Paddock Buzz: MSR Continues To Soar Higher with Double Top Five
Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb-Agajanian delivered its strongest all-around NTT INDYCAR SERIES performance to date outside of Helio Castroneves' iconic 2021 Indianapolis 500 win with a standout showing Sunday at the XPEL Grand Prix at Road America Presented by AMR.
Felix Rosenqvist charged from 12th to finish second in the No. 60 SiriusXM Honda, tying MSR's best non-Indy 500 result. Teammate Marcus Armstrong climbed from 15th to fifth in the No. 66 Sirius/XM Root Insurance Honda, marking MSR's first-ever double top-five finish.
The result reflects a dramatic step forward for the team, which has already earned 12 top-10 finishes this season, surpassing its previous best of 10 in 2022. A key catalyst?
A bold offseason switch in technical alliances from Andretti Global to Chip Ganassi Racing and the addition of Armstrong to the lineup.
'I feel like we've taken it to the next step,' Rosenqvist said. 'I feel like we're unhappy now if we're not in the Fast 12 or even (Firestone) Fast Six. I think we're just expecting a higher level, and it's come down to I feel like we're pretty quick everywhere, both in qualifying and in a race, and it's just about executing strategy.'
Rosenqvist has six top-10 finishes this season while Armstrong has five, four of which came in the last five races. Castroneves contributed another with a 10th-place finish in the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge.
'I feel like the team is really strong from an engineering core,' Armstrong said. 'I also feel like I work well with Felix (Rosenqvist). Felix is a strong driver, really good over one lap, like you can learn from him a lot. Looking at his data is great. And also just talking with him, I feel like it's an easy team environment, which is really helpful.'
Dixon Nearly Pulls Off Fuelish Victory
Scott Dixon and Chip Ganassi Racing master strategist Mike Hull nearly pull off another fuel-saving masterpiece in Sunday's 55-lap race.
Starting 25th in the 27-car field, Dixon capitalized on a first-lap caution, diving into the pits after David Malukas went off track.
Six-time series champion Dixon ran a bold, off-sequence strategy, stretching fuel masterfully while still showing strong pace.
The gamble didn't quite pay off. With fumes left in the tank, Dixon was forced to pit his No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda with two laps remaining. That could have been his 21st consecutive season with at least one INDYCAR SERIES win, a record unmatched in the sport.
Dixon handed the lead and win to teammate Alex Palou in his No. 10 SOLO Cup Chip Ganassi Racing Honda.
'Pretty wild strategies there just to try and make something happen,' he said. 'The unfortunate part is that the car was super fast. We were just having to save fuel every lap, so that was kind of frustrating. I think we should have been in the top three.'
Dixon ultimately crossed the finish line in ninth, marking his third straight race running an alternate strategy. He finished 11th in the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear on June 1 and fourth in the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 presented by Axalta and Valvoline on June 15.
He found himself just a few laps short of perfection Sunday in Wisconsin.
'Just one of those years, man,' Dixon said. 'We'll keep knocking on the door. We're just going for some race wins. Pretty much out of the championship, so nothing to lose.'
Siegel Scores Top 10 After Busy Week
After a turbulent week off track, Nolan Siegel delivered a timely performance on it at Road America.
Following a public apology, along with one from his Arrow McLaren team, for salty remarks made on the team radio about Scott McLaughlin and Team Penske during the previous week's race at World Wide Technology Raceway, the 19-year-old responded with a career-boosting drive to a season-best eighth place at Road America.
'This is a nice end to this week,' Siegel said. 'Nice to move on from everything from last week and ended on a high. This has been a much-needed weekend. Ultimately, this is something we can build off of.
'I've had a lot of bad weeks where everyone leaves upset, and it's not a good feeling. It's nice to kind of turn that around.'
The results marks Siegel's third career top 10 and second on a natural road course. The other came with a ninth-place finish May 4 at Barber Motorsports Park. His career best finish remains seventh in 2023 at WWTR.
With momentum finally swinging in his favor and The Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Presented by the all-new 2026 Passport next on Sunday, July 6, a road-course event that teammate Pato O'Ward won last year, Siegel remains optimistic.
'I've been strong on the road courses this year,' he said. 'Barber, here, Mid-Ohio was a pretty good one for all of us last year. So, we're going to have a strong car, I know that.
'The goal is to just do better every weekend and maybe start a little further up than we did this weekend. I think there's a lot of potential there. I'm excited given how much potential this group seems to have. I think once that starts to come out, the results start to come and just kind of get the ball rolling.'
