearing up for the inaugural season of broadcasting the NTT INDYCAR SERIES by naming motorsports veteran journalist Will Buxton their play-by-play announcer.  Buxton will be joined in the booth by driver’s James Hinchcliffe and Townsend Bell, who move over from NBC.  Fox Sports will name pit reporters at a later date.

Mid-Ohio Season Passes and Tickets On Sale

• Tickets for all five race weekends at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course are on-sale as of 10 a.m. this morning.   The 2025 Mid-Ohio schedule features the return of all five race events from 2024 on the same weekends, highlighted by the annual NTT INDYCAR SERIES Fourth of July spectacular (July 4-6), MotoAmerica Superbikes action (Aug. 15-17) and IMSA sports car racing (June 6-8).  Fan looking for more information should visit Mid-Ohio’s website.

Firestone GP 5K Registration Open

• Runners and walkers have a special opportunity to “race on track” as one of the kickoff festivities for the 2025 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg presented by RP Funding weekend. The 5K Run on the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg Track is set for Thursday, Feb. 27, and online registration is now open at gpstpete5k.com while supplies last.  The 5K benefits The Police Athletic League (PAL) of St. Petersburg.

INDIANAPOLIS, IN (Pittsburgh Racing Now) – Chip Ganassi Racing’s Marcus Armstrong is quick in Saturday’s morning NTT INDYCAR SERIES warm-up for the Sonsio Gran Prix as Santino Ferrucci and Romain Grosjean make contact plus Jacob Able scores his second INDY NXT victory and VRD Racing sweeps Friday’s support races and more in the INDY GP Racing Notebook.

Marcus Armstrong Leads Morning Warmup

• Chip Ganassi Racing’s Marcus Armstrong led the NTT INDYCAR SERIES morning warmup for the Sonsio Grand Prix on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.  Armstrong’s fast lap of 1-minute, 9.8485-seconds in the No. 11 Honda was almost 4-tenths of a second quicker than Andretti Global’s Colton Herta (1:10.2314).  Ed Carpenter Racing’s Rinus Veejay was third (1:10.3889) followed by pole-sitter and defending race-winner Alex Palou in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda (1:10.4222).  Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing’s Graham Rahal was fifth (1:10.4573).  Chip Ganassi had three cars in the Top 6 with Scott Dixon right behind Rahal with a fast lap of 1:10.5407 in the No. 9 PNC Bank Honda.

Ferrucci And Grosjean Spar In Warmup

• AJ Foyt Racing’s Santino Ferrucci and Juncos Hollinger Racing’s Romain Grosjean made contact during the morning warmup for Saturday’s NTT INDYCAR SERIES Sonsio Gran Prix.  Ferrucci’s No. 14 Sexton Properties Chevy was inside Grosjean’s JHR Chevy in Turn 10 and Grosjean turned right into Ferrucci’s car.  Ferrucci pushed Grosjean back to the left side and gave him a hand gesture as the pair came down the South short chute heading into Turn 12.  Ferrucci told NBS Sports afterwards, “If he doesn’t like it, come over here and talk to me about it.”

Abel Makes It 2-In-A-Row In INDYNXT

• Jacob Able is a two-time winner in INDY NXT competition.  Able held off Nolan Siegel in a three-lap shootout Friday on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course. “This is awesome,” said Abel, who led 35 laps in this race. “Unfortunately, we don’t get to celebrate for too long here. We’re getting another chance tomorrow. That was a really great race, though.”  Siegel, of HMD Motorsports finished second .5470-seconds behind.  Andretti Global’s Jamie Chadwick finished third, the best finish for a female driver in INDY NXT since Pippa Mann’s win in 2010 at Kentucky. INDY NXT Race 1 Results

Nikita Armstrong Wins USFPro200 Race

• 15-year-old Nikita Johnson is 4-for-4 in USFPro2000 competition in 2024.  Johnson helped his VRD Racing Team win the day as Max Taylor won the USF2000 race. Rookie Liam Sceats finished a distant second for TJ Speed Motorsports, his best finish of the season. Lochie Hughes finished third for Turn 3 Motorsport.    indygp-usf-pro-2000-race-1

Taylor Scores USF2000 Win

• Max Taylor is a winner in USF2000 after taking the first race of a doubleheader on the road course at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.  Taylor took the lead in Turn 1 after a restart following an early full-course caution flag. “My plan was to get into the lead as fast as I could and I did just that. I got to the lead and had a little battle with Evan and just checked out and put some good laps in. The VRD car just drove itself really,” said Taylor. Exclusive Autosport’s Joey Brienza finished second ahead of teammate Evan Cooley who made an impressive USF2000 debut by qualifying on pole position. indygp-usf2000-race-1

Maeta To Perform National Anthem at Sonsio GP

• Maeta, an Indianapolis native who recently peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard R&B chart, will perform the national anthem before the start of the Sonsio Grand Prix on Saturday, May 11 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. “Having an Indianapolis native, whose career is just taking off, ensures this performance will be memorable for all involved. Maeta’s rendition is sure to set the stage for an epic race on the 14-turn, 2.439-mile road course,” said J. Douglas Boles, President of IMS.

Sonsio Extends Partnership With IMS

• Sonsio Vehicle Protection is renewing its partnership with the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Sonsio Vehicle Protection, an industry-leading provider of vehicle protection and warranty programs, will continue as an Official Partner of IMS and the title sponsor of the Sonsio Grand Prix NTT INDYCAR SERIES road course race. Sonsio Vehicle Protection serves more than 82,000 dealerships, F&I service providers, manufacturers, insurance companies, parts suppliers, retail chains and many independent retailers across all 50 states, Canada and Puerto Rico.