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- Category: Road Racing
By: IndyCar
August 31, 2024
August 31, 2024
West Allis, Wisconsin – Pato O’Ward won the first race of the Hy-Vee Milwaukee Mile 250s on Saturday, and Will Power tightened his NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship duel with Alex Palou with two races remaining this season.
O’Ward earned his third victory of the season in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, beating the No. 12 Verizon Business Team Penske Chevrolet of Power to the finish by 1.8215 seconds. O’Ward’s seventh career victory came after three consecutive finishes of 15th or lower since late July, effectively removing him from the title race.
“We had a really tough weekend last week in Portland, and this is a great way to bounce back,” O’Ward said. “We have another opportunity tomorrow. The car was fantastic. It was getting a little gnarly there at the end, but glad I could bring it home for the boys. They were fantastic on pit stops. Strategy was amazing.”
Live coverage of the second 250-lap doubleheader race on the 1.015-mile oval starts at 2:30 p.m. ET Sunday on USA Network, Peacock and the INDYCAR Radio Network. Palou will seal his third championship in four years if he wins and leads the most laps. Otherwise, the title race will go to the season-ending Big Machine Music City Grand Prix on Sunday, Sept. 15 at Nashville Superspeedway.
Conor Daly finished third Saturday in a stirring drive in the No. 78 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet, his best race since a career-best result of second in June 2016 at Detroit. Daly thrilled the crowd with 51 on-track passes, the most of any driver in a race this season, using every available racing line on the track.
Santino Ferrucci placed fourth in the No. 14 Phoenix Investors Chevrolet of A.J. Foyt Enterprises, with championship leader Alex Palou rounding out the top five in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. Palou’s lead to second place Power, which was 54 points entering this race, was trimmed to 43 points.
The top five finishers in Saturday’s race each were from different teams, just the second time that has occurred this season. The other time came at the season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg presented by RP Funding in March, also won by O’Ward.
This was a race of varied pit strategies and plenty of action on the lead lap and in lapped traffic as the NTT INDYCAR SERIES returned to the historic oval for the first time since 2015. There were a season-high 667 on-track passes and 326 passes for position – the most on record at the Milwaukee Mile.
Various “undercut” and “overcut” ploys were tested by teams during early stops in hopes that perhaps either fresh Firestone Firehawk tires, racing in less traffic or an opportune caution could deliver a win.
Instead, O’Ward won on pace after starting sixth in the 27-car field. He took the lead for good under caution on Lap 195 when Power made his final pit stop. O’Ward’s last stop came on Lap 186, handing the lead to Power.
Two laps later, the last of three caution periods was triggered when the front left wheel dislodged from Colton Herta’s No. 26 Gainbridge Honda of Andretti Global with Curb-Agajanian when it wasn’t tightened during his pit stop on Lap 185.
Power and a group of three other leading cars had to make their last stop under that caution, and O’Ward cycled to the front, where he would stay. O’Ward led a race-high 133 laps.
After his final stop under that caution, Power cycled into third place behind O’Ward and Ferrucci. Power eventually passed Ferrucci for second, with Daly passing Ferrucci for third on Lap 224.
A thicket of lapped traffic slowed O’Ward, and Power pounced to within .3 of a second on Lap 236. But Power never was able to make a passing attempt for the lead, and O’Ward threaded a needle in 150-mph traffic to pull away from Power over the closing laps.
“It was getting wiggly,” O’Ward said of his car’s handling under pressure from Power. “It was reminding me a little bit of like qualifying, just getting a bit on the nose (loose handling). The car was changing a lot from the start of the race to the end of the race.”
Said Power, who won last Sunday at Portland International Raceway: “The car was all over the place with adjustments as you go through the run. I’m stoked to get on the podium. One more (place) was what we needed, but Pato was super good and strong, and he got through that traffic really well. Alex was super consistent, so it’s hard to drop that points gap, but we’re doing everything we need to at the moment. We’ll keep digging.”
The metronomic Palou rebounded from the 12th starting position for his 13th top-five finish in 15 races this season. He was in trouble early, mired in mid-pack, and just missed a two-car accident on Lap 147 that eliminated Indianapolis 500 winners Josef Newgarden in the No. 2 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet and Marcus Ericsson in the No. 28 Delaware Life Honda of Andretti Global from the race.
But as he seemingly does with the consistency of sunrise and sunset, Palou found a way to drive into the top five despite falling a lap down in seventh when the final caution flew during his out lap after his final stop. Palou and a handful of other drivers got the wave-around during that final caution, returning him to the lead lap.
“A little bit unlucky with that yellow,” Palou said. “We were a bit aggressive to try and get the lead. Not the luckiest of days, but a top five. The car was amazing.
