MAY 1, 2024
Sunday, April 28, 2024 at 09:34AM 
Scott McLaughlin (No. 3 Team Penske Good Ranchers Chevrolet) proved Sunday there’s no strategy like pure speed to win an NTT INDYCAR SERIES race. McLaughlin won the Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix powered by AmFirst for the second consecutive year at Barber Motorsports Park, again using a mash-the-gas, three-stop pit strategy to earn his first victory of the season and his fifth career win. The triumph put a positive exclamation point on a trying week for Team Penske, which was penalized Wednesday for illegal use of the Push to Pass system at the season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg presented by RP Funding. McLaughlin and Josef Newgarden were disqualified from the race, while Will Power received a 10-point penalty. “We know our job, we know what we need to do,” McLaughlin said. “I’m just super proud of the execution. A couple of yellows didn’t fall our way, but we just showed our pace. We just keep rolling, man. Definitely one of my best drives in terms of execution and just knocking out the laps. Very happy we could advance to the checkered flag there and bring home a W for Team Penske and for Roger (Penske).” Watch the Extended Race Highlights from Motorsports on NBC here. (Thank you to INDYCAR Media)
It was yet another dramatic Spanish GP after a near fairy tale story for Marc Marquez (No. 93 Gresini Racing MotoGP™), who was denied a first race win in 917 days by Francesco Bagnaia (No. 1 Ducati Lenovo Team). The Italian showed why he is #1, defending from #93 all the way to the line - pushing each other to the limits with tactics, contact and too many overtakes to count all in 25 laps in yet another Jerez classic. It was a record-breaking Spanish GP, with almost 300,000 fans flooding the Circuito de Jerez – Angel Nieto. Those fans were treated to an absolute blockbuster after a dramatic Grand Prix, which will be spoken about for a long time. Behind the reigning World Champion after a race-long duel was Marc Marquez, who was forced to settle for second and celebrated in style with the Spanish crowd – finishing just 0.372s. Marco Bezzecchi (No. 72 Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) was third and was only able to watch the battle for the lead – a further 3.531s behind. So where was Jorge Martin (No. 89 Prima Pramac Racing)? The Championship leader crashed out of the lead of the race, only able to watch from the sidelines. Watch the Best Race Moments here. (Thank you to MotoGP.com)
(Photo of Francesco Bagnaia by AE Special Contributor Whit Bazemore)
The April 18 RRDC Evening with Sir Jackie Stewart Presented by Firestone drew a crowd of well over 400 guests that included champion racing drivers, industry leaders, sanctioning group representatives and other icons of the racing world. The 14th annual banquet celebrating the legends of motorsport honored the three-time Formula 1 World Champion at a banquet held at the Long Beach Hilton Hotel prior to the running of the 49th Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. All proceeds from the evening, including from the live and silent auctions, will benefit Stewart's Race Against Dementia, Team USA Scholarship, and The Mark Donohue Foundation, which supports the RRDC's SAFEisFAST initiative. The event honors auto racing's most influential leaders, which have included Dan Gurney, Parnelli Jones, Roger Penske, Jim Hall, Brian Redman, Mario Andretti, Bobby Unser, George Follmer, Emerson Fittipaldi, Johnny Rutherford, David Hobbs, Rick Mears and Jacky Ickx.
"Tonight, we're honoring Sir Jackie Stewart, dubbed the 'Flying Scot' for good reason," said Road Racing Drivers Club president Bobby Rahal in his introduction. "His incredible list of accomplishments includes three Formula 1 World championships – where he held the record for the most wins by an F1 driver for 14 years – and Rookie of the Year honors at the Indianapolis 500 – a race he almost won but was denied by a mechanical failure with eight laps to go. "Alongside his numerous career milestones, Sir Jackie was and is an outspoken advocate for safety in racing, as well as for those battling dyslexia and dementia – funding the global charity Race Against Dementia."
A short video written and voiced by NBC Sports TV commentator Leigh Diffey chronicled Stewart's career, and a "vintage" clip from the Ed Sullivan Show featuring a staged slot-car race among early-era F1 drivers Stewart, Graham Hill, Dan Gurney and Stirling Moss entertained the racing royalty in the audience. Also shown was a dynamic music video featuring Stewart's son Paul as well as accomplished musicians Eric Clapton, Nick Mason and Simon Le Bon providing a glimpse into the life of Sir Jackie Stewart, who was awarded the OBE in 1972 and knighted in 2001.
Rahal then quizzed Stewart, who shared stories of his years with race teams such as BRM, Tyrrell, and others, and recounted tales of his many encounters with other internationally-acclaimed racing drivers, in particular his friend Mario Andretti, who came to the stage. The two bantered about their on- and off-track relationship, with Andretti finally responding with, "Well, Jackie is Jackie. We've known each other for eternity. He's one of the individuals in my life that has inspired me to be a better driver. But our friendship was there from the beginning and it got stronger and stronger as individuals and we look back and reflect on our time together and it brings smiles to our faces. And he has a great sense of humor. He showed that tonight beautifully. "Also, for him to come forward and spend so much time to try to address the dementia situation is a credit to him. We try to participate in our own way to help that aspect. Jackie is a mover and shaker. We talked about the safety aspect of the sport, and how important that was. And now he wants to battle something that's affecting him personally. Good for him."
Said Stewart," I'm very proud that I was invited in the first place and I'm really so happy to have this financial commitment in our fight to Race Against Dementia. It's such an important thing for my whole family, for the world. It's very important. Very big. Thank you for the honor." A "live" painting created in the first two hours of the evening by renowned artist Bill Patterson depicting Stewart's career from 1965 to 1973, featuring his 1965 BRM and 1973 Tyrrell F1 race cars, signed by Stewart, was auctioned off, fetching $26,000. As bidding between two individuals progressed, auctioneer Leigh Diffey offered up a second matching painting, with the approval of the artist, upping the bid for two paintings to $52,000. Top bidders? Mario Andretti! and Scott Borchetta. A silent auction was also held of a number of racing images signed by Stewart.
The stage banner, displayed behind Stewart and Rahal. and the canvas prints of Stewart's Tyrrell F1 car were created by Paul Laguette, whose mother-in-law suffers from dementia. This, and his love of the sport, inspired Laguette to produce these pieces.
Editor's Note: This is our dearly departed billboard, which we had at Road America for several years. Peter gifted the phrase "America's National Park of Speed" to the track, which now uses it proudly in all of its communications. -WG
Editor's Note: Click on "Next 1 Entries" at the bottom of this page to see previous issues. - WG
