SEPTEMBER 29, 2021

(Photo by Chris Owens/INDYCAR)
Alex Palou (No. 10 Chip Ganassi Racing NTT Data Honda) crosses the finish line as the 2021 NTT INDYCAR Series Champion.

(Photo by Chris Owens/INDYCAR)
Chip Ganassi and Alex Palou after Palou clinched the 2021 NTT INDYCAR Series Championship at the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach by finishing fourth. Palou is the first NTT INDYCAR SERIES Champion from Spain and he clinched the title in just his second INDYCAR Series season. Palou is the first champion from a predominately Spanish-speaking country since Juan Pablo Montoya (1999). Palou is also the first under 25-year-old INDYCAR SERIES champion since Scott Dixon in 2003 and the seventh youngest INDYCAR SERIES champion (24 years, 5 months, 25 days). This is Chip Ganassi Racing’s 14th NTT INDYCAR SERIES Championship, with Palou joining other CGR champions Jimmy Vasser, Alex Zanardi, Juan Pablo Montoya, Scott Dixon and Dario Franchitti.

(Photo by Chris Jones/INDYCAR)
Colton Herta (No. 26 Andretti Autosport Gainbridge Honda) won the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach on Sunday afternoon. Herta, who led all three practice sessions over the weekend, beat Josef Newgarden (No. 2 Team Penske Hitachi Chevrolet) to the checkered flag by .5883 of a second to finish the season with two consecutive victories and three overall in 2021. Herta rebounded from starting 14th after hitting the wall in NTT P1 Award qualifying. He swept both races in his native California this season and won for the first time at his home race in Long Beach, which he attended since childhood to watch his father and current strategist, Bryan Herta, race in the INDYCAR SERIES. “It feels amazing,” Herta said. “This has  been on the bucket list for so long. Super happy.” Herta, who grew up in Valencia, just 60 miles north of Long Beach, took the lead for good on Lap 64 of the 85-lap race on the streets of Long Beach. He led a race-high 43 laps and was quick on both the Firestone “black” primary tires and “red” alternate tires. “We had a great car,” Herta said. “Reds or blacks, we seemed to have the pace. I just can’t believe it.” The runner-up finish helped Newgarden jump to second in the final championship standings, 38 points behind Palou. “Colton did a great job, so congrats to him and his entire crew,” Newgarden said. “He was on the right tire on the right point of the race. If there were no yellows, I think we would have been OK today, to cruise out front. But that’s the way it rolls sometimes. “Strong effort by our team. I think my crew was the fastest in pit lane all year, so there’s a lot to be prideful for. We fought hard. We came up a little bit short this year, which is unfortunate, but we fought all year long.” Six-time series champion Scott Dixon finished third in the No. 9 Chip Ganassi Racing PNC Bank Grow Up Great Honda, 1.3368 seconds ahead of champion teammate Palou. 2016 series champion Simon Pagenaud rounded out the top five in the No. 22 Team Penske Menards Chevrolet. Pato O’Ward, who entered the race 35 points behind Palou in second, ended up 62 points back in third after a disappointing day. O’Ward’s No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP Chevy was hit from behind by the No. 18 SealMaster Honda of Ed Jones and spun in the hairpin turn at the end of Lap 1, dropping him to the rear of the field. That contact led to a loss of drive on Lap 19 after the half-shaft in his right rear wheel snapped. O’Ward returned to the track on Lap 53 after extensive repair time but dropped out when it became apparent second place in the championship was out of reach. He ended up in 27th place. “It’s not the first time he has hit us and not the first time he has done something stupid all season,” O’Ward said of the early contact from Jones. “I just wish he could use his head a bit more, at least respect the guys who are fighting for the championship. “I think we’ve had a great season. I’m proud of the team; I’m proud of myself.” Scott McLaughlin clinched the Rookie of the Year award after finishing 11th in the No. 3 Team Penske PPG Chevrolet, becoming the first Team Penske driver to earn this honor. New Zealand native McLaughlin joined Penske’s INDYCAR SERIES team after winning three consecutive Australian Supercars titles for the organization. “I’m really proud of everyone with the PPG Chevy,” McLaughlin said. “The car’s been awesome, and I finally got it to my liking the last six or seven races. I’m really excited for next year. This year was a foundation year, all about building, and I feel like I’ve done that.” 

