Indianapolis Motor Speedway has pulled back the curtain on the ticket design for this year’s upcoming Indianapolis 500.

The tickets will prominently feature last year’s winner Josef Newgarden, which is a tradition that has been in place for many years.

Fans will notice attention to detail on the new ticket design, specifically the numerous references to Newgarden’s back-to-back accomplishment, which is stylized as ‘BACK 2 BACK’ and highlights his car number.

There are double images of the driver’s #2 Team Penske Chevy, two images of his victory lane celebrations, and a list of all six instances of a driver earning consecutive victories in the history of the Indy 500.

No driver has won the famous race three times in a row.

“It’s very cool to be here in the Indianapolis International Airport,” Newgarden said at an event unveiling the design.

“Indiana and Tennessee are my two homes, so the fact we have the Indianapolis 500 in Indiana and the [NTT IndyCar Series] championship finale in Tennessee is a great parallel. To top it all off is seeing this beautiful ticket from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the Indy 500. It’s an incredible-looking ticket.

“To see my likeness on there, to see our team represented, it’s a very special feeling. You don’t know if that day will ever come when you drive into the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

“The fact we’ve been able to pull it off twice, back to back, and that it’s been celebrated on this ticket, I’m super, super thankful.”

IMS still produces and mails out physical tickets for the marquee event, famously inside light blue envelopes, which allows fans to keep souvenirs of their attendance each year.

The 109^th running of the Indianapolis 500 takes place Sunday, May 25.

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The NTT IndyCar Series took to the streets of St. Petersburg on Saturday afternoon, setting the fastest laps possible in their bid to qualify at the head of the field.

When the dust settled from three rounds of action it was Scott McLaughlin that surfed his way to pole with a quick lap of 59.4624 seconds.

McLaughlin has always enjoyed the 1.8-mile street course in Florida, with the Kiwi earning his first pole and first win on the track in 2022.

He will look to repeat that success on Sunday as he leads the field to green from the point position.

Starting alongside will be Colton Herta, who has looked really fast all weekend. A relatively-large 0.177 seconds separated him from the top spot, a gap that he could not overcome.

As was the case last year, Meyer Shank Racing was particularly speedy on the bumpy street course, with both drivers advancing through to the third and final Fast Six qualifying round.

Felix Rosenqvist earned the third grid position, with his team-mate Marcus Armstrong set to start alongside on the second row.

Armstrong had a close call on his fast lap when he bounced off the wall in Turn 10, which visualized just how far all the drivers were pushing the limits.

Christian Lundgaard impressed in his Arrow McLaren debut by earning the fifth starting spot, with veteran Scott Dixon qualifying in sixth.

Expected championship contenders Alex Palou and Josef Newgarden both failed to advance to the final round, earning the eighth and 10th starting positions respectively.

The highest qualifying rookie was Louis Foster, who continued his strong weekend form to slot into the 16th starting position for his first IndyCar race.

Overall, it was the narrowest of margins that separated those at the front from those that will have to start from the rear of the field.

St. Petersburg is a technical street course at the best of times, but new tire compounds that only lasted for a single lap and the added challenge of a hybrid boost system led to small mistakes that ultimately determined the outcome.

Details lead to disappointment

Will Power was the fastest driver that failed to advance out of the first round, with his 59.8752-second lap not quite good enough to continue to the round of 12.

He related that it was a single mistake that washed him out towards the wall that ended up costing him a chance to fight in the second round.

The most shocking result of the afternoon was Pato O’Ward, who put in an abysmal qualifying effort by his standards.

The fan-favorite driver will start from 23rd position, despite setting a lap that was less than half of a second too slow to advance into the next round.

Newcomer team PREMA had a disappointing outing overall. Rookie Robert Shwartzman put his car into the 18th starting position, but the veteran Callum Ilott qualified in the 27th and final position.

Juncos Hollinger Racing was similarly mired in the rear, with Conor Daly and Sting Ray Robb earning the 22nd and 26th positions respectively.

The 100-lap Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg takes place Sunday at 12:30 PM eastern time, live on FOX for viewers in the US.

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Scott McLaughlin has announced that he and Team Penske will be competing together in IndyCar well into the future.

McLaughlin has been racing with Team Penske since he joined IndyCar full time in the 2021 season, and his time with the organization stretches back even further during his very successful run in Australian Supercars.

Starting his fifth year stateside, the New Zealand native took to social media to announce that he will be staying with the powerhouse team for multiple years to come.

