
INDYCAR sends 3 Indy 500 finishers to rear of final order for tech violations
The Andretti Global cars of Marcus Ericsson (second) and Kyle Kirkwood (sixth) and the Prema Racing car of Callum Ilott (12th) all failed post-race inspection.
Each team was fined $100,000 and the team/competition manager for each was suspended for one race.
The Ericsson and Kirkwood penalties were the result of modifications to the Dallara-supplied Energy Management System covers and the mounting points from the covers to A-arms using unapproved spacers and parts.
Ilott's car failed left side minimum end-plate height.
The teams can appeal the penalties.
Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR and INDYCAR for FOX Sports. He has spent decades covering motorsports, including over 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass.
BEST OF FOX SPORTS' INDY 500 COVERAGE: Ranking Indy 500 drivers from 33 to 1: Can anyone unseat Josef Newgarden?
Got milk? 33 potential Indy 500 winners pick preferred dairy option
Pato O'Ward pens letter to Indy 500: 'Had my heart broken here … but it also fuels me'
No oval experience, no problem: Rookie Robert Shwartzman captures Indy 500 pole
Rash of Crash: Inside a wild weekend of wrecks during Indy 500 prep
From 'magical' to 'legendary': Drivers describe the Indy 500 in one word
2025 Indy 500 liveries: See the designs of all 34 cars on the track at The Brickyard
Counting down the 25 most memorable moments in Indy 500 history
recommended
Get more from NTT INDYCAR SERIES Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


USA Today
5 hours ago
- USA Today
Honda Indy 200 Preview: Who are the top contenders heading into Mid-Ohio?
We've hit the midseason point of the IndyCar Series season and the first race of the second half of the season is the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio in Lexington. Here's a quick preview of this Sunday's race. More: Honda Indy 200 race at Mid-Ohio: How to buy tickets Alex Palou is the guy to chase Last year going into Mid-Ohio, Alex Palou was the defending champion and first in the IndyCar Series standings with a 23-point lead. He finished narrowly second in the race, but by season's end he won his third career IndyCar Series title. Fast forward to this year and Palau is riding high again as he enters Sunday's race with a 93-point lead at the top of the standings with 386 points. Palou had three wins last year — yet he's probably in even better form this year — as the Chip Genassi Racing driver started the season off winning five of the first six races, making him the third IndyCar driver in history along with A.J. Foyt in 1964 and 1979 and AI Unser in 1971, to do exactly that. Palou was so hot early on that there was serious talk of him reaching the most wins in an IndyCar Series single season, which is 10 set by Unser in 1970 and Foyt in 1964. And hey, Palou still might reach that as he sits with a season-high six wins, coming off a victory at Road America two weeks ago. With Mid-Ohio being a road course that should improve the Spaniard's chances as he's already won four times on road courses this season. Still, no bigger win was a bigger triumph for Palou then winning the famous Indianapolis 500 in May. Let's see if Palou can add to his lead this weekend and create even more distance from the field. Other contenders Interesting enough this season, there have only been two drivers that have won titles through the first nine races. That's Palou and Andretti Global driver Kyle Kirkwood, who has three wins to his name and is second in the championship standings behind Palou. Kirkwood finished eighth in last year's race. Another fact that might interest fans: there hasn't been a repeat winner at Mid-Ohio since Scott Dixon from 2011-2012. Pato O'Ward will look to change that at the 90-lap road course as O'Ward held off Palou in the late stages at Mid-Ohio last season for the win. The Arrow McLaren driver will enter this weekend third in the championships standings and he knows how critical it is to do well at Mid-Ohio to stay within the title race. "Super important. There's plenty of racing to go and it's been a different season than what people have expected it to be," said O'Ward before racing at Road America. "It's been a very different start to the season. We're inching away at the championship and getting closer and closer." For O'Ward, he's finished runner-up in three races so far and is seeking that first win of the campaign. He hopes to get it at Mid-Ohio. "Yeah, it definitely feels like this isn't the first time this has happened but we've been close a few times and we're gonna be close again," O'Ward said. "I'm not really focused on if it's going to arrive or when it's going to arrive. Sometimes years play out a certain way and we might be super consistent, but maybe you don't actually get a win here and there. I'd love to go back-to-back like we did last year. We had a phenomenal week last year. We have some tracks coming up that we're looking forward to be a part of." jamessimpson@ Twitter/X: @JamesSimpsonII