(Photo by James Black/INDYCAR)
“What a race, what a year, what a season,” Palou said. “This team is amazing. I’m super proud to be a part of Chip Ganassi Racing, all our partners. I’m super proud to be a champion and for the opportunity these guys gave me. Dream completed. Let’s get another one now.” Said team owner Chip Ganassi: “Ladies and gentlemen, you’re seeing a young man that’s going to set a lot of records in this business, and he’s already starting. What a great year we’ve had. I’ve got to be honest with you: It has surprised us when he came in the door and the job he’s done. My hat’s off. Congratulations.” Watch extended race highlights from Motorsports on NBC here. (Thank You to INDYCAR Media and NBC for all of the coverage)

(Formula 1)
Lewis Hamilton (No. 44 Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team) won a dramatic rain-hit Russian Grand Prix after Lando Norris (no. 4 McLaren) was denied his first victory following a thrilling finale. Norris, 21, appeared on course to keep Hamilton at bay, and become the youngest British Formula One winner. But the race turned on its head with just eight laps remaining when the rain arrived in Sochi. Hamilton moved to the wet tires with four laps left, but Norris stayed out on slick rubber after telling his McLaren team he did not want to stop. The decision came back to haunt the young Englishman, however, as the rain increased and he was unable to keep his McLaren on the track. Hamilton assumed the lead on lap 51 of 53 with Norris having to stop for wets and dropping down the order. Hamilton claimed the 100th win of his career, ahead of Max Verstappen (No. 33 Red Bull Racing Honda), who drove from last to second, with Carlos Sainz (No. 55 Scuderia Ferrari) completing the podium. Norris came home in seventh. Hamilton moved into the lead of the championship, two points clear of Verstappen with seven races remaining. Hamilton who embraced Norris afterwards, said: “It has taken a long time to get to 100 and I wasn’t sure whether it would come. “Lando did such an amazing job, he is doing a great job for McLaren, and it was bittersweet to see my old team ahead. But my team made a great call right at the end. I didn’t want to let Lando go and I didn’t know what the weather was going to do. Wow. One hundred.” Watch the highlights here. (Thank you to Phillip Duncan, PA F1 Correspondent)

(IMSA)
Action Express Racing’s furious second-half rally in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s Daytona Prototype international (DPi) season gained pace with a commanding overall victory at the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. Felipe Nasr and Pipo Derani led all but five laps, dominating the 100-minute “sprint” race in the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi-V.R to win by 10.952 seconds over the Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac driven by Kevin Magnussen and Renger van der Zande. The Whelen Cadillac led both practice sessions on the 1.968-mile Long Beach Street Course Friday, and Nasr qualified the car on pole position. The Brazilian driver duo completed the job with authority Saturday afternoon. “What a weekend by the Whelen Engineering Cadillac team!” Derani exclaimed in Victory Circle. “We led every session, and Felipe’s amazing pole dictated the weekend for us." At Long Beach, they cut their points deficit to WeatherTech Championship DPi leaders Ricky Taylor and Filipe Albuquerque in the No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-05 from 98 points to 19 heading into the season-ending Motul Petit Le Mans at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta on Nov. 13. Harry Tincknell and Oliver Jarvis, who finished fifth at Long Beach in the No. 55 Mazda Motorsports DPi, are now 189 points behind Taylor and Albuquerque. Albuquerque started the race in the championship-leading No. 10 Acura, and he aggressively charged from fifth place to third on the opening lap. But the No. 10 was ultimately beaten to third place by the No. 5 Mustang Sampling Cadillac co-driven by Loic Duval and Tristan Vautier. Cadillac DPi cars have claimed four consecutive Long Beach wins, the last two since Acura took over title sponsorship of the long-running street racing event. (Thank you to John Oreovicz/IMSA)
(IMSA)
The rule at Corvette Racing is simple: Race hard but race clean. Tommy Milner followed the script Saturday at the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, zooming cleanly around teammate Jordan Taylor and into the GT Le Mans (GTLM) lead halfway through the 100-minute race. From there, Milner and co-driver Nick Tandy brought the No. 4 Corvette Racing C8.R home first in class for their second straight win of the 2021 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season. Milner started second to Taylor in the No. 3 Corvette Racing C8.R but hounded his teammate throughout the first half before finding the opening he needed while battling through slower traffic. “Jordan went for a move (on a lapped car) down the inside in (Turn) 6 and it didn’t quite stick, so his exit was a bit compromised,” Milner explained. “I was able to get outside of him on the entry and that’s the preferred line for the next corner. ...I really only had the one opportunity (to make a pass), and thankfully I was close enough to take advantage of that.” Ten minutes after the decisive overtake, Taylor and Milner made their lone pit stops of the race a lap apart. When the cycle was complete, Tandy had nearly a three-second lead on No. 3 co-driver Antonio Garcia. Though the advantage dwindled several times as the Corvettes continued negotiating through traffic, Garcia was unable to attempt an overtake and finished 0.751 seconds behind at the checkered flag. It resulted in the fourth Long Beach victory for Milner and third for the American in the last four GTLM races on the 1.968-mile, 11-turn street circuit. It’s the second win for Tandy, who passed all the credit to his co-driver. Taylor and Garcia, who have four victories this season, finished second for the third straight race. They still hold a comfortable 160-point lead over Milner and Tandy in the standings and essentially only need to start the final two races to clinch their second consecutive GTLM championship. (Thank you to Mark Robinson/IMSA)
(IMSA)
Madison Snow and Bryan Sellers needed the perfect weekend to earn their first GT Daytona (GTD) win in what seemed like an eternity and put themselves in the middle of the championship battle. Mission accomplished. The impressive victory Saturday by the No. 1 Paul Miller Racing Lamborghini Huracán GT3 vaulted Snow, Sellers and the team into second place in both the GTD season standings and the IMSA WeatherTech Sprint Cup. It was their first win since the 2020 Rolex 24 At Daytona. After winning the Motul Pole Award on Friday, Snow patiently pulled away to lead by nearly three seconds before pit stops began in the 17-car class. Sellers took over the No. 1 for the final hour and quickly expanded the gap to more than 15 seconds, facing no pressure down the stretch. The win was the 12th of Sellers’ IMSA top-level series career and the seventh for Snow. More importantly, it’s the first triumph for both on the noted Long Beach Street Course. “Definitely as an American, it’s a place you want to win,” Sellers said. “It has a lot of history, a lot of great American drivers have raced here and won here. To put your name on that list is a pretty big honor.” Zacharie Robichon and Laurens Vanthoor finished second in the No. 9 Pfaff Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3R and took over the GTD championship lead, 32 points ahead of Snow and Sellers. Two races remain: the Michelin GT Challenge at VIRginia International Raceway on Oct. 9 and the Motul Petit Le Mans at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta on Nov. 13. (Thank you to Mark Robinson/IMSA)

