IndyCar
Newgarden wins INDYCAR race at WWT Raceway as Championship sees shakeup
MADISON, IL (Pittsburgh Racing Now) – Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden climbed back into the NTT INDYCAR SERIES Championship fight after winning Saturday’s Bommarito Automotive Group 500 at World Wide Technology Raceway.
Newgarden beat Arrow McLaren SP’s Pato O’Ward by 0.5397-second to win his second race of 2021 and the 20th of his INDYCAR career.
“I’ve always liked short ovals,” said Newgarden, who led 138-of-260-laps around the 1.25-mile oval. “I think it’s some of the most fun racing out there. It’s fun to drive these type of cars on these type of tracks. It’s hard competing against Pato and Will at these type of tracks, too.”
O’Ward finished second in the No. 5 Chevy and took over the Championship points lead after Chip Ganassi Racing’s Alex Palou, who was leading coming into the event, and Scott Dixon were taken out in an accident by Ed Carpenter Racing’s Rinus VeeKay.
The championship leader @AlexPalou is out after this incident involving teammate @scottdixon9 and @rinusveekay.
#INDYCAR // #Bommarito500WATCH LIVE:
📲: INDYCAR App powered by NTT Data – https://t.co/vyuISIgHnX
📺: NBCSN pic.twitter.com/WaeONtnfpA— NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) August 22, 2021
“It was a very solid points day for us,” said O’Ward, who now leads Palou by 10-points with three races remaining. “I think we maximized what we could have gotten out of our car and our race.”
“I don’t know where he (VeeKay) wanted to go,” said Palou was running 10th at the time of the Lap 65 incident after having to start 21st due to INDYCAR’s 9-position engine change grid penalty. “I had plenty of room with Scott (Dixon), and Scott had plenty of room with the guy in front, and we just got hit.”
“I’m very sorry for Alex and for Scott; they’re both in a good place in the championship,” said VeeKay. “I was really focusing on Scott, just to stay behind him, and it just kind of stacked up. I tried to slow down, but we’re in oval spec, and I think just before I hit Scott, I’m even locking up the fronts. But I think I cannot really give myself a lot of blame for this.”
Dixon’s No. 9 PNC Bank Grow Up Great crew worked feverishly to get the six-time and defending series Champion back on track to gain valuable points but ended up losing a spot. Newgarden now sits in third position in the Championship, 22-points behind O’Ward, as Dixon fell to fourth, 43-points back.
“Feel really bad for myself and Alex,” said Dixon. “I really don’t know what VeeKay was trying to do there. We’ve had some pretty erratic and pretty crazy driving this season.”
The NTT INDYCAR SERIES closes out the 2021 season with a three-race West Coast swing beginning Sunday, September 12 with the Grand Prix of Portland followed by the Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey September 19th and the season finale September 26 with the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach.
MARKHAM, ONTARIO (August 15, 2026) – The NTT IndyCar Series is making it’s first visit to a new street circuit in Markham, Ontario but a familiar face topped the speed charts after the first practice.
Four-time Series Champion Alex Palou turned the fastest lap around the 12-turn, 2.19-mile temporary street course, a 1-minute, 14.9915-seconds (100.811 mph) lap in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda.
A.J. Foyt Racing rookie Caio Collett was second quick with a 1-minute, 15.0454-seconds (100.739) in the No. 4 Chevrolet.
Louis Foster was third quick in the No. 45 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda at 1:15.0278 (100.702) followed by Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin 1:15.2981 (100.401). Will Power rounded out the Top 5 at 1:15.3152 (100.378).
Palou’s Chip Ganassi Racing teammates were not as strong. Six-time Series Champion Scott Dixon was 20th at 1:16.4583 (98.877) in the No. 9 PNC Bank Honda. Kyffin Simpson was 24th at 1.17.3893 (97.688) in the No. 8 Sunoco Honda. Simpson made contact with the wall at Turn 6, causing damage to the rear suspension. Simpson limped to pits for repair and returned to action later in the session.
Practice 2 is set for 2:30 p.m. as delayed track construction forced officials to cancel Friday’s activities and condense Saturday’s schedule. NTT P1 Pole Qualifying is set for 6:30 p.m. ET
MARKHAM, ONTARIO (August 14, 2026) – Issues with the completion of the temporary street circuit in Markham Ontario has forced the NTT INDYCAR SERIES first practice to be moved to Saturday as all of Friday’s on-track activity had to be scrubbed from the schedule.
“INDYCAR is incredibly disappointed that our promoter was not able to complete the track build on time, despite significant support from our team on site,” INDYCAR President J. Douglas Boles said. “Ontario has always been a magnificent market for our sport and the number of spectators that attended today is a shining example of that. New events can always pose logistical challenges and we join in the frustration of our loyal fans and apologize.”
Green Savoree Promotions also issued a statement.
“Ensuring the safety of the drivers and the completion of the certification process of competing on a brand-new racetrack delayed all on-track activities today. Today’s sessions have been rescheduled to Saturday, August 15, to allow for further track preparations.”
“We greatly appreciate all the fans who made it out to the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy at Markham today and chose to spend the day with us. The attendance and support were overwhelming.”
The revamped schedule calls for the first practice to take place at 10:00 a.m. followed by a second practice at 2:30 p.m. and P1 Pole Qualifying at 6:30 p.m.
PORTLAND, OR (August 9, 2026) – Alex Palou and Chip Ganassi Racing are closing in on another NTT IndyCar Series Championship after winning Sunday’s Only Bulls Portland Grand Prix.
Palou started second and passed Felix Rosenqvist during the first round of pit stops by staying out an extra lap and using the ‘overcut’ to get the lead and then dominated, leading 60 of 110-laps to grab his sixth victory of 2026.
“Everybody at CGR and Honda did an incredible job,” said Palou, who started second. “I had an absolute rocket ship today. It was very, very nice to drive every single lap.”
“We had to do something different than Felix,” said Barry Wanser, team manager for the No. 10 Honda. “We had to go longer than him. It takes a lot of performance by Alex and certainly the Honda engine to give us the fuel mileage to jump in one more and do the overcut. That helped us. We had a pretty smooth pit stop and got the jump there.”
Rosenqvist, who started on the pole in the No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing Grateful Dead Honda, closed to within a second late but couldn’t get back to the front.
“He got us in a sequence,” said Rosenqvist, the 2026 Indianapolis 500 winner. “I got kind of twisted up leaving my box because I was so close to the Schumacher crew. I think between the overcut and that, we kind of lost the position. From there on we just sat in second.”
Andretti Global’s Will Power finished third in the No. 26 TWG Honda to lockout the podium for the manufacturer.
“Great day for us,” said Power. “Great day for Andretti. Didn’t quite have the pace I think the top two guys. Probably about a tenth off. Just seriously fast pace all day. Qualifying laps, really good quality. Such a quality field now.”
The victory for Palou increased his Championship lead to 110 points over Kyle Kirkwood of Andretti Global, a gap of more than two races with just five races remaining this season.
“Chip puts the best guys around me, but then also everybody is just executing,” said Palou. “That car is a rocket ship, and I’m just lucky enough to drive it.”
The next NTT IndyCar Series race is the inaugural Ontario Honda Dealers Indy at Markham on Sunday, Aug. 16 on the streets of Markham, Ontario.
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