“Looking forward to tomorrow. I’m happy that we got a good solid day. Hopefully we can be a step above everybody tomorrow.”
- Details
- Category: Road Racing
By: Formula Regional Americas
August 31, 2024
August 31, 2024
Daniel Quimby Wins F4 U.S. Race 1 At CTMP
Bowmanville, Ontario – Daniel Quimby won the first race of the weekend for Formula 4 United States Championship presented by Mosport Karting Centre (F4 U.S.) at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (CTMP) on Saturday morning. After rain showers soaked the track early this morning, Quimby (No. 24 Cruise America / MIR Raceline / FIJI Airways / GalvanizeIns Ligier JS F422) overcame challenging track conditions to earn his third win of the 2024 season.
Notes of Interest
Today’s race marked the first time in seven years that F4 U.S. has raced on Canadian soil. During the last F4 U.S. weekend at CTMP, now-INDYCAR driver Kyle Kirkwood swept all three events.
Daniel Quimby earned his third win and sixth podium of the season with today’s finish at CTMP.
Nicolas Stati’s second-place result marks his eighth podium of the season—he’s finished on the podium in all but one race this season.
After winning the series’ most recent race at New Jersey Motorsports Park, Connor Roberts returned to the podium with a third-place result.
Three teams were represented on this morning’s podium with Nova Scotia-based Atlantic Racing Team claiming the win, Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport finishing second and Team Roberts Racing taking third.
With a drying circuit, drivers and teams were given the choice to select between treaded Hankook wets or racing slicks before heading out on track as the first race group of the day. Three formation laps allowed drivers to observe track conditions before the green flag waved. Quimby got a solid start to pull ahead of second-place qualifier Nicolas Stati (No. 15 AGI Sport Ligier JS F422) before they reached Turn 1. Fourth-place qualifier Alex Crosbie (No. 41 Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F422) suffered a mechanical issue during the formation laps, allowing Barrett Wolfe (No. 13 Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F422) and Lincoln Day (No. 54 MLT Motorsports Ligier JS F422) to both climb in the running order when the green flag waved. However, a spin and continue by Day relegated him in the field, as Wolfe moved into fourth. Minutes later, the safety car was deployed for a full-course caution when Wolfe made light contact with the Turn 10 tire barrier. Unable to restart the race before time ran out, Quimby led the field across the finish line with Stati behind him in second and Connor Roberts (No. 46 ApexSpeed.com / Entropy Cellars Ligier JS F422) in third.
“It was a tricky race this morning,” said Quimby after the race. “Track conditions were tough. It was pretty damp, and it can be hard to pick up where the grip is around the track. It was a quick race, but hopefully we’ll get a good run in this afternoon. I’d like to thank Motorhome Republic, Fiji Airways, Atlantic, MIR, my team—Lucas, Trevor—my dad, and everyone that's supporting me out here.”
F4 U.S. will be back on track later today when the lights go out for Race 2 at 3:45 p.m. ET. Live timing and scoring for all of this weekend’s sessions will be available on the Race Monitor App, with additional news and updates posted on the series’ social channels: Facebook, Instagram and X.
Daniel Quimby Wins Thrilling Race 2 At CTMP
Daniel Quimby took the victory in a thrilling Race 2 for Formula 4 United States Championship presented by Mosport Karting Centre (F4 U.S.) at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (CTMP) on Saturday afternoon. Overtaking the leader just minutes into the race, Quimby (No. 24 Cruise America / MIR Raceline / FIJI Airways / GalvanizeIns Ligier JS F422) opened over a 13-second lead enroute to the checkered flag in a race that stayed green from flag to flag.
Notes of Interest
Daniel Quimby earned his fourth win of the year, and second of the weekend, while leading the field to the checkered flag in Race 2 at CTMP.
Connor Roberts continued his streak of three-straight podiums, finishing second in Race 2 at CTMP.
Alex Crosbie started the race in last, but drove through the field to capture his fifth podium of the season with a third-place result.
Atlantic Racing Team claimed their second win of the day; the Halifax, Nova Scotia-based team is the only F4 U.S. team based in Canada.
With three drivers competing in the 2024 F4 U.S. Championship season, Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport has been represented on all 10 podiums this year.
Setting the fast lap in Race 1 this morning, Nicolas Stati (No. 15 AGI Sport Ligier JS F422) led the field down the starting grid with Quimby lined up to the outside. Jumping out front as soon as the green flag waved, Stati took command of the race. However, with Quimby and Connor Roberts (No. 46 ApexSpeed.com / Entropy Cellars Ligier JS F422) tight on his gearbox, the three raced around the circuit with less than three-tenths separating them as they completed the first lap. While they battled up front, Alex Crosbie (No. 41 Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F422) was on the move at the back of the field, moving up to fourth from his sixth-place starting position within the first two laps of the race. As they completed the fourth lap, Stati made a mistake racing through Turn 10, which allowed Quimby to make a move around the outside and overtake the lead. With Quimby crossing the line just 0.295-seconds ahead of Stati, Stati soon had his mirrors full of Roberts’ machine, with Roberts completing the pass for second the very next lap.
