More Races Need Pyrotechnics
While WWT Raceway has traditionally set off a pyro display at the start of its IndyCar races, this one was above and beyond anything we've ever seen. The massive explosion scared the crap out of Will Power's wife Liz, for example, and front-row starter Scott McLaughlin took to Twitter after the race ended to say "Brother that head through the helmet was intense." It was definitely enough to make me jump backward from the television screen watching it happen live.
Yeah, it's wasteful and bad for the local environment, and probably could have killed an entire flock of birds, but it looks cool and makes the fans excited for the race to come, and I think that's all the more reason to do this more often. I want to see big balls of flame at every race I go to. This is truly an IndyCar kind of thing, F1 could never.
Read more: These Are The Cars You Love Getting As Ubers And Lyfts
There was more to this race than just a few dozen giant balls of flame, though, because the racing across the so-called Bommarito Automotive Group 500 was truly stellar and at times even more explosive. Polesitter Will Power hit the wall with a cut tire early on. Onetime race leader Josef Newgarden drove full-speed into the side of Jacob Abel's spun car, causing one of the worst-looking crashes I've seen in quite a few years, with thankfully both drivers walking away unscathed from a crash that would likely have been career-ending 15 years ago. In the end it was another victory for Kyle Kirkwood, holding off Pato O'Ward for his third win from the last six races, and his first win on an oval. Despite the strong field of drivers and fighting at the front, only Kirkwood and series points leader Alex Palou have won races this season.
Anyway, I, uh, really like fire.
Want more like this? Join the Jalopnik newsletter to get the latest auto news sent straight to your inbox...
Read the original article on Jalopnik.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Fox Sports
7 hours ago
- Fox Sports
Favorites and Sleepers: Mid-Ohio
INDYCAR Reigning Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course winner Pato O'Ward snapped the Team Penske/Chip Ganassi Racing domination on the 2.258-mile track last year by giving Arrow McLaren its first victory there. But Chip Ganassi Racing driver Alex Palou enters this weekend as the driver to beat. The three-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion is undefeated on natural road courses in 2025 with wins at The Thermal Club, Barber Motorsports Park, Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course and Road America. He's also on a four-race podium streak at Mid-Ohio, including a 2023 victory and runner-up finish last year. Can anyone stop the points leader in Sunday's 90-lap race? If so, it may take a village. Typically, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course has been a track that has featured organization-wide dominance; if someone tops Palou, look for their teammate to be close by. Since 1990, a one-two team finish has occurred 138 times in NTT INDYCAR SERIES competition. Mid-Ohio has produced a series-leading 16 of those occurrences, double the next best of eight at the former Belle Isle Park circuit in Detroit. Here are the favorites and sleepers for The Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Presented by the All-New 2026 Passport airing at 1 p.m. ET Sunday on FOX, the FOX Sports app and the INDYCAR Radio Network. Favorites Scott McLaughlin (No. 3 Odyssey Battery Team Penske Chevrolet) McLaughlin has three straight top-five finishes at Mid-Ohio, including a 2022 win in which he led 45 laps. He finished third last season, the third straight year a Team Penske driver finished in that spot, with Will Power doing so in 2022 and 2023. On natural road course races this season, McLaughlin finished 27th, third, fourth and 12th, respectively, showing he's a serious contender when the car is right. Pato O'Ward (No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet) Last year's winner led 24 of 80 laps en route to the victory, but history isn't on his side as no driver has gone back-to-back at Mid-Ohio since Scott Dixon in 2011-12. However, O'Ward has flashed natural road course speed this season with podiums at The Thermal Club and the IMS road course. He also earned NTT P1 Award honors and led 51 laps at The Thermal Club and finished sixth at Barber Motorsports Park. Scott Dixon (No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda) Dixon has six wins in 19 Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course starts. His recent finishes include fourth, fifth, second and 27th, respectively. Chip Ganassi Racing has also produced the second-place finisher each of the last four years via Marcus Ericsson (2021), Palou (2022, 2024) and Dixon (2023). Alex Palou (No. 10 Open AI Chip Ganassi Racing Honda) Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course has been a great track for Palou, who has three straight top-two finishes on the track, including a victory in 2023. There's not much more to say for the three-time series champion, who leads second-place Kyle Kirkwood by 93 in the standings. Will Power (No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet) Power led 206 combined laps with seven top-four finishes in his last 10 Mid-Ohio starts. While he finished 11th last year, he battled a sickness that compromised his ability to push his car beyond its limits. He finished sixth this season at The Thermal Club, fifth at Barber, third on the IMS