MAY 15, 2019

(Photo by Matt Fraver/INDYCAR)
Ed Jones (No. 63 Ed Carpenter Racing Scuderia Corsa Chevrolet Turbo V6) posted the fastest overall lap of 227.843 mph in Thursday's practice for the 103rd Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge. The practice session was cut short 90 minutes by thunderstorms and lightning. Jones also had the best lap while running on his own - a lap of 225.274 mph - as ECR's drivers swept the top three spots in the "no-tow" lap category. "It was a great day!" Jones said. "To be quickest in overall and no-tow is a goal. More importantly, I think we made more gains with the handling of the car. As the conditions have changed, we've been able to keep up. We just have to keep adapting to the track changes for tomorrow and for qualifying." Jones, who finished third in the Indianapolis 500 two years ago as a rookie, is paired with team owner/driver Ed Carpenter and full-season driver Spencer Pigot in a three-car Indy 500 attack for the team. Carpenter (No. 63 Ed Carpenter Racing Preferred Freezer Services Chevrolet Turbo V6) was second at 224.959 mph on the "no-tow" list, while Pigot (No. 21 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet Turbo V6) was third at 224.857 mph. The "no-tow" list provides a good representation of how cars may perform in Crown Royal Armed Forces Qualifying this weekend, when they'll be on track alone for four-lap qualifications runs to determine the 33-car field. Takuma Sato (No. 30 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Mi-Jack/Panasonic Honda Turbo V6) was second on the overall lap speed chart at 226.699 mph. Sato was eighth on the "no-tow" chart at 224.428 mph. Rookie Patricio O'Ward lost control of the No. 31 Carlin Chevrolet and spun into the Turn 2 SAFER Barrier. The 2018 Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires champion was uninjured, but the car sustained heavy damage and he did not return on track. Speeds are expected to increase in Friday's practice - dubbed "Fast Friday" - when INDYCAR allows an extra 1,000 millibars of engine turbocharger boost that equates to about 50 additional horsepower. The practice streams live on INDYCAR Pass on NBC Sports Gold from 11 a.m.-6 p.m. ET. 

(Photo by Mike Harding/INDYCAR)
Josef Newgarden (No. 2 Team Penske Shell V-Power Nitro Plus Chevrolet Turbo V6), the NTT IndyCar Series points leader after five of 17 races, ran the fastest of more than 3,200 laps turned by 36 drivers on the famed 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval Tuesday, turning a lap of 228.856 mph. "I think we need to be a bit better in traffic," said Newgarden, the 2017 series champion. "Still trying to figure out exactly what we need on the race car, that was kind of our focus today. We didn't really do much qualifying sims or anything like that. I think the Shell car feels OK. It's not a bad start. I'm trying to stay careful with it. I always try and respect this place at the beginning. I never try and push until it's time." Scott Dixon (No. 9 Chip Ganassi Racing PNC Bank Honda Turbo V6), who trails Newgarden by six points heading into the Indy 500 on May 26, was second on the speed chart at 228.835 mph. Alexander Rossi (No. 27 Andretti Autosport NAPA AUTO PARTS Honda Turbo V6) logged the best lap without the tow of a leading car at 224.648 mph in the No. 27 NAPA AUTO PARTS Honda for Andretti Autosport. The 2016 Indianapolis 500 winner said the speed was "irrelevant" this early in the week, but he was pleased his team worked through its practice checklist efficiently enough that he was able to sit out the closing hours of the afternoon. Fernando Alonso (No. 66 McLaren Racing Chevrolet Turbo V6) and Felix Rosenqvist (No. 10 Chip Ganassi Racing NTT DATA Honda Turbo V6) were uninjured but had their days end abruptly in single-car crashes. Alonso made contact with the Turn 3 SAFER Barrier some 95 minutes into the seven-hour practice. His car slid into the inside barrier on the short chute and then up the track to the outside barrier in Turn 4 before coming to rest. Alonso exited the car without assistance, but disappointed. The McLaren crew spent the afternoon preparing Alonso's backup car for practice on Thursday. "It was understeer on the car, and even if I lifted the throttle on the entry of the corner, it was not enough, and I lost completely the front aero," said Alonso, the two-time Formula 1 champion and 2017 Indy 500 rookie of the year. "The wall came too close and too quickly. Unfortunately, it happened today. I'm sorry for the team, but we will learn and hopefully we will come back stronger tomorrow. I'm disappointed and sad for the team and for the guys. We worked quite a lot on the car and definitely now it's quite damaged, so I feel sorry for the team and for my mistake." With just less than an hour remaining in practice, Rosenqvist made hard contact with the SAFER Barrier exiting Turn 2. Rosenqvist was also uninjured and team officials said he will move to a backup car as well. "I was behind Colton (Herta) and just trying to run the car in traffic, and I just felt a very sudden change of having a bit of push, and it went very loose, very fast," Rosenqvist said. "I couldn't react to it. A shame, but that's how it is." Indianapolis 500 practice resumes Thursday from 11 a.m.-6 p.m. ET, ahead of the "Fast Friday" practice at the same time. Both stream live on INDYCAR Pass on NBC Sports Gold.