INDY NXT Race Completed Without Push To Pass
Caio Collet secured his first victory of the season in Sunday's INDY NXT by Firestone race at Road America. He did so without the aid of Push to Pass, the overtaking assist feature that wasn't available to any of the 19 cars in the field due to a technical problem.
INDYCAR is evaluating a car-side processing issue that prevented use of Push to Pass. No competitive advantage was available to any entry as the full field was impacted. Following internal analysis, INDYCAR will work to ensure any necessary remedies are in place before the next race.
Odds and Ends The eventual NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion has finished in the top four in seven of the last eight years at Road America. Josef Newgarden finished second in his 2017 championship-winning season and third in 2019. Dixon was also third in his 2018 title-winning campaign and won Race 1 in 2020. Palou won at Road America in his 2021 and 2023 championship-winning seasons and finished fourth last year. Will Power's 19th-place finish in 2022 is the lone exception. Palou, the points leader, won Sunday. Green Bay Packers Pro Bowl running back Josh Jacobs led the field to the green flag in the passenger seat of the Fastest Seat in Sports two-seater race car. Jacobs met and chatted before the race with Team Penske driver and avid NFL fan McLaughlin, Roger Penske and Penske Corp. executive Bud Denker. The impressive statistics keep piling up for race winner Palou. This was the 50th top-five finish from his 90 career starts, a strike rate of 56 percent. Honda begins the season 9-for-9, with six wins from Palou and three from Kyle Kirkwood's No. 27 Siemens Honda. The manufacturer's unbeaten streak is 10 straight wins, dating to Colton Herta's victory in the No. 26 Gainbridge Honda in last year's season finale at Nashville Superspeedway. Kyffin Simpson earned his second top-six finish in the last three races by finishing sixth in the No. 8 Ridgeline Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. He finished fifth in Detroit.
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Chicago Tribune
4 hours ago
- Chicago Tribune
Column: An impromptu thank-you speech from Pete Crow-Armstrong brings a ballpark community closer
On a sweltering morning at Wrigley Field, hours before the Chicago Cubs' 8-6 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals, the daily pregame meeting of ushers and security guards was interrupted by a guest speaker who needed no introduction. Pete Crow-Armstrong ambled up to the mic and held it like he was giving a toast at his best friend's wedding. 'You guys go through the same 162-game season we do, in a way,' Crow-Armstrong told the ballpark employees. 'You do so much for us in terms of our families and people that matter to me and my teammates. First and foremost, that's one of the more important things I recognize when we think about you guys and the work that you do. And I know it's been so hot recently, and I just appreciate you guys on a daily basis being out there with us, and doing a lot of work … You guys are the best.' Crow-Armstrong told the workers they helped make Wrigley the special place it is, and thanked them for the conversations and relationships he's developed in his young career. He even agreed to go to dinner with one of them. When the brief speech ended, Crow-Armstrong received an ovation, and one usher was brought to tears. Crow-Armstrong wasn't the first player to offer his thanks to the workers. Some remembered Patrick Wisdom and Ben Zobrist doing likewise as Cubs. But for a 23-year-old who sometimes lets his emotions get the best of him when he makes an out — as happened again Saturday, another helmet slam following a bases-loaded strikeout to end the sixth — it showed a sense of maturity that many veteran players lack. PCA's thank-you speech was a small gesture from a young player that might have been easy to overlook in the course of a long baseball season, especially on a hot day when the Cubs blew a late lead, allowing five runs in the eighth inning to end a four-game win streak before a crowd of 40,119. Yet for dozens of ballpark workers, many of whom are retirees working for low wages in sometimes harsh conditions because of their love for the Cubs, it was a perfect way to connect with a team that has captured the city. Crow-Armstrong's ascension from a free-swinging prospect with great defensive skills to an All-Star starter and one of the best all-around players in the game has been the most remarkable story in a season full of them. Kyle Tucker also is an MVP candidate, Seiya Suzuki leads the majors in RBI, and Michael Busch had a three-homer game Friday, part of a franchise-record eight home run afternoon in an 11-3 win over the Cardinals. Busch has been an unsung hero of this team because he's avoided the spotlight. But he began Saturday ranked sixth in the majors with a .920 OPS and was first among all first basemen in OPS and slugging percentage (547). Given another opportunity to face a left-hander Saturday with Matthew Liberatore on the mound, Busch homered again and had seven straight hits off Cardinals pitching in the series until striking out in the seventh. Manager Craig Counsell said playing in the shadows hasn't affected Busch at all. 