road course and 14th at Road America. Sleepers Christian Lundgaard (No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet) Lundgaard, in his last two Mid-Ohio starts driving for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, qualified fifth and ninth and finished fourth and seventh, respectively. This season, his first with Arrow McLaren, he has shown podium speed on natural road courses, with finishes of third and second at Thermal and Barber, before dipping to 16th and 24th at the IMS road course and Road America, respectively. Arrow McLaren proved it can win here, and Lundgaard is more than capable. Graham Rahal (No. 15 Fifth Third Bank Honda) Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course is Rahal's home track and is a place where he has performed well. Rahal has completed 99.7 percent of his laps (1,521 out of 1,525) and produced 10 top-10 finishes in his last 12 tries. He qualified second in 2023 and finished seventh after a slow final pit stop dropped him in the finishing order. Rahal has finished 11th, 14th, sixth and 20th on natural road courses this season. Kyle Kirkwood (No. 27 Andretti Global Honda) The only driver not named Alex Palou to win this season, with three in total, is chasing his first natural road course victory. Kirkwood is 0-for-24 on this type of track but is trending upward and improving nearly every season at like venues. At Mid-Ohio, he has finished 26th, 17th and eighth, respectively. Kirkwood finished fourth two weekends ago at Road America. Louis Foster (No. 45 Mi-Jack Honda) He finished first and second, respectively, at Mid-Ohio in USF Pro 2000 competition in 2022. He then earned his first career INDY NXT by Firestone victory on this track in 2023 and repeated last year during his 10-win championship season. Foster earned NTT P1 Award honors in the last race at Road America, and his best finishes during his rookie season are 11th at both the IMS and Road America road courses. He has qualified 10th, 12th, third and first, respectively, on natural road courses, too. Felix Rosenqvist (No. 60 SiriusXM Honda) Rosenqvist earned his first career podium at Mid-Ohio by finishing runner-up to Dixon in 2019. He placed runner-up in the last race, at Road America. On natural road course tracks this season, Rosenqvist has three top-10 finishes in four tries. recommended
Miami Herald
7 hours ago
- Miami Herald
Keanu Reeves To Star In Cadillac F1 Docuseries Ahead Of 2026 Debut
Keanu Reeves is back in the fast lane. The Hollywood legend and quietly obsessive motorsport fan is set to narrate and executive produce a brand-new documentary series charting the rise of Cadillac's all-new Formula 1 team - a project that might just be the biggest shake-up to hit F1's paddock since Drive to Survive made Netflix shareholders very alongside Brawn collaborators Neil Duncanson and Simon Hammerson, the yet-unnamed docuseries will follow Cadillac and Andretti Global's rollercoaster bid to enter Formula 1, from their original 2022 application (rejected), to finally securing a grid slot for 2026 (approved, just barely). It will be filmed under Reeves' KR+SH production company and North One Television."I'm very honored and excited to be a part of telling the remarkable Cadillac Formula 1 Team story," Reeves said. "Our goal is to bring audiences into the heart of this journey and showcase what it takes to participate in one of the most exclusive sports arenas in the world." From Silverstone To Indy - The Team Behind The Team Unlike most F1 newcomers, Cadillac's team is being built entirely from scratch. No buyouts, no rebranding, no leased chassis. It's a clean-sheet operation with big ambitions, split between Andretti's U.S. base in Fishers, Indiana, and a UK outfit operating out of Silverstone - right in the heart of motorsport the two, they're hiring 600 people before lights out in Melbourne, with around 400 already on board. Engineers, logistics leads, aerodynamicists - the lot. And since GM won't have its Cadillac power unit ready until 2028 or 2029, the team will enter F1 in 2026 with Ferrari-supplied Cadillac insists it'll be an American effort with international scope. A moonshot project, in every sense - which is exactly why it should make for compelling television. Star Power Meets Serious Stakes The documentary is being positioned as more than just another Drive to Survive spinoff. Where Brawn focused on a miraculous underdog season, this project will showcase the blood, sweat, spreadsheets, and budget caps behind building an F1 team from nothing - with cameras embedded in both U.S. and UK also perfectly timed. Formula 1 has exploded in the U.S. in recent years, and a homegrown team led by a heritage luxury brand like Cadillac could be the final marketing domino Liberty Media's been waiting for. Add Keanu Reeves - already proven in motorsport storytelling - and you've got a headline act with genuine fan series is expected to land before the team's 2026 debut, with speculation it could stream on Disney+, Netflix, or Amazon Prime, depending on distribution deals. Still A Team Without A Face As of July 2025, no livery or drivers have been revealed. Cadillac has confirmed key hires are in place, and driver talks are ongoing. Rumours swirl around the usual suspects - Colton Herta, Valtteri Bottas, Sergio Pérez - but nothing has been documentary may well break that news itself, with producers hinting at exclusive behind-the-scenes access. Expect at least one reveal episode before testing begins in early 2026. Why It Matters In a landscape where new F1 teams are rare, and even rarer when they're American, Cadillac's entry is both bold and politically fraught. The docuseries won't just show a brand entering a sport - it'll show how difficult it is to be allowed to enter at all, especially when existing teams are reluctant to split the prize the drama Liberty Media loves. It's the spectacle fans crave. And with Keanu narrating it all in that serene, slightly whispery cadence? You might just believe the impossible is possible. Copyright 2025 The Arena Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Fox Sports