(Photo by Joe Skibinski/INDYCAR)
Will Power (No. 12 Team Penske Verizon 5G Chevrolet Turbo V6) set quick the time in opening practice on Tuesday for the 103rd running of the Indianapolis 500 Presented by Gainbridge - "The Greatest Spectacle in Racing." Power turned a best lap of 229.745 mph to take honors on the first of four practice days ahead of qualifications to set the 33-car field. All 36 entered drivers were on track and completed a total of 3,003 laps on the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval. "All the big speeds came from big tows," Power said. "It's kind of hard to judge the true speeds of cars right now by themselves," he added. "You don't know what aero configuration people are running, whether they're doing qualifying sims or they're in race trim. We don't know where we stack up, honestly, as far as true speed." Simon Pagenaud (No. 22 Menards Team Penske Menards Chevrolet Turbo V6) was second fastest at 229.703 mph; Ed Carpenter, the team owner/driver and pole winner in 2018, was third on the speed chart at 228.653 mph in the No. 20 Preferred Freezer Services Chevrolet Turbo V6; and three-time Indy 500 winner Helio Castroneves (No. 3 Team Penske Pennzoil Chevrolet Turbo V6) was fourth at 228.441 mph. Ed Jones, Carpenter's teammate in the No. 63 Ed Carpenter Racing Scuderia Corsa Chevrolet Turbo V6, clocked the fastest lap without the aid of a tow at 224.542 mph. Rookie Colton Herta (No. 88 Harding Steinbrenner Racing GESS Capstone Honda Turbo V6) topped the Honda contingent in fifth overall with a speed of 228.284 mph.

(Photo by Joe Skibinski/INDYCAR)
In a riveting race, Simon Pagenaud (No. 22 Team Penske Menards Chevrolet Turbo V6) overcame the elements and stalked and passed Scott Dixon (No. 9 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda Turbo V6) for the lead on the next-to-last lap on a rain-soaked Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course and pulled away to win the INDYCAR Grand Prix and collect the 12th victory of his Indy car career. "What a way to start May!" said Pagenaud, who won by 2.0469 seconds. "The car was fantastic; the car was awesome all day. We had something for everybody." Starting eighth in the 85-lap race that ran from start to finish in varying levels of rain, Pagenaud charged from sixth place in the final 18 laps in treacherous conditions to collect his first win since the 2017 season finale. With all running cars on rain tires for the final stint, Pagenaud passed Matheus Leist (No. 4 AJ Foyt Racing ABC Supply Chevrolet Turbo V6) for third place with 10 laps to go and Jack Harvey (No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing AutoNation/Sirius XM Honda Turbo V6) for second position five laps later. The 2016 NTT IndyCar Series champion then set his sights on Dixon. When Dixon, the reigning series champion, slid a little wide exiting Turn 7 on the 2.439-mile, 14-turn circuit, Pagenaud dove inside Dixon. The two cars made light side-to-side contact in the series of corners before Pagenaud exited Turn 9 in front. "It was a matter of being in the right position," Pagenaud said. "I pushed all race. When the rain came, I wasn't sure it was going to work. Surprisingly, it was just the best out there. When Dixon was really struggling with his tires, you could see that. I was just braking as deep as I could to catch him. I wasn't really planning on passing him there. He made a slight mistake."

(Photo by Joe Skibinski/INDYCAR)
Scott Dixon finished second in the race for the third straight year. It was also the reigning champion's 43rd career runner-up result, ranking second only to the 56 of Mario Andretti. "It was tough," Dixon said of the conditions beginning in a light rain that grew stronger as the day wore on. Despite the slick track, no team opted to change from Firestone's dry-condition tires to the wets until past the halfway point. "I knew kind of from the get-go that I was going to be struggling with the front end, and I don't know why it was balanced that way, but it just felt like I needed about six turns of front wing," added Dixon, who led a race-high 39 laps. "I thought we could maybe hold the gap (over Pagenaud), but the harder I pushed, the worse it got. All in all, a solid effort. It was a tricky race. It sucks to obviously lead that many laps and come up short, but again, congrats to Simon. He drove a hell of a race and it's nice to see him back in victory lane."

(Photo by Mike Harding/INDYCAR)
Jack Harvey finished a career-best third in the No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing with Arrow SPM AutoNation/Sirius XM Honda Turbo V6. The team is scheduled to run ten races this season as it builds toward a full-time NTT IndyCar Series program in the future. "I will remember this day for a long time," said Harvey, who reached the podium for the first time in his 14th series race. "It was just so awesome that we finally got this podium. I feel like we've been right on the edge of having something like this for a while. Great race today in the wet and the dry. Hopefully, it's just the first of many for this Meyer Shank Racing team. ... It's such a great day for the whole team."

(Mark Thompson/Getty Images)
Lewis Hamilton (No. 44 Mercedes-AMG Petronas) passed teammate Valterri Bottas (No. 77 Mercedes-AMG Petronas) at the start and delivered another dominant victory in the Spanish Grand Prix at the Circuit de Catalunya. It continues Mercedes’ record-breaking run of five-successive one-two finishes this season and has almost certainly ensured the title is now a two-horse race between Hamilton, who has retaken the title lead, and Bottas. It was Hamilton’s 76th career victory in F1. Hamilton now leads Bottas by seven points and is 46 clear of Max Verstappen (No. 33 Aston Martin Red Bull Racing), who finished third and is now third in the championship.

(Sean Gardner/Getty Images)
In a two-lap overtime shootout, Brad Keselowski (No. 2 