(Trans Am Series images)
Chris Dyson kept his rivals’ problems in his rear-view mirror Sunday at Virginia International Raceway, cruising to a flag-to-flag victory to claim the 2021 Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli TA championship. (VIDEO: Dyson Dominates VIR on way to TA Title (Race Highlights) - YouTube) Driving the No. 20 ALTWELL CBD Ford Mustang, Dyson took his seventh victory of the season and 13th of his career to take an insurmountable lead into the season finale. Dyson earned the ChillOut Moment of the Race for his moves holding off Ernie Francis Jr. for the win. "That race was amazing, and being named champion hasn't set in yet, but I do know it's a profound relief," said Dyson. "We were able to stay up front, and just dominate, that's the way to win it." "I am just honored to be in the series," continued Dyson. "This is one of the most historic, prestigious road racing series in North America, it has world-wide recognition and seasoned, superb competition out there. These are the fastest, most badass cars, and I just want to thank God for my chance to race. To add this to my other championship, and to become a Trans Am champion is a dream come true. I hope my dad is proud of me." Boris Said (No. 2 Weaver Racing/Technique/SRI Dodge Challenger) took second, 30.137 seconds behind Dyson. Ken Thwaits (No. 5 Franklin Road Apparel Chevrolet Camaro) finished third. (Thank you to Trans Am Series media)

(Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
As he crossed the Las Vegas Motor Speedway finish line to claim the South Point 400 trophy, Denny Hamlin (No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota) screamed into his team radio, “Viva Las Vegas.” And indeed, it was that kind of night for the perennial championship contender, who led a race-best 137 of the 267 laps to earn his first Las Vegas victory in 20 starts and take an automatic bid into the next round of the NASCAR Playoffs. The 40-year-old Virginian edged reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion Chase Elliott (No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet) by 0.442 seconds. Elliott cut into Hamlin’s lead on every one of the closing 10 laps, taking full advantage of traffic, but was ultimately unable to catch Hamlin. Kyle Busch (No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota) finished third. Watch the highlights from Motorsports on NBC here. (Thank you to Holly Cain/NASCAR Wire Service)