Opening up a 2.273-second gap before they made it back to the start/finish line, Quimby never looked back as he ultimately opened more than a 13-second lead. Meanwhile, Roberts started to fall into his rhythm in the runner-up position. Behind him, Crosbie was chasing down Stati with the intention of overtaking third. Completing the pass just after the race’s halfway point, Crosbie turned his focus to Roberts, but was unable to complete the pass before the checkered flag waved.
As they crossed the finish line, Quimby led, with Roberts in second and Crosbie in third.
“It was a tough race,” said Quimby after climbing from the car. “We got to cut a couple more laps than this morning, which was nice. The car was good; obviously, we had new tires that race. I was trying to save my tires at the beginning, so I sat behind him for a little bit. I think I managed my tires a bit better than I think he did. Once I passed him, I was able to control the race from there and got to save a bit of tire for tomorrow.”
F4 U.S. wraps up their weekend in the Great White North with Race 3 at CTMP scheduled for 9:00 a.m. ET. Live timing and scoring for all of this weekend’s sessions will be available on the Race Monitor App, with additional news and updates posted on the series’ social channels: Facebook, Instagram and X.
- Details
- Category: Road Racing
By: Indy NXT
August 31, 2024
August 31, 2024
West Allis, Wisconsin – Louis Foster left no doubt, clinching the INDY NXT by Firestone championship with his series-leading seventh victory of the season Saturday at the Milwaukee Mile.
Foster, 21, from Odiham, England, locked up the title for Andretti Global in the INDYCAR development series with one race to spare. His seventh win of 2024 was the most by any driver in INDY NXT since current NTT INDYCAR SERIES star Kyle Kirkwood won a series record-tying 10 races en route to the title in 2021, the last championship for Andretti Global.
“It’s amazing,” second-year INDY NXT driver Foster said. “I’m just speechless. I’ve got to thank the team. They’ve been behind me the last two years. Massive thanks to everyone on the 26 crew, my sponsors. It’s been a crazy two years, and I’m super happy to cap it with a win.”
Foster started from the pole and led all 90 laps in the No. 26 Copart/Novara Technologies car fielded by Andretti Global, beating Jacob Abel in the No. 51 Abel Construction machine of Abel Motorsports to the finish by 4.3602 seconds. Salvador de Alba Jr. finished third in the No. 2 Grupo Indi entry of Andretti Cape INDY NXT, his second podium result of his rookie season.
Bryce Aron placed fourth in the No. 27 Jaguar Land Rover Chesterfield car of Andretti Global. Jamie Chadwick was fifth in the No. 28 VEXT machine as Andretti Global and its partner teams put four drivers in the top five at the checkered flag.
Foster needed to finish only sixth or better to seal the title and a financial benefits package to aid in the advancement to the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, but he never looked back from the green flag. Abel, who entered this race 79 points behind in second, fell from second to sixth at the start after contact from other cars in Turn 1, effectively ending his faint title hopes.
Abel still fought back from the early trouble to pass de Alba for second place with an outside move in Turn 1 with three laps remaining. He is 93 points behind champion Foster with just the Music City Grand Prix on Sunday, Sept. 15 at Nashville Superspeedway remaining this season.
There was no such drama for Foster.
He held steady with a lead of about a second over teammate Chadwick for the first 35 laps of the race, including pulling away from her on the only restart, on Lap 33. Foster then expanded that margin to 1.5 seconds over de Alba with 30 laps remaining.
About the only tricky trap that Foster needed to escape was lapped traffic for the last 15 trips around the historic oval, where the series was racing for the first time since 2015. But he navigated the slower cars with ease and strutted to victory over the final 10 laps.
Caio Collet finished ninth in the No. 18 HMD Motorsports entry, but that was enough to clinch third in the standings and honors as the top-finishing rookie in the series this season.
- Details
- Category: Road Racing
By: Formula Regional Americas
August 31, 2024
August 31, 2024
Bowmanville, Ontario – Patrick Woods-Toth clinched the 2024 title for Formula Regional Americas Championship presented by Mosport Karting Centre (FR Americas). Driving to victory lane in Race 2 at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (CTMP) on Saturday, Woods-Toth once again led from lights to checkers in an all-green race.
Notes of Interest
With just another 75 points available between today’s Race 2 and the final checkered flag of the season, Patrick Woods-Toth needed to leave Canadian Tire Motorsport Park with at least a 50-point lead. After today’s win, the 20-year-old has clinched the 2024 FR Americas championship, making him the first driver in five years to win back-to-back championships in Formula 4 United States Championship (F4 U.S.) and FR Americas.
