IndyCar
Alex Palou and Scott Dixon grab Top 10’s to lead Chip Ganassi Racing at St. Pete
ST. PETERSBURG, FL (March 10, 2024) – Chip Ganassi Racing’s Alex Palou and Scott Dixon grabbed Top 10 finishes in Sunday’s NTT INDYCAR SERIES season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg Presented by RP Funding.
Palou, the defending and two-time series Champion, started 13th on grid and by the midway point in the race he had worked his way up to the 11th spot in the No. 10 DHL Honda.
Palou continued to gain spots and after his final pit stop he was just outside the Top 5, finishing sixth.
“I’m happy to finish in the top-six and it’s a great start,” said Palou, who was the fourth biggest mover over the course of the race (+7). “That first yellow really didn’t help us, as it put everyone in the same position so we had 35 laps less of the race to do something. We finished two spots better than what we did last year. We started struggling at the beginning of the weekend, so it was an amazing recovery by Chip Ganassi Racing and the No. 10 DHL Honda team. ”
Dixon started right outside the Top 10 in the 12th position and on the opening lap avoided disaster when several drivers split Romain Grosjean, who appeared to approach Turn 1 cautiously. Â Grosjean drifted right to avoid the driver on his left, only to make contact with Dixon’s No. 9 PNC Bank Honda. Â Luckily Dixon was able to continue without damage to his machine eventually finishing 9th.
“It was a bit of a bland day,” said Dixon, who will be inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame on Tuesday. “I thought we had a good situation at the start and then it all kind of closed down to go off-track to make sure that we didn’t hit anybody. There was just no tire degradation so there wasn’t as much racing as I would have liked. Ultimately, I think the PNC Bank crew should have had a fifth, sixth or seventh, so it’s not the absolute best way to start the season.”
Rookie Kyffin Simpson impressed in his INDYCAR debut, starting 23rd and advancing 9-positions to finish 14th in the No. 4 Journie Rewards Honda.
“What an incredible day,” said Simpson, who finished the day as the top placing rookie. “I’m stoked to have such a good first race in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES. I felt like we had a good start to the race and then we just kept it clean. It was definitely tight at times with some side-by-side racing, but we were able to push through and keep things clean. We were able to really push it on the greens at the end with great pace. I’m very happy with the entire day for the Journie Rewards team.”
Linus Lundqvist was running ahead of Simpson and was sitting in 15th place at the midway point of the race and was methodically picking up spots. Â Disaster struck on Lap 64 when Grosjean attempted a pass approaching Turn 10, sending the No. 8 American Legion Honda backwards into the tire barrier. Â The No. 8 CGR crew replaced the rear wing on pit road and sent the 2022 INDY NXT Champion back into the fight. Â Grosjean took responsibility for the ill-advised attempt and served a drive-thru penalty but that little solace for the No. 8 team.
“We were fighting on the edge of the top-10 and then sadly got taken out,” said Lundqvist. “It’s quite unfortunate because the guys and girls with the American Legion team did such a phenomenal job to be fighting for that top-10 position. It is a long season and we will definitely bounce back from that and bring the positives from the speed that we had.”
Marcus Armstrong and the No. 11 Ridgeline Lubricants Honda also showed speed all weekend and was the best qualifying car out of the CGR stable starting 11th and working his way into the Top 10 during the first 25-laps of the race.
Turn 10 challenged drivers all day because of a tricky tail wind going into the turn and Armstrong fell victim on Lap 27 when he ended up in the tire barrier.
“I was working on a fuel number and touched the brakes and locked the brakes immediately,” explained a dejected Armstrong. “I’m so disappointed by that mistake and I feel terrible for the No. 11 Chip Ganassi Racing Ridgeline Lubricants group because we were fast. To be honest, we weren’t pushing hard at the time. We were fuel saving and waiting for our time to push. It was a costly mistake and it stinks.”
Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden was basically untouchable all weekend leading 92-of-100 laps en route to the victory.
Next up for the NTT INDYCAR SERIES is the $1,000,000 non-points race at The Thermal Club.
IndyCar
Alex Palou wins Detroit IndyCar Pole; Scott Dixon earns 4th starting spot; Honda sweeps front row
DETROIT, MI (May 30, 2026) – Alex Palou is starting on the pole position for the third consecutive NTT IndyCar Series Race, winning the number 1 starting spot for Sunday’s Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear.