Indianapolis Star
9 hours ago
- Indianapolis Star
BC 39's first two-time winner came from back for consecutive victories: 'Gave it all I had'
INDIANAPOLIS — During Wednesday night's third qualifier race for the BC 39 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway dirt track, Cannon McIntosh's car was upside down near the Turn 3 fence. Just a few short hours later, the Bixby, Oklahoma native kissed the bricks on the wall after claiming his second consecutive victory in the 39-lap feature race on the fifth-mile oval, and becoming the first to win the BC 39 twice. McIntosh only led the final two laps of the race after getting the lead from Jacob Denney on a late restart. 'If he left it open, I was going to go attack,' McIntosh said. 'I was able to clear him (Denney) there and he crossed under, kind of hopped our wheel, didn't really know what was going to happen there and he didn't protect the second time, so I dove it off in there again and gave it all I had.' Second place finisher Gavin Miller pulled off a slide job on Denney going to the white flag and the light contact between the pair was enough to slow both down and allow the No. 71K Keith Kunz Motorsports machine to win. Tuesday night's preliminary feature winner Justin Grant started the race from the pole and led the race's first 36 laps but late contact on the front stretch with Denney punctured the California native's left front tire. The pair had contact again on the back stretch before another yellow flag for multiple stopped cars exiting Turn 2. 'I don't think (Grant) knew I had that big of a run coming down the front stretch when we hit and then I slid him down to one,' Denney said. 'I smoked the curb. I didn't know he was there and we hit again. So I don't feel like it's any of our fault. It's just hard racing for the win there and both weren't going to give an inch just enough for each other to not crash. So it was a good race with him.' On the ensuing restart, Denney led McIntosh and Miller as the trio headed to the first turn. McIntosh went underneath Denney to pull off a slide job and nearly cleared the Ohio native but the pair had contact exiting Turn 2. Denney went high again going into Turn 3 and that time McIntosh made the pass stick en route to victory. Insider: How Andretti Global is making a midseason shop switch into IndyStar's old printing center For McIntosh, it was all about proving that his crew guys were the best. The team replaced numerous parts on the car after determining that a backup car would not be needed following his flip in the third qualifier race. McIntosh then started fourth in the B-Main which he won to advance to the feature where he started 19th. 'If that car fired off tonight, we had a chance,' McIntosh said. 'Those guys have worked hard and gave me a great piece and I truly couldn't have done it without them and their hard work. They could have given up on me and gotten it back out there and not put much effort into it and thought, 'Yeah, well he's out of it, he is just not showing up today.' But they worked their butts off and they believe in me. So it comes down to me doing my job there at the end. They gave me a winning car. It was up to me to go do the job and I'm just thankful we were able to do it.' IMS president Doug Boles was on hand to hand McIntosh his tie after McIntosh's victory. He was upbeat about the race and its future at the dirt track. 'We've never really had a contract, it's a handshake deal and they'll definitely be back next year,' Boles said. 'We'll just figure out the right date. Hopefully we can get ahead of that, you know, get people to know earlier. This is the first time we've done a Tuesday-Wednesday show. So we've got to figure out how that is and, and figure out what the right date is for it.' Boles had to juggle the BC 39's date with the dirt track's debut in Indiana Sprint Week on July 24, and that had other logistical hurdles. The track's biggest expense for hosting the races is in renting the temporary grandstands that must be rented, built up and torn down for both the BC 39 and the Sprint Week race in three weeks' time. Insider: 5 thoughts on IndyCar's new car, what it could mean for the sport's future, paddock insight But that expense doesn't dampen Boles' enthusiasm for the BC 39. 'For me, this is my second favorite day of the year,' Boles said. 'And to continue to have this, I think it's just great grassroots racing, great way to stay connected to USAC and obviously the connection of our organization and USAC goes way back. So that's really, really important for us.' As for McIntosh, sweeping the dirt races at IMS would be on his bucket list for 2025. 'I don't have anything planned or lined up, but I sure would like to, but yeah, we'll see,' McIntosh said. 'Maybe something will come about, maybe this interview will make it out there and something happens.'