Three drivers have now won back-to-back titles in F4 U.S. and FR Americas – INDYCAR driver Kyle Kirkwood, sportscar racer Dakota Dickerson and Patrick Woods-Toth.
Titus Sherlock recorded his seventh podium of the season with his runner-up finish.
Jett Bowling stood on the podium for the sixth time this year after finishing third in today’s race.
James Lawley recorded a career-best finish in his home country of Canada after finishing fourth in Round 16 on Saturday.
With his sixth-place result, Ricco Shlaimoun recorded his career-best finish. Previously, his best finish was seventh, recorded twice at New Jersey Motorsports Park.
Another Canadian, Kevin Janzen, tied his career-best finish with his seventh-place result. Previously, Janzen finished seventh in Round 2 at NOLA Motorsports Park during the 2023 season.
For the seventh time this season, Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport swept the podium with all three drivers competing for the Dallas-based organization.
After setting the fastest lap in yesterday’s race, Woods-Toth (No. 27 Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F3) led the field down the starting grid and got a clean jump when the lights went out to take control of the race. Titus Sherlock (No. 31 Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F3) had lined up in second and fell in behind Woods-Toth, with Jett Bowling (No. 02 Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F3) settling into third, just a few car lengths behind. Behind them, Halifax, Nova Scotia-native James Lawley (No. 77 Kartbahn Racing Ligier JS F3) had climbed to fourth after the fourth- and fifth-place qualifiers Landan Matriano Lim (No. 73 739Racing Ligier JS F3) and Hayden Bowlsbey (No. 22 Save22 Ligier JS F3) were sidelined by mechanical issues. Also climbing in the running order were Ricco Shlaimoun (No. 25 Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F3), Nicole Havrda (No. 6 Valley Kitchens Ltd / Colonial Countertops Ltd Ligier JS F3) and Kevin Janzen (No. 24 US Power Group / Data Center Solutions Ligier JS F3). Havrda pulled ahead on the initial start to overtake fifth, while Shlaimoun and Janzen engaged in a tight battle just behind her. Janzen initially held the position throughout the first half of the race, but as the clock ticked down, Shlaimoun pulled ahead to overtake sixth and claim his career-best finish.
When they took the checkered flag, Woods-Toth led the field across the finish line, with Sherlock in second and Bowling in third.
“What an amazing feeling, especially here at home with all my family, my friends, all the fans,” said Woods-Toth following the race. “There couldn’t be a better place to finish this off. What a season it’s been; I’m so glad we’ve come away with the championship. We wouldn’t be here without Orlando—Carlo is our number one supporter—so thank you to them, as well as Ron Fellows and his family. Then, of course, I have to thank my Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport team—my mechanic, Glen and my engineer, Steven. We’ve had a great year so far!”
FR Americas wraps up Labor Day weekend at CTMP tomorrow, with Race 3 scheduled for 10:40 a.m. ET. Live timing and scoring for all of this weekend’s sessions will be available on the Race Monitor App, with additional news and updates posted on the series’ social channels: Facebook, Instagram and X.
- Details
- Category: Road Racing
By: Formula Regional Americas
August 30, 2024
August 30, 2024
Bowmanville, Ontario – Canadian Patrick Woods-Toth took the pole in Formula Regional Americas Championship presented by Mosport Karting Centre (FR Americas) competition on Friday afternoon after leading practice at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (CTMP).
Posting a 1:14.846 lap during qualifying, Woods-Toth (No. 27 Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F3) led his Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport teammates, with the powerhouse organization taking the top-four qualifying spots.
After each topping the speed charts during yesterday’s test sessions, Titus Sherlock (No. 31 Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F3) and Jett Bowling (No. 02 Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F3) rounded out the top three—both within a half second of Woods-Toth. Landan Matriano Lim (No. 73 739Racing Ligier JS F3) was fourth, with Nova Scotia-native James Lawley (No. 77 Kartbahn Racing Ligier JS F3) completing the top five, just 1.203-seconds behind the leader.
Earlier today, Woods-Toth topped the leaderboard for the lone FR Americas practice session at CTMP. A native of Saint-Lazare, Quebec, Woods-Toth recorded a 1:14.598 lap, beating Bowling by more than a half second. Lawley, the only driver in the field with previous experience at CTMP after competing in a first-generation Ligier JS F4 at the track last year, rounded out the top three.
Lights out for Race 1 at CTMP is scheduled for today at 4:30 p.m. ET. Live timing and scoring for all of this weekend’s sessions will be available on the Race Monitor App, with additional news and updates posted on the series’ social channels: Facebook, Instagram and X.