Palou’s fast lap of 1-minute, 1.9017-seconds (95.668 mph) in the No. 10 Honda Racing Corporation Chip Ganassi Racing Honda was 0.005542-seconds ahead Will Power, who will start second in the No. 26 TWG AI Honda of Andretti Global. This is Power’s best starting position since switching to Andretti in the offseason.
“I’m super happy that we got the pole position,” said Palou. “The Fast Six was very exciting, especially with only getting one lap. The tires were not up to temperature, but this #10 Honda Honda car was on rails.”
“It was really nice to get into the Fast Six,” said Power, IndyCar’s all-time pole winner. “It’s my second time in the one lap shootout this year. It’s very difficult to beat Alex, so heading into the race I think we just have to put our heads down and see what we can do. The Honda is very good and I’ve been really enjoying running with Honda power all year.”
The front row Honda sweep on Chevrolet’s doorstep may bode well for the manufacturer as Honda has won every race at Detroit since the series switched to the downtown street circuit beginning in 2023.
Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin spoiled the Honda party, locking down the third starting spot with a lap of 1:02.4559 in the No. 3 Clarience Technologies Chevrolet.
Six-time series Champion Scott Dixon qualified a season-best fourth at 1:02.6085 in the No. 9 PNC Bank Honda to give Chip Ganassi Racing two of the top 4 starting spots.
“I was just a little too aggressive going for it,” said Dixon. “The No. 9 PNC Bank Honda has speed and it’s good to be starting up front.”
Arrow McLaren’s Christian Lundgaard will line up fifth after a fast lap of 1:02.7870 in the No. 7 Chevrolet, despite losing an engine in the morning practice.
Kyle Kirkwood continued the Firestone Fast Six Honda party qualifying sixth in the No. 27 Sam’s Club Honda despite locking his tires up at one point and two power slides during his quick lap.
David Malukas will start last in the field after bringing out a red flag during his qualifying run. Â Malukas smacked the wall in turn 7 causing heavy damage to the No. 12 Verizon Chevrolet.
Sunday starts with a 30-minute morning warmup at 9:30 a.m. followed by the 100-lap race at 12:30 p.m. on Fox and the IndyCar Radio Network.
INDIANAPOLIS, IN (May 24, 2026) Felix Rosenqvist passed David Malukas on the last lap just before the yard of bricks to win the 110th running of the Indianapolis 500 mile race.
Rosenqvist was sitting in third place when the race restarted with one lap to go, two spots behind his Meyer Shank Racing teammate Marcus Armstrong and second place David Malukas and got beside Armstrong going into turn one, through the South short chute and raced side-by-side down the back stretch.
Rosenqvist was behind Malukas coming off Turn 4 and masterfully used the draft to get beside the No. 12 down the front stretch, pushing the No. 60 SiriusXM/Morgan Wallen Honda to the front by just less than half-a-car length at the yard of bricks. Â The margin of victory was 0.233-seconds, the closest finish in the history of the race.
“Massive thanks to the team,” said Rosenqvist. “We had two cars there in the win at the end. I think we were the best car today. I felt like in all situations we kind of had it under control. I just had a flat-out lap on the high line and it stuck. It’s just the coolest way you can finish and win an Indy 500.”
“I just don’t know what I could have done,” said Malukas. “We were the fastest car the whole race. I gave it 150-percent. We did everything we could. A big thank you to this team.”
Scott McLaughlin came home third in the No. 3 Pennzoil Chevrolet, giving Team Penske two cars in the Top 5. McLaughlin talked afterward about the agony of defeat.
“Alright, hear me out on this,” McLaughlin explained, “It’s Christmas, but not everyone gets presents. Only one guy gets to go home with one.”
Pato O’Ward finished fourth in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, giving O’Ward four Top 5’s in the last four Indy 500’s.
Armstrong finished fifth in the No. 66 Acura Honda giving MSR two cars in the Top 5.
Editor’s Note: This story will be updated as post-race activities are still taking place at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
INDIANAPOLIS, IN (May 22, 2026) – Two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Josef Newgarden led a quartet of Chevrolets atop the speed chart at the final ‘Carb Day’ practice at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Newgarden’s fast lap of 228.342 mph led four Chevys at the top of the speed chart with Ed Carpenter Racing’s second at 227.474, David Malukas in third at 226.525 and Conor Daly in fourth at 226.341.
Rahal Letterman Lanigan’s Takuma Sato, a two-time 500 winner as well, led the Honda powered cars with the fifth fastest speed at 226.244.
Defending 500 winner and four-time NTT IndyCar Series Champion Alex Palou was sixth quick in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda at 225.986.
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