Fox Sports
19 hours ago
- Fox Sports
Inside Line: Who Ends Alex Palou-Kyle Kirkwood Streak at Mid-Ohio?
INDYCAR Today's question: Alex Palou and Kyle Kirkwood are the only drivers to win an NTT INDYCAR SERIES race this season. Which driver is most likely to end that streak this Sunday in The Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Presented by the All-New 2026 Passport? Curt Cavin: Arrow McLaren's Pato O'Ward has been among the closest to derailing this year's Palou-Kirkwood train, and Mid-Ohio will be a return to the scene of one of his three race wins from a year ago. O'Ward leads this season in second-place finishes in 2025 – he has three – and one of those was a brilliant drive at The Thermal Club in which he led 51 of the 65 laps. He also finished second on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course and at World Wide Technology Raceway. Nine drivers in this field have won NTT INDYCAR SERIES races at Mid-Ohio, including eight in the past eight races, but it feels like O'Ward will break several trends this weekend. Eric Smith: I'm predicting the upset. One could consider two winners in nine NTT INDYCAR SERIES races an upset in and of itself. So could Robert Shwartzman winning the pole for the 109th Running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge. To continue that theme, how about more chaos? Wouldn't it be fitting if a rookie ended this Palou/Kirkwood domination? I'm going with Louis Foster for the win on Sunday. It's not as far-fetched as it seems. He became the second rookie NTT P1 Award winner of the season the last time out in Road America. Foster is also good at Mid-Ohio. He finished first and second, respectively, in USF Pro 2000 competition in 2022. He earned his first INDY NXT by Firestone win here in 2023 and finished second last year. RLL typically produces strong cars on its home track, and Foster has been fast on natural road courses this season to the tune of qualifying 10th, 12th, third and first, respectively. With a fast car, a strong track for him and the team, plus the ability to go off strategy if needed, give me the upset. Bobby Rahal earned his first Mid-Ohio victory 40 years ago. His son and Foster's teammate, Graham Rahal, won 10 years ago. The year of the '5s' is kind to the Rahal's at Mid-Ohio, so how about the No. 45 RLL Honda to victory lane on Sunday. Arni Sribhen: You can't talk about an INDYCAR SERIES race at Mid-Ohio and not begin a list of favorites to win with Scott Dixon. But I'm going to focus on another Kiwi who runs well at Mid-Ohio – Team Penske's Scott McLaughlin. Scotty Mac has history at Mid-Ohio. He's the only driver not named Alex Palou to finish in the top five in each of the last three seasons at Mid-Ohio and he knows how to win at there, notching a victory in 2022. Chevrolet's still looking for win No. 1 for one of its drivers this season and winning in Honda's backyard with the Team Penske driver and the 'Thirsty 3s' would be an ideal place to get it done. Paul Kelly: It's Will Power's time to end the Palou-Kirkwood duopoly and put Team Penske back into victory lane for the first time since Scott McLaughlin won last Sept. 1 at Milwaukee, as crazy as that sounds. Power has successful recent history at Mid-Ohio, and I think recognizing that recent success is more important due to the changes in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES car since 2019, namely the addition of the aeroscreen and the hybrid. Power won in 2020 with the aeroscreen and finished third in 2022 and 2023. Plus, Power has been the best of the three Team Penske drivers in this disappointing season, with more top-five and top-10 finishes than teammates McLaughlin and Josef Newgarden. There's also the well-known matter that Power is in a contract year, and who knows what his future with the team is at this point? But delivering the first winner's trophy to Roger Penske this season might not hurt Willy P's chances at an extension if a decision hasn't been made already. recommended