MAY 25, 2016

(Photo by Dana Garrett/INDYCAR)
James Hinchcliffe (No. 5 Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Arrow Electronics Honda Turbo V6) will start the 100th Indy 500 on the pole after a four-lap average of 230.760 mph. The Canadian, who missed the 99th Indianapolis 500 after a devastating practice crash that almost cost him his life, took the last qualifying attempt of Sunday’s Fast Nine Shootout, just edging out Josef Newgarden (No. 21 Ed Carpenter Racing Preferred Freezer Chevrolet Turbo V6) by less than four hundredths of a second over the 10 miles of qualifying. “I came into this month hoping we’d have a new story to talk about after what happened last year, and I think we did it,” said Hinchcliffe after winning the Verizon P1 Award and $100,000, not to mention the first pole of his Verizon IndyCar Series career, in his 79th start. “The Arrow Electronics car was an absolute smoke show out there. It was right on the edge. (Lead engineer) Allen McDonald and all my engineers did such a great job, everybody at Schmidt Peterson Motorsports. Sam Schmidt and Ric Peterson put me in the car and gave me the car to do it.” Hinchcliffe won the pole for the 100th Running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by PennGrade Motor Oil five years to the day after Schmidt Peterson Motorsports won the pole for the 2011 ‘500’ with driver Alex Tagliani. That was the last Indy pole for Honda; this one marks the first at the “500” since Honda and Chevrolet engines began competing in 2012.

(Photo by Eric Anderson/INDYCAR)
Josef Newgarden (No. 21 Ed Carpenter Racing Preferred Freezer Chevrolet Turbo V6) missed the pole for the 100th Running of the Indianapolis 500 by less than four hundredths of a second. "It was a tough pill to swallow," Newgarden said. "I try to remind myself it's not just about today's battle, it's about the war, and we've got to try and get that done next week in the 500. But it was still a lot of fun, just to be up there and have this opportunity to compete."

(Photo by: Chris Owens/INDYCAR)
Ryan Hunter-Reay qualified third for next Sunday's Indianapolis 500 with a speed of 230.648 mph in the No. 28 Andretti Autosport DHL Honda Turbo V6.

(Photo by Mike Harding/INDYCAR)
Ryan Hunter-Reay (No. 28 Andretti Autosport DHL Honda Turbo V6) and Scott Dixon (No. 9 Chip Ganassi Racing Target Chevrolet Turbo V6) on track for Monday's (May 23rd) practice for the 100th Running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by PennGrade Motor Oil. The intense session gave a solid indication that the "500" is going to be a hard-fought battle from start to finish. Josef Newgarden (No. 21 Ed Carpenter Racing Preferred Freezer Chevrolet Turbo V6) clocked the fastest lap on Monday with a speed of 227.414 mph. Tony Kanaan (No. 10 Chip Ganassi Racing NTT Data Chevrolet Turbo V6) was second on the day at 226.393 mph. Dixon was third at 226.339 mph. Twenty-one-year-old Sage Karam (No. 24 Dreyer & Reinbold – Kingdom Racing Gas Monkey Energy Chevrolet Turbo V6) was fourth at 226.045 mph, just ahead of Pippa Mann (No. 63 Susan G. Komen Honda Turbo V6) at 225.833 mph.

(FIA Formula E)
Sebastien Buemi (No. 9 Renault e.Dams) has reduced Lucas di Grassi’s lead in the FIA Formula E Championship to just a single point following his victory in the BMW i Berlin ePrix. It was his third win of the season. Daniel Abt (No. 66 ABT Schaeffler Audi Sport) scored his best result to date with a fine second place, and di Grassi (No. 11 ABT Schaeffler Audi Sport) finished third.

(GP UPDATE)
Jorge Lorenzo (No. 99 Movistar Yamaha YZR-M1) beat Marc Márquez (No. 93 Repsol Honda RC213V) by just 0.019s during a thrilling climax to the Italian Grand Prix at Mugello. Lorenzo and Márquez swapped places several times on the final lap before Lorenzo slip-streamed past the Honda rider on the run to the finish line. Andrea Iannone (No. 29 Ducati Team Desmosedici GP) claimed third after fighting back from a bad start, setting a new all-time top speed record in the process. Valentino Rossi (No. 46 Movistar Yamaha YZR-M1) was shadowing Lorenzo for the lead, until his bike suffered a massive engine failure.

(Ford Performance)
Joey Logano (No. 22 Team Penske Shell Pennzoil Ford Fusion) passed Kyle Larson (No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet SS) with two laps to go to win Saturday night’s Sprint All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway.  Brad Keselowski (No. 2 Team Penske Miller Lite Ford Fusion) finished second to give Team Penske a 1-2 sweep of the top two spots. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Mountain Dew Chevrolet SS) finished third and Larson ended up sixteenth after hitting the wall. Read more here.

(VW)
Two-time Red Bull Global Rallycross champion Tanner Foust (No. 34 Volkswagen Andretti Rallycross Rockstar Beetle) won the Red Bull GRC Phoenix, the series’ inaugural event at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park and the 2016 season opener. Foust held off Patrik Sandell (No. 18 Bryan Herta Rallysport Kobalt Tools Ford Fiesta ST) and Brian Deegan (No. 38 Chip Ganassi Racing Ford NOS Energy Drink Fiesta ST) for the victory. The Andretti Rallycross team dominated the preliminary rounds, with Foust and Scott Speed (No. 41 Volkswagen Andretti Rallycross Beetle) winning two heats apiece. From there, Foust won the first semifinal over the brand new No. 31 Honda Red Bull Olsbergs MSE Civic Coupe of Joni Wiman, while Speed held off Sandell to win the second semifinal. In the main event, Foust led from flag to flag, withstanding early challenges from Sandell and Speed to establish a comfortable lead. A late-race issue ended Speed’s podium hopes, dropping him from second to fifth. Honda put both of its Civic Coupes in the main event, with Joni Wiman finishing second in his semifinal and Sebastian Eriksson (No. 93 Honda Red Bull Olsbergs MSE Civic Coupe) placing second in the last chance qualifier. Wiman, now in his third year with Olsbergs MSE, earned a sixth-place result in the event.

(Pirelli World Challenge)
Patrick Long (No. 58 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R) swept the GT class races last weekend at the Pirelli World Challenge Grand Prix of Canada presented by Audi at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.

Editor-In-Chief's Note: Check out this interesting video about the Brabham family legacy at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. -PMD

Editor's Note: Ford has just released "Let's Race" - the third of five chapters in “The Return,” which is a long-form documentary that follows the development of both the street car and race car versions of the Ford GT from the decision to build the cars to the return to the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Watch chapter one, "The Decision," here and chapter two, "The Cutting Edge," here. (FYI: The Autoextremist makes a cameo appearance in chapter one.) -WG