“We’re LIVE and ready for a big 2025!” read the post. “Signed a long term extension in the off-season with Team Penske and have been absolutely 100% focused on prep for this year.  Let’s kick this season off right!  STRAIGHT. TO. THE. MOON.”

McLaughlin has been on an upward trend ever since his joining the series. Across that time he has earned seven race victories and finished third in the championship twice.

He related in pre-season interviews that he feels on the cusp of a championship here, and sees the same progression he felt in Supercars that led to him winning three consecutive titles.

Now with an extended contract, McLaughlin will more easily be able to build on what he has already accomplished by working with the same team and team-mates that have brought him to this point.

“I always feel competition from those guys [team-mates at Team Penske],” expanded McLaughlin to Motorsportweek.com.

“They’re unreal racing drivers. I’m certainly noticing Andretti’s getting better, Ganassi is always there, Ed Carpenter has got new funding now, and you’re got Arrow McLaren.

“That’s why we gotta work together well. I feel like the three of us have a really good relationship.”

McLaughlin is racing at the site of his first IndyCar win this weekend, and will look to repeat that success on the streets of St. Petersburg on March 2.

The post Scott McLaughlin signs long-term extension with Team Penske appeared first on Motorsport Week.

The NTT IndyCar Series held its second and final preseason open test day on Tuesday, allowing drivers to turn laps around Sebring Raceway.

Half of the field was allowed free access to the circuit’s short course in the morning, with the other half opening the throttle in the afternoon.

When all the dust had settled, it was Team Penske that sat in a familiar position at the top of the time sheets.

Will Power logged the fastest time of the day, and indeed the fastest of the entire two-day event, by completing a circuit in 52.2549 seconds.

His team-mate Josef Newgarden was hot on his heels, turning a lap in his #2 entry 0.06 seconds slower and just below the 115 MPH mark.

“It’s funny, after a couple days back in the car, you feel right at home, back to the same old stuff, and going through the same old changes and just confirming stuff,” Power said.

“I know it so well now, but it always changes. It’s never the same. So, you’ve got to be on your toes, super-tight field.”

Narrow gaps

Taking the best times from both test days, there was only a 0.72-second gap between the 27 drivers. Not all were working on outright pace at all times, but it appears the performance gap is as close as ever heading into the 2025 season.

There were a total of 3,242 laps completed across the two days, with an average of 120 completed per driver.

Scott McLaughlin was the most prolific with 149 laps under his belt alone, although his quickest lap was set on the first day and it only translated into the 24th best time of the test.

After having to watch from the sidelines due to a mechanical issue on Monday, Scott Dixon was able to attack the track in his #9 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda Tuesday morning.

A small off-track excursion early in the day resulted in some minor damage to the car, but repairs were completed quickly and Dixon was able to turn 58 laps in preparation for the upcoming season.

The fastest rookie was Jacob Abel, who set the 18th best time in his Dale Coyne Racing Honda. Robert Shwartzman and Louis Foster nearly matched the 23-year-old’s pace, logging laps 0.12 and 0.20 seconds slower respectively.

The 2025 season is practically here, and teams will reconvene a short distance away in St. Petersburg in just 10 days’ time for the first official sessions of the new year.

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Will Power is one of the NTT IndyCar Series’ longest tenured drivers, and he feels that he still has five more competitive years left in the top tier of America’s open wheel motorsports.

Power started his racing career by working his way up through different Australian and British formula series before serving as a test driver in F1 for Minardi in the 2004 season.

He then joined the Champ Car World Series at the end of 2005, converting two late-season outings into his first full season in the series the following year.

In the 20 years since then, the Australian has established himself as one of the top racers in the series.

He has spent an incredible 16 years driving for Team Penske, and has earned two championships in that time.

Speaking ahead of the 2025 season, the soon to be 44-year-old related that he has no desire to retire as long as he remains competitive.

“I think I could be absolutely competitive for another five years if I wanted,” said Power.

“It’s absolutely the goal [to stay in IndyCar], yeah, to definitely keep rolling while I’m really competitive.

“I was very competitive last year. I won three races and seven podiums. No one else in the field but McLaughlin did that. So my performance is still really high. Yeah, if I wasn’t performing, I wouldn’t want to do it.”

Still earning trophies

Last season, Power earned three victories and seven podiums across 17 races. He was in contention for his third championship until the final two rounds, when a pair of poor results allowed Alex Palou to pull away with the title.

There is no doubt that he is still one of the best drivers on the grid, and a mental reset a couple years ago appears to have focused his efforts even further.