'You can give Michael Busch a lot of attention,' he said. 'He's not going to care. That's just who Michael is. That's what you're going to get.' Busch couldn't recall a two-game streak like this. 'It's always fun to string together quite a few at-bats,' he said. 'You go through stretches when you're feeling it, and you go through stretches when you're not. Just try to hold those for as long as possible and minimize the other ones.' Busch, Suzuki, Carson Kelly and Matthew Boyd will find out Sunday whether they will join Crow-Armstrong and Tucker at the All-Star Game in Atlanta. Reserves and pitchers will be announced at 4 p.m. Sunday, shortly before the 5:10 p.m. start of the rubber game matchup of Boyd and Erick Fedde on 'Sunday Night Baseball.' 'Obviously Pete and Kyle are going, and we should have a handful,' Busch said. 'Hopefully there are as many as there are (players) deserving of it. That will be exciting for the team itself. We spend a lot of time together, and we see how much time all those guys put in and the things they go through. We'll be excited as a group and hopefully win the series tomorrow.' On a day a southwest wind blew out at 14 mph, the Cardinals came back thanks to a couple of home runs sandwiched around a bunt. Brad Keller, the fifth Cubs pitcher on a bullpen day, came into the eighth inning with a two-run lead before allowing a one-out home run to Alec Burleson and a single to Thomas Sagesse. Lars Nootbaar laid down a bunt between Keller and Kelly that landed in no-man's land. Both deferred to the other, allowing Nootbaar to reach and put two men on. 'It was one of those things where we both called it at the same time,' Keller said. 'And we both backed away right at the same time. it's frustrating, but a little (miscommunication) was all it was.' After Nolan Gorman's game-tying RBI single, pinch-hitter Yohel Pozo pounded a Keller slider onto Waveland Avenue for a three-run home run. Suzuki's run-scoring double in the eighth pulled the Cubs to within two runs, but Crow-Armstrong grounded to first base to end the inning and Ryan Helsley notched his 17th save. The Cubs have one more home game Sunday before hitting the road to Minnesota and New York, ending the final week before the All-Star break with a big series against the Yankees in the Bronx. They won't be home again until July 18 against the Boston Red Sox, when the race really heats up. We'll find out in the coming weeks whether the Cubs have enough pitching depth to make up for the recent loss of starter Jameson Taillon to a calf injury, whether president Jed Hoyer can find some much-needed help for the stretch run, and whether a veteran-laden bullpen can continue handling the pressure after saving the Cubs the last three months. A day at Wrigley Field during a pennant race is something to be savored, and something Cubs fans might have taken for granted when they made it a habit from 2015 through the end of the Joe Maddon era. And when players can connect with the rest of the ballpark employees, like Crow-Armstrong did Saturday with his impromptu pregame speech, it's a team in the truest sense of the word.
Indianapolis Star
5 hours ago
- Indianapolis Star
Alex Palou claims Mid-Ohio pole, as others stare at championship that could 'start drifting very fast'
LEXINGTON, Ohio — Despite a 93-point gap to the two-time defending series champion and runaway title leader at the 2025 IndyCar season's halfway point, Kyle Kirkwood came to Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course still feeling he was in the game. But the driver sitting second in points through nine races and the other driver in the paddock to win this year not named Alex Palou knew on Friday ahead of the weekend-opening practice that the clock was beginning to tick on whittling down the deficit to the Chip Ganassi Racing driver. Though he said it's not yet time in the title fight to dictate his team's in-race strategy on what Palou isn't doing, finishing ahead of the driver who's won six times already through nine races this year is becoming paramount to maintaining any hope in the race for the Astor Cup. More than ever, it's about execution and maximizing speed and tracks where Andretti Global has it in spades. 