APRIL 21, 2021

(Honda)
Twenty-four-year-old Spaniard Alex Palou (No. 10 Chip Ganassi Racing SEGI.TV Honda) broke through for his first NTT INDYCAR Series victory on Sunday, winning the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama at Barber Motorsports Park in his Chip Ganassi Racing debut. Palou started third, his team executed a two-stop pit strategy and then he ran consistent laps to fend off the pursuit of Will Power (No. 12 Team Penske Verizon 5G Chevrolet) by 0.4016 of a second, the closest finish in the history of the race. Scott Dixon (No. 9 Chip Ganassi Racing PNC Bank Grow Up Great Honda) came home third. Pole sitter Pato O'Ward (No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet) came charging back to finish fourth. It was the 15th career IndyCar start for Palou, who is in his second full season. Last year, Palou raced for Dale Coyne Racing. “We knew we had the best team, the best car,” Palou told NBC Sports’ Marty Snider. “Yeah, it was possible. Ricky, my chief engineer, told me we can not win them all, but let’s win the first one. We did it, it’s amazing. Chip, all the team did an amazing job. We had the best cars. It’s amazing to be part of the winning drivers and starting strong. It was one of those days when everything went well. We got good fuel mileage, good tire management and good pace.” It was the 114th INDYCAR victory for team owner Chip Ganassi and his first victory at Barber. Palou also became the 14th driver to win for Ganassi. Watch video highlights here. (Thank you to Nate Ryan/NBCSports) 

(Photo by Chris Owens/INDYCAR)
Chip Ganassi with Alex Palou after their Honda Grand Prix of Alabama victory.

(Photo by Chris Owens/INDYCAR)
Will Power (No. 12 Team Penske Verizon 5G Chevrolet) finished second in Alabama, getting his season off to a good start.

(Joe Skibinski/INDYCAR)
Reigning INDYCAR Champion Scott Dixon (No. 9 Chip Ganassi Racing PNC Bank Grow Up Great Honda) finished third in the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama at Barber Motorsports Park.

(MotoGP)
As weekends go, they don’t get much better than that for Fabio Quartararo (No. 20 Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP). The Frenchman converted pole position to victory at the Grande Prémio 888 de Portugal as the MotoGP™ race had some big names crash out, but that wasn’t the case for second place Francesco Bagnaia (No. 63 Ducati Lenovo Team) and third place Joan Mir (No. 36 Team Suzuki Ecstar). The returning Marc Marquez (No. 93 Repsol Honda Team) battled through the pain to finish P7 in Portimao. Quartararo marches on in the 2021 title race, with two wins in the first three races. Now, heading to the Spanish GP at Jerez at the end of April, the 22-year-old Frenchman is brimming with confidence as rivals fell by the wayside in Portugal. (Thank you to MotoGP Media)

(Photo by @VirutasF1)
Max Verstappen (No. 33 Red Bull Racing Honda) took a superb victory in an action-packed Emilia Romagna Grand Prix that was red-flagged half way through after a a high-speed crash involving Valtteri Bottas (No. 77 Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team) and George Russell (No. 63 Williams Racing), which both walked away from unhurt. Lewis Hamilton (No. 44 Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team) recovered from a spin at Tosa to finish second, while Lando Norris (No. 4 McLaren F1 Team) made it from seventh to third with a terrific drive that earned him the Driver of the Day tag. For the 99th time in his F1 career, Hamilton started from pole as rain fell at Imola, but it was Verstappen who jumped from third to first with a masterful second-gear launch. Hamilton briefly led again when Verstappen pitted for mediums from intermediates on Lap 27, but the Briton emerged second thanks to his sluggish stop one lap later. On Lap 31, the seven-time champion locked up and beached his car at Tosa, only to rejoin P8. WATCH: Verstappen steams into the lead from third in thrilling start to the Emilia Romagna GP A terrifying accident followed that as Bottas and Russell came together at Tamburello. Both were thankfully unhurt, but Bottas was apparently winded and Russell furious as another potential points finish slipped away from the Williams driver in a spectacular fashion. The red flag followed to allow marshals to clear the cars and debris, and the rolling restart saw Verstappen keep his lead, with Hamilton quickly making up ground from P8. A brilliant recovery followed, with the world champion up to fifth by Lap 43, fourth by Lap 50 and third – at the expense of Charles Leclerc (No. 16 Scuderia Ferrari) – by Lap 55. Victory was to be Verstappen’s, however, and by a margin over 20 seconds at the flag as the action behind did nothing to rattle him. That left Hamilton second, Norris third, thanks to a sensational drive from P7, and Leclerc fourth – his podium having slipped away to the superior McLaren of Norris, who had jumped the Ferrari after the red flag restart. (Thank you to F1 Media)

(Sean Gardner/Getty Images)
Alex Bowman (No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet) rose to the occasion when it counted, passing a dominant Denny Hamlin (No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota) to win his first NASCAR Cup Series victory of the season Sunday at Richmond Raceway. Bowman led only the final 10 laps to win the Toyota Owners 400. It was his third Cup Series victory and his first triumph at the .75-mile Virginia track. Hamlin held on to finish second, after leading a race-high 207 of the 400 laps. Joey Logano (No. 22 Team Penske Ford) led 49 laps and finished third. (Thank you to NASCAR Wire Service)