Although questions often turn to retirement when an athlete has been in the sport as long as Power has, he feels his performance will allow him to stay around for more time yet.

“You’re certainly not sticking around if you’re not [maintaining a high performance level]. You’d better turn up or else she’s over. That’s just the way it is.

“But I love it. I love the competition. I love the preparation. I love finding new little details and things to be better every year.

“Yeah, it’s kind of funny you get to this point in your career and I feel you’re at your absolute best as far as putting a whole series together, weekend together, races together.

“You kind of have the same speed that you had but you don’t really build on speed. I think it’s just a natural thing that you have.

“But the whole other package takes a long time to get, unless you’re Palou.”

Power starts his 20th full season in IndyCar in a couple weeks’ time, looking to earn a third victory on the streets of St. Petersburg.

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Team Penske announced on Friday afternoon that long-time President Tim Cindric is stepping away from day to day operations of Team Penske’s wide range of racing programs.

Cindric will retain the title of President and will now focus on Team Penske’s IndyCar efforts, and will manage the team’s racing archives and historical assets as well.

With his role reduced in scope, he will be able to put more focus on the IndyCar side of Penske’s operation.

“I have lived my dream job for the past 25 years as the overall leader of the Penske Racing organization,” said Cindric.

“I’ve had the opportunity to work with some of the best people in the business while achieving many milestones together. I’ve decided I need to make a change that provides me with the flexibility I need at this stage of my career.

“I appreciate the understanding Roger [Penske] has provided throughout our conversations and I’m confident this team will continue to succeed as we have a proven leadership team in all areas.”

Over two decades with Team Penske

Cindric joined Team Penske in late 1999, and was promoted to President in 2006. He has served as one of the highest members of the historic team since then, and is often one of the most visible members of the team’s leadership.

The 56-year-old also serves as strategist for Penske’s IndyCar efforts, helping lead Josef Newgarden to multiple victories and championships.

Ron Ruzewski will continue to serve as the Managing Director of Team Penske’s IndyCar operations, and will continue to work alongside Cindric.

Penske’s other racing initiatives, such as NASCAR and IMSA, will continue to be headed up by Michael Nelson and Jonathon Diuguid respectively.

Each manager will now report directly to Roger Penske instead of reporting to Cindric.

Cindric was part of the leadership group that was suspended internally for their role in Team Penske’s Push to Pass cheat at the 2024 season opening St. Petersburg race.

He was not allowed to participate in this past year’s Indianapolis 500, where Josef Newgarden earned Team Penske’s 20th Indy 500 win.

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After spending the last four years moving up the ranks in the NTT IndyCar Series, Scott McLaughlin finds himself in a similar situation that led to three consecutive Australian Supercars championships.

The New Zealand native’s first challenge in professional motorsports saw him competing in Australia’s top touring car category for eight seasons starting in 2013.

McLaughlin’s first few years were spent slowly improving his craft, and it took until his fourth season before he could nail down all the nuances of the series and take victories with regularity.

Once he did so, however, he went on a dominant streak that saw him impressively win three consecutive championships starting in 2018 while driving for DJR Team Penske.

A similar pattern has played out during his time in IndyCar, and McLaughlin has been gradually improving with each successive year.

Last year, he found victory lane on a couple ovals and earned his way into championship conversations, all while minimizing any areas of weakness.

The similarities between his learning period in Supercars and his recent time in IndyCar is not lost on the 31-year-old, and he feels as if next year could be the breakout year he’s been working towards.

“I’ve said that to Ben [Bretzman], my engineer, a couple of times,” said McLaughlin, his face lighting up at the memories.

“I feel like I am in exactly the same position when I signed on with Penske in 2017 for Supercars back then. I feel like I’ve done a lot of my learning.

“I think in 2016, as well, in Supercars I finished third in the championship and had a couple race wins, and I really felt like I could have that next step. And ultimately I didn’t win that championship, I lost it on the last race, but I put myself in a really good spot.

“I feel like I’m in that same mindset here. I feel like I’ve lost all my habits that I had in touring cars. With my fitness and all that stuff, my neck and stuff that is outside of the car, I feel very comfortable with.

“I also know a lot of faces in here. I know what this [preseason media] day is all about. I know what airports to fly into. It’s just like so many different things that you come to a new place that you forget how easy it is. But I feel a lot more comfortable now.”

McLaughlin begins his fifth full season of IndyCar with Team Penske next month on the streets of St. Petersburg, the location of his first IndyCar win in 2022.