'We need to get good finishes at places like this,' Kirkwood told IndyStar on Friday, referencing the track where Palou is yet to finish off the podium in his four starts with Chip Ganassi Racing, including a win in 2023 and a runner-up from pole a year ago. 'I'd say the only think we're focused on with (Palou) is we know he's really good at road courses.' Saturday afternoon, Palou yet again proved exactly that, snagging his third pole of the season (no other driver has more than one) and the ninth of his IndyCar career. Ahead of this weekend, Palou has won six of the eight previous poles, not including his exhibition victory a year ago at The Thermal Club where he led the field to green. And yet, in the wake of his experience a year ago, where Arrow McLaren's Pato O'Ward started alongside Palou on the front row and watched on as the race's polesitter opened up a six-second lead in the first stint, only to be able to eat up virtually all that deficit in the second stint and then jump Palou in the final pit exchange, Palou said Saturday his starting spot isn't nearly as important as the overall performance of the car he'll wield. 'It's one of those tracks where you think it's huge (to get pole), and it's a very, very big advantage, but it's not one of the most. For sure it's good, but I think a fast car or a fast pace, car and driver, is more beneficial,' he said. 'The other years, I've never started on pole, and we were still able to make it on pace. 'I like where we start for sure, but I know it's just going to make it easier the first lap, hopefully.' Pit lane skirmish: Breaking down Will Power's exchange with Alex Palou during IndyCar at Mid-Ohio practice Palou leads IndyCar in average starting position (4.2 after his pole Saturday) by more than two spots (Colton Herta is closest at 6.8). As so often has been the case this year, the IndyCar points leader will start Sunday with a multi-row gap to all his closest championship challengers, with Kirkwood narrowly missing out on a Fast Six appearance and settling for seventh and O'Ward (third in the championship, starting 15th Sunday), Felix Rosenqvist (fourth; 16th) and Scott Dixon (fifth; ninth) a ways further back. After a rough stretch of five races, including 24th last time out at Road America, that followed his three consecutive podiums early in the season, Christian Lundgaard finds himself 158 points back of Palou in sixth, meaning barring a truly historic gap from the points leader, his hopes of title contention have disappeared, despite starting with Palou on the front row Sunday. With perennial front-runners like Team Penske's trio starting a ways' back Sunday (Josef Newgarden 18th, Scott McLaughlin 21st and Will Power 22nd) and the addition of 10 laps to the Mid-Ohio race length, Sunday's action is bound to be a high-intensity affair at a track where early yellow flags are more than common. Add in a pair of unexpected second-year drivers making their first (Kyffin Simpson) or second (Nolan Siegel) Fast Six appearances in their careers, and the combination of veterans trying to work their way up and young guys attempting to hold them back could make for some fireworks and perhaps some surprise results after the checkered flag falls. In that sense, at least, Palou being able to start ahead of the fray could be a saving grace, he said. 'Racing at the front is kinda a different animal,' Lundgaard said. 'As soon as you're starting to check out, it's the small details that matter. Some of the (younger drivers) haven't been exposed to that in the past, and that's why I think you see the veterans always kind of making their way forward in the race, even if they're having a bad qualifying.' Insider: Buckle up, IndyCar's silly season revolves around wily veteran Will Power. What we're hearing O'Ward, who sits 111 points back of Palou at third in the championship entering this weekend, said Friday he knows a track like Mid-Ohio that he counts as one of his best is pivotal to his title hopes, knowing that tracks like Toronto, Laguna Seca and Portland — all where he's yet to stand on a podium — loom ominously in the distance. 'We had pretty sporadic wins last year and are yet to have one this year, so this month is going to be huge with the championship,' O'Ward said. 'There's only three more races after this month, so this will be a big tell. If Palou wins another two (races) this month, they should just give him the championship. 'There's some challenging tracks coming up for us and some good ones as well, so if we can somehow find a way to get on the winning train here, I think it could be pretty big for our championship. But if (Palou) keeps finishing on the podium every race, those chances will start drifting very fast.'