7 hours ago
- Fox Sports
Practice Shots: Unpredictability Is Predictable at Mid-Ohio
INDYCAR The most challenging stretch of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES began Friday with the first day of on-track activity at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Before this month ends, teams will have competed in five races at four venues in three different parts of North America (the Midwest, Canada and the West Coast). Here are three observations about the first practice of The Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Presented by the All-New 2026 Passport, plus other notes of interest: This is Alex Palou's track until proven otherwise. In four starts with Chip Ganassi Racing on the 13-turn, 2.258-mile road course, the Spaniard has finished third, second, first and second for an average finish of 2.0. The series points leader was third on Friday's speed chart, which should be concerning to those trying to cut into his commanding 93-point standings lead. Palou has a series-leading six race wins this season, and he and Andretti Global's Kyle Kirkwood, who delivered Friday's fastest lap, are the only race winners this season. Palou doesn't have to qualify up front Saturday to win Sunday. His average starting position here with CGR is only 4.75. Mid-Ohio has always been a roller-coaster ride for drivers. Friday, it sent several off track. Colton Herta of Andretti Global w/Curb-Agajanian slid off twice, the first time well wide of Turn 1. Later, he went rear-first off Turn 6. Rookie Jacob Abel of Dale Coyne Racing spun at the exit of Turn 1. Arrow McLaren's Nolan Siegel (Turn 12), AJ Foyt Racing's David Malukas (Turn 9), Team Penske's Scott McLaughlin (Turn 4) and Arrow McLaren's Pato O'Ward (Turn 4) also went off the road. Malukas mentioned a slick track. Maybe that was it. The track was resurfaced two years ago. Turn 4 is one of the track's signature corners and one of the best places to pass. But for safety reasons, the profile of the corner has been modified since last year's NTT INDYCAR SERES race. Previously, there was a big drop-off into the gravel trap, an area affectionately known as 'China Beach.' But that drop-off contributed to the dramatic flips of Michael Andretti (1998) and Simon Pagenaud (2023), among other rough rides. The transition from track to gravel is now about the same level, and the rest of Turn 4 has been flattened out, which removes the ramp effect that previously existed. So Many Winners (Poles and Race) There are many reasons why drivers love competing at Mid-Ohio, and one is the success so many of them have experienced. There are nine drivers in this NTT INDYCAR SERIES field who have won series races here – the most by any venue on this year's calendar. Certainly, eight different winners in the past eight years are the most of any venue on the schedule. Qualifying has been similarly competitive in recent years. Different drivers have won the NTT P1 Award each of the past four years – Josef Newgarden (2021), O'Ward (2022), Herta (2023) and Palou (2024). In all, seven drivers racing this weekend have won NTT P1 Awards at this track, led by Will Power and his five poles. Scott Dixon and Alexander Rossi are the other former Mid-Ohio pole winners. Qualifying for Sunday's The Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Presented by the All-New 2026 Passport is at 2:30 p.m. ET Saturday (FS1, FOX Sports app, INDYCAR Radio Network). Odds and Ends A year certainly can fly by fast. Last year at this event, the NTT INDYCAR SERIES raced with hybrid technology for the first time. O'Ward won the race. Last month, World Wide Technology Raceway became the first track to experience the series' hybrid technology a second time as the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 presented by Axalta and Valvoline moved forward in this year's schedule by two months. Marcus Ericsson has a different engineer for the first time as an Andretti Global driver. Dave Seyffert has been tabbed to finish out the season with the No. 28 FOX INDYCAR Honda, replacing Olivier Boisson. Seyffert was an assistant engineer with Meyer Shank Racing when Helio Castroneves won the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge in 2021. He also stepped in for Jeremy Milless on Kirkwood's car last month at World Wide Technology Raceway, and the combination won the race. Ericsson should be optimistic about his chances this weekend. He has finished in the top six of four of the past five races at Mid-Ohio. He finished second to Newgarden in 2021 and was fifth a year ago. Felix Rosenqvist's No. 60 SiriusXM Honda is carrying a special livery this weekend, highlighting legendary English hard rock singer Ozzy Osbourne. Ed Carpenter Racing's Christian Rasmussen will start Sunday's race six positions beyond where he qualifies due to serving a penalty for an unapproved engine change following last week's team test at Iowa Speedway. recommended