The post Scott McLaughlin on track to repeat Supercars success in IndyCar appeared first on Motorsport Week.

Drivers of the NTT IndyCar Series tackled the historic Milwaukee Mile for the second consecutive day, with a bevy of action filling the 250 lap event.

When the chaos calmed down enough to allow the race to reach its conclusion, it was Scott McLaughlin that emerged as the winner.

McLaughlin earned his third victory of the season with his strong run around the 1.015-mile oval, but it did not come easy. He battled against Colton Herta in a back and forth battle that lasted multiple laps near the end of the race.

READ MORE: IndyCar Milwaukee – Full Race 2 Results

The Team Penske driver’s pace was unbeatable, however, and he was able to finish off his strong weekend on a good note.

Scott Dixon crossed the line in second, running a typically mistake-free race throughout the day on Sunday.

His podium was the 142nd of his illustrious career, and allowed him to break the all-time record in the process. Just another record that The Iceman now holds all to himself.

Herta ended up crossing the line in third, with his battle against McLaughlin resulting in him losing another position shortly after.

Santino Ferrucci capped off a fantastic weekend by finishing fourth. The AJ Foyt driver was able to drive high and low as needed, and was one of the most exciting drivers on the track.

Also able to drive the high line at will was Marcus Ericsson, and he used that ability to drive from 16th up to fifth by the end of the day.

There was side by side racing for much of the day, and for much of the weekend across both races, putting aside fears that the track could produce boring racing.

Boring was definitely not the word of the day, and fans looking for close racing joined fans looking for accidents and crashes in having an enjoyable day.

The race did not even get started before major consequential events took place. On the second formation lap, well before the green flag was set to fly, Alex Palou pulled to the apron with no drive.

The safety crew could not even roll his car away because the #10 was stuck in gear, necessitating a trip to the garage area for the championship leader.

After making sure the hybrid system was working well, the Chip Ganassi crew eventually diagnosed a 12 volt battery issue. A replacement battery allowed him to return to the track, 28 laps behind.

The damage was already done to his championship ambitions, however, and he lost some of his hard-earned advantage over Will Power.

Palou started the race 43 points ahead and ended the day with a 33 point advantage, still a sizable margin but definitely smaller than he would prefer.

When the race was actually set to begin, on lap five due to Palou’s stopped machine, there was a second major event that took place before everyone got up to speed.

Race control called off the start of the race last second because the field was not lined up correctly, but Linus Lundqvist did not back off the throttle quickly enough to match the rest of the field’s sudden slow down.

The Swede ran into the back of Marcus Armstrong, who then turned into the pole sitter Josef Newgarden and sent both spinning into the wall.

Armstrong and Newgarden were both forced to retire on the spot, making for the strange situation where the first and third qualifying driver did not even begin the race before being knocked out.

The retirements meant that Scott McLaughlin was able to lead the field to green for the second day in a row, although race control deemed that it would be a single file start in order to finally get the race underway on lap 16.

Multiple other retirements spelled disaster for drivers up and down the order, including for Saturday’s winner Pato O’Ward.

The popular Mexican driver was forced to retire with a gearbox issue before the halfway point, resulting in a 23rd place finish.

His team-mate Nolan Siegel also retired with gearbox problems early in the race, pointing to a possible pattern among the Arrow McLaren team.

David Malukas also retired due to mechanical issues, stopping on track and bringing out the caution in the process.

Graham Rahal also retired from the race before halfway, but his problems resulted from contact with rookie Christian Rasmussen that sent the RLL Honda into the wall.

The veteran was easing in to Turn 3 in order to stay away from a dense group of traffic, but Rasmussen entered aggressively and tagged the back of the #15 machine.

Rahal was less than impressed with Rasmussen’s driving, giving him a gesture to use his head as he drove past the crash scene.

Drivers now have a weekend off to rest and recover before the season finale, which takes place at Nashville Superspeedway on September 15.

The post McLaughlin wins incident filled IndyCar race from Milwaukee appeared first on Motorsport Week.

Just after noon on Saturday, the NTT IndyCar Series headed out onto The Milwaukee Mile to set the order for both upcoming races later in the weekend.

Overall, nearly all drivers struggled to find grip as they navigated the nine-degree banking. Some cars hard a hard time turning and pushed up the track, while others gave their drivers a heap of oversteer as they cruised through the turns.

The drivers that handled the tricky conditions best were Team Penske team-mates Scott McLaughlin and Josef Newgarden.

