2024 “500” pole sitter Scott McLaughlin (No. 3 Team Penske Pennzoil Chevrolet) turned the fastest lap of the day and event on Friday at 233.954 mph, on a day when speeds soared on the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval because the Honda and Chevrolet engines featured approximately 100 more horsepower due to increased boost levels. Those same boost levels will be used this weekend during two days of qualifying. McLaughlin’s fastest lap came with the benefit of an aerodynamic tow during the first five minutes of the six-hour practice session. But in the final 30 minutes of practice, 2008 Indy 500 winner Scott Dixon (above) laid down the second-fastest lap of the day, 232.561, in the No. 9 Chip Ganassi Racing PNC Bank Honda while running alone during a qualifying simulation. Dixon’s four-lap average was the fastest qualifying simulation of the day. “I think there’s still some good speed still left in the car," Dixon said. "The car is really smooth, and I’m pretty conservative, as well. So, we’ll see. Who knows what tomorrow is going to bring? I think conditions are going to be pretty tough.” The first day of PPG Presents Armed Forces Qualifying takes place from 11 a.m.-5:50 p.m. Saturday (11 a.m.-1:30 p.m., FS1; 1:30-4 p.m., FS2; 4-6 p.m., FOX; FOX Sports app, INDYCAR Radio Network). A practice session will precede qualifying from 8:30-9:30 a.m., with two 30-minute groups (FS2, FOX Sports app, INDYCAR Radio Network). Positions 13-30 in the starting field will be set Saturday, with the Last Row Shootout, Top 12 and Firestone Fast Six qualifying sessions Sunday afternoon deciding the rest of the 33-car starting grid. The 109th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge is scheduled for Sunday, May 25 (10 a.m. ET, FOX, FOX Deportes, FOX Sports app, INDYCAR Radio Network).
Two-time reigning “500” winner Josef Newgarden led a six-hour practice session at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Thursday with a speed of 226.632 mph in the No. 2 Team Penske Shell V-Power NiTRO+ Chevrolet. Newgarden, who has been in the top three all three days of practice, is trying to become the first driver to win “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” three consecutive years. Six-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Scott Dixon was second at 225.457 in the No. 9 Chip Ganassi Racing PNC Bank Honda. Dixon has ended up in the top four all three days this week as he seeks his second “500” victory and first since 2008.Conor Daly continued his strong week in the No. 76 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet by posting the third-fastest speed of the day, 224.893. After ranking 21st Tuesday, Daly has been in the top five the last two days. Speeds will jump during the next practice, from noon-6 p.m. ET on Fast Friday presented by Turtle Wax (noon-4 p.m., FS2; 4-6 p.m., FS1; FOX Sports app, INDYCAR Radio Network). The Honda and Chevrolet engines that power the field will feature approximately 100 more horsepower due to increased boost levels that also will be available during PPG Presents Armed Forces Qualifying on Saturday and Sunday.
NTT INDYCAR SERIES points leader Alex Palou produced the fastest speed of a rain-interrupted second day of practice for the 109th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge on Wednesday. Palou turned a lap of 227.546 mph in the No. 10 Chip Ganassi Racing DHL Honda. It was the fastest lap of two days of preparations this week for “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.” Three-time series champion Palou, who has won the last two titles in a row, has opened the 2025 season with four victories in five races. About the only summit he has yet to reach in the series is winning an oval race, with the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday, May 25 his next big target. “We did a little bit of (running in) traffic,” Palou said. “It’s always tough when people are in different run plans. A couple of good traffic runs. The car is feeling good. You always want it to feel a little bit better, but so far, so good. This is the biggest race, and that’s what we work so much toward. So, we’re going to try and chase that win.”
Practice started 68 minutes late due to heavy rain Wednesday morning, with further delays of 54 minutes and 15 minutes yesterday afternoon due to passing sprinkles over the 2.5-mile oval. That reduced the scheduled six-hour practice to three hours, 43 minutes as PPG Presents Armed Forces Qualifying this Saturday and Sunday draws closer and puts more pressure on teams to complete their preparation programs.
2018 “500” winner Will Power, fastest Tuesday at 227.026, continued a strong week in second today at 225.584 in the No. 12 Team Penske Verizon Chevrolet. His teammate, two-time defending Indy 500 winner Josef Newgarden, was third at 225.545 in the No. 2 Team Penske Shell V-Power NiTRO+ Chevrolet after ending up second Tuesday. Newgarden is trying to become the first driver to win “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” three consecutive years.