Fox Sports
6 hours ago
- Fox Sports
Paddock Buzz: Will Power Beefs About Alex Palou's Traffic Manners
INDYCAR Chip Ganassi Racing's Alex Palou was the fastest NTT INDYCAR SERIES qualifier Saturday at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, but he also drew the ire of Team Penske's Will Power. Power thought three-time and defending series champion Palou should have been more polite to him during the morning practice. To make his point, Power, a two-time series champion, six times directed one of the big curse words at Palou, and he pointed his finger at the Spaniard at least that many times. Later, Power argued that it was as much the fault of Palou's strategist Barry Wanser for sending Palou into his path, but he was just as angry that Palou didn't yield the track to his No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet. 'I went out on new tires, and he came out a lap later in front of me and then stayed there,' Power told FS1. '(He) then spent four laps just going slow, so I had to keep backing up, backing up, backing up, which was frustrating. 'Then, I came in (to the pits), made a change, went out, (was) on a money lap (and CGR) sent him out of the pits again right in front of me – and he didn't move. He just kept going, and I had to back off again.' Power noted that not only did Palou didn't have traffic ahead of him on the 13-turn, 2.258-mile road course, no cars were behind him. One resolution would have been for Power to slow down to give himself a gap to Palou, but he didn't choose that path. 'He could have backed off, which I always do for him and anyone else if I'm in that position,' Power said. Palou said he anticipated what Power wanted to say to him – and likely how he was going to say it – as he approached him on pit lane after the session. 'Yeah, I knew, I knew,' Palou said. 'Look, I think if you look at (either) practice, everybody is complaining about traffic, and we're all angry that we don't get clear laps. But maybe he thought we did something personal to him. For sure, that was not the intention. 'I don't know if you saw, but I was always like a second or two seconds in front of him. He was just having to back off. I never tried to defend or anything. I think he was just a little upset, and that's OK. 'But, yeah, I knew what he was coming (to discuss) – I just didn't want to start to get into an argument. Yeah, it happens. It wasn't my first time with him, so it's good.' Power, Teammates Fail To Advance Power's day didn't get any better in qualifying. He and Team Penske teammates Josef Newgarden and Scott McLaughlin did not turn laps in Round 1 that were fast enough to have them advance to the second round. Newgarden will start Sunday's Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Presented by the All-New 2026 Passport from the 18th position (of 27 cars). McLaughlin and Power will start together on the 11th row, qualifying 21st and 22nd, respectively. McLaughlin blamed traffic for preventing him from having a faster lap in qualifying. All three Penske drivers are former series race winners at this track, so they must be accounted for in this race. McLaughlin has been particularly strong in recent years, finishing first, fourth and third in the past three races, an average finish of 2.66. Newgarden has won two series races here. Power and McLaughlin have won one each. Keep an Eye on Turn 4 This popular section of the Mid-Ohio circuit is the first corner the field will encounter at the start of Sunday's race. Cars will be two-wide – at least – as they approach the hard right-hander. Trouble awaits, especially for those positioned in the left lane. That portion of the track has been redefined since last year's race, and it is flatter now to lessen the drop-off from asphalt to the gravel trap known as 'China Beach.' Several cars drifted wide in practice, dropping left-side tires in the new grass. But that's not the primary issue. There now is a bump at a popular braking point, and the bump seems to be more prominent on the left side. McLaughlin hit it at a bad time Saturday, and it pushed his car off the track. He wasn't the only one, and he won't be the last. If another car is alongside when the bump bites, more than one car could get chewed up. Longer Race Changes Pit Strategy This will be the first INDYCAR SERIES race at this track since 2019 that's 90 laps in length, and the 10-lap increase will change strategies. For the past four years, 80 laps were the norm, but that was an easy two-stop strategy with tight pit windows. The result was conservative racing and few options. This year, three stops will be necessary, and there should be some flexibility in when to make them. Fuel should last between 26 and 28 laps, but look for some competitors to pit early to get track position in the event of an early caution. INDYCAR staged 90-lap races here from 2013-19. Odds and Ends McLaughlin is one of six drivers who won series races last year but are winless this year, and each of them won multiple races. Power and Arrow McLaren's Pato O'Ward joined McLaughlin as three-time winners; Chip Ganassi Racing's Scott Dixon, Newgarden and Colton Herta of Andretti Global w/Curb-Agajanian won two each. This year, Palou (six) and Andretti Global's Kyle Kirkwood (three) are the only winners through nine races. Kirkwood qualified seventh but like McLaughlin thought he was impacted by traffic ahead of him in the second round of qualifying. As a consolation, the driver who stands second in the standings (93 points behind Palou) will be one of the highest qualifiers with two sets of new Firestone Firehawk alternate tires for the race, and that should be an advantage. Santino Ferrucci has been the hottest non-winner in the field the past four races. Despite having an average starting position of 18.25, the driver of the No. 14 Sexton Properties/AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet has finished fifth, second, fifth and third, an average finish of 3.75, helping him climb to ninth in the standings. He qualified 17th for Sunday's race. Marcus Ericsson's season continues to be a struggle. Twenty-first in the standings, the driver of the No. 28 FOX INDYCAR Honda of Andretti Global saw the front of his car slam the right-side barrier at Turn 14 in practice. Repairs were made, but Ericsson could only manage to qualify in the 11th position. Ed Carpenter Racing's Christian Rasmussen qualified 10th, but the No. 21 ECR Splenda Chevrolet will move back six positions for the start of the race due to an unapproved engine change following last week's test at Iowa Speedway. recommended