READ MORE: IndyCar Milwaukee – Full Qualifying Results

McLaughlin set the fastest first lap on his first flying lap, which earned him pole for Saturday evening’s race around the 1.015-mile oval.

His lap was completed in 22.5082 seconds, averaging a speed of 162.341 MPH.

McLaughlin’s second lap was marginally slower, which allowed Josef Newgarden to slip into the top spot for Sunday’s race.

Newgarden’s second lap was completed in 22.6980 seconds, with an average speed of 160.983 MPH.

The two drivers set the second fastest times for the laps that they were not on pole, but Newgarden has a grid penalty for the first race meaning he will start tenth before lining up on pole on Sunday.

Felix Rosenqvist and Alexander Rossi set the third and fourth fastest time for the first race, and Marcus Armstrong and Will Power earned the second row for the second race.

Linus Lundqvist ran well on both of his laps, as did Pato O’Ward. Both drivers will start within the first three rows for both events as they look to end their seasons on a high note.

The championship points leader Alex Palou qualified 13th and 10th as it appeared that he was driving a bit more conservatively in order to not ruin his chances at a third title.

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing looked absolutely awful during the session, with the team’s three drivers qualifying at the very back of the field for both races.

Graham Rahal, Christian Lundgaard, and Pietro Fittipaldi all have a lot of work to do if they are to salvage a decent weekend.

The first race of the double-header weekend takes place later in the evening on Saturday, with green flag waving around 5:00 PM central time. Sunday’s race gets underway a little earlier in the day at 2:00 PM.

The post McLaughlin, Newgarden each take pole for IndyCar’s Milwaukee double-header appeared first on Motorsport Week.

The NTT IndyCar Series ran its final road course event of the 2024 season on Sunday, completing a race around Portland International Raceway.

The dominant winner was Will Power, who cruised to victory and earned his third victory of the season.

The veteran took the lead entering the first turn, and led 101 of the 110 laps throughout the afternoon. The only laps he did not lead were on account of pit stop cycles, and his margin at the checkered flag was nearly 10 seconds.

READ MORE: IndyCar Portland – Full Race Results

At one point he had to fend off a challenge from Alex Palou as he navigated traffic in the first half of the race, but the two drivers were never side by side on track.

Palou was able to comfortably hold the second position throughout the race, and earned his sixth podium of the season.

The reigning champion’s points lead shrunk despite finishing second, and is now just 54 points ahead of Power with three races remaining.

Josef Newgarden rounded out the podium, climbing from fifth to third over the course of the race.

He said after the race that he thought his car was good enough for second place, and was happy with his result.

Colton Herta and Marcus Armstrong finished fourth and fifth respectively, each driver climbing a few positions and staying out of trouble.

Santino Ferrucci started on pole for the first time in his IndyCar career, but was not able to maintain the top position for long.

He lost the lead in the first turn to Power, then slipped slowly through the field. He ended in eighth, but was still satisfied with his day and hopes it will turn into a contract for next season.

Scott Dixon brought out the only caution of the day, as he crashed out on the back stretch on the opening lap.

Kirkwood pushed the veteran wide in Turn 7, then as Dixon was trying to get up to speed he inadvertently pushed Pietro Fittipaldi onto the curbs. Fittipaldi could not keep control of his car off the track, hit Dixon and forced him into the barriers at high speed.

Dixon was able to walk away from the crash, but his day was done on the spot. Fittipaldi was assessed a penalty, although it appeared he did not get himself into that situation willingly.

There were multiple drivers that made little mistakes throughout the day, which caused them to take a quick trip through the grass.

Romain Grosjean’s small mistake sent him spinning in Turn 1. He was able to get his car refired, but when he spun the #78 around to face the right way, he did so right in the middle of traffic.

Christian Rasmussen had nowhere to go and ran into the back of him, spinning the Frenchman around again. Grosjean limped back to pit lane on a flat tire, and ended the day three laps down in 27th.

The biggest mover of the day was Scott McLaughlin, who climbed from 20th up to seventh. He easily overcame his grid penalty for a new engine and earned his 10th top 10 of the year.

The three Arrow McLaren drivers all improved from their lowly starting positions, but still were not able to get back to where they through they should be based on what they showed earlier in the weekend.

Alexander Rossi finished 12th, with Pato O’Ward 15th and Nolan Siegel ending his day one lap down in 21st.

Drivers will reconvene in one week’s time for a double-header at the Milwaukee Mile.

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