Alex Palou (No. 10 Chip Ganassi Racing DHL Honda) won the Sonsio Grand Prix on Saturday on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course, his fourth victory in five NTT INDYCAR SERIES races this season. It was the Spaniard’s third consecutive victory in this race, an event record, and he became the first driver since Sebastien Bourdais in 2006 to win four of the first five races of an INDYCAR SERIES season. “I cannot describe the amazing season we’ve had so far,” Palou said. “I owe everything to the team, Chip Ganassi Racing, my teammates, everybody who is working behind the scenes to make me look so fast on track. It’s amazing. It’s unbelievable.” NTT P1 Award winner Palou finished 5.4840-second ahead of the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet of Pato O’Ward. That margin may have been considerably larger if not for a late caution period – the first in the series since Lap 1 of the season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg presented by RP Funding – bunching the field before Palou ran away again. Two-time series champion Will Power finished a season-best third in the No. 12 Team Penske Verizon Chevrolet, 8.4529 seconds behind Palou. Scott McLaughlin was fourth in the No. 3 Team Penske Sonsio Vehicle Protection Chevrolet. Six-time series champion Scott Dixon rounded out the top five in the No. 9 Chip Ganassi PNC Bank Racing Honda. Watch the Race Highlights here. (Thank you to INDYCAR Media)
(MotoGP.com)
(IMSA)
The Porsche Penske Motorsport team won its fourth straight Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) race of the season in the 2025 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship race at Laguna Seca. But for the first time, it was Mathieu Jaminet and Matt Campbell in the No. 6 Porsche 963 who broke through for their first win of the season at Sunday’s TireRack.com Monterey SportsCar Championship, instead of teammates Nick Tandy and Felipe Nasr in the No. 7 Porsche 963. Jaminet defended against the driver he won with in Monterey last year, Tandy, who gave chase in the final stint of the race to close within half a second of his teammate but was unable to get around the No. 6 machine. Jaminet scythed through GT traffic just ahead of Tandy and emerged victorious by 1.692 seconds. The drama came down to the 124th and final lap, where Jaminet made one final move past a GT car at Turn 10, which provided enough of a buffer to where Tandy lost momentum. That opened the door for Motul Pole Award winner Dries Vanthoor in the No. 24 BMW M Team RLL BMW M Hybrid V8 to attempt a pass on the outside, but contact between the two sent Vanthoor off the road. Vanthoor limped back across the line in third place. IMSA race officials reviewed the incident and took no further action.
Laurin Heinrich and Klaus Bachler (No. 77 AO Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R) won its third straight race in Grand Touring Daytona Pro (GTD PRO). The polesitting No. 81 DragonSpeed Ferrari 296 GT3 finished second ahead of the No. 3 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports Corvette Z06 GT3.R. In Grand Touring Daytona (GTD), the same combatants who raced for the win at the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring – Philip Ellis in the No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG and Jack Hawksworth in the No. 12 Vasser Sullivan Racing Lexus RC F GT3 – did so again in this race. The same result occurred as Ellis and Russell Ward secured the win ahead of Hawksworth and Parker Thompson. Conquest Racing completed the podium in class with its No. 34 Ferrari 296 GT3. Watch the Race Highlights here. (Thank you to Tony DiZinno/IMSA Wire Service)
“We are very saddened by the news of his death. Jochen Mass was a driver with depth. One who could understand the car like few others”, says Thomas Laudenbach, Vice President Porsche Motorsport. “He had an excellent feel for technology and for everything that makes a team strong. We are losing a remarkable driver and a trusted companion who was with us for many years. His legacy extends well beyond his success – it lives in memories, in stories and in his way of thinking about motorsports. Our thoughts are with his family”.
Jochen Mass was born on September 30, 1946 in Dorfen, Upper Bavaria. His journey into motorsport did not begin in the cockpit, but rather on the high seas: as a young sailor, he circumnavigated the world for three years. Only after this was he drawn to technology – and to the race track – and completed an apprenticeship as a car mechanic. When the regular driver at the Alfa Romeo dealer Hähn was absent due to illness in 1968, Mass stepped in and proved his talent. It was not a long-planned debut, but marked the spontaneous start of an extraordinary career.
His success speaks for itself: European Touring Car Champion in 1972, European runner-up in Formula 2, from 1973 he competed 105 times in Formula 1 – and won the Spanish Grand Prix in 1975. Until the Schumacher era, he was one of the most successful German Formula 1 drivers by points.
But Mass was to find his true home in endurance racing – and at Porsche. Between 1976 and 1987, he was a permanent member of the works team. He drove racing cars such as the 935, 936, 956 and 962 with passion, courage and precision. Together with fellow drivers such as Jacky Ickx, he celebrated consecutive victories, shaped championships – and his name was synonymous with reliability, not only due to his constant close contact with race engineers such as Norbert Singer. When the partnership with sponsor Rothmans was formed, it was Mass who helped establish it with vision and finesse.
In 1992, Mass ended his active career. His sporting record is impressive: More than 400 races, 105 Grand Prix starts, 71 World Championship points, winner of the German Racing Championship, European Touring Car Champion, Porsche Cup winner, German Sports Car Champion, Le Mans winner with Sauber Mercedes.
Even after retiring, he remained connected to racing – as a popular speaker, heritage ambassador and bridge builder between generations. Whether at trade shows such as Retro Classics, classic car events or media events organized by Porsche Heritage and Museum, people of all ages listened gladly to his unique stories.
Jochen Mass is survived by his wife Bettina and four children. Porsche mourns the death of one of the family – with gratitude, respect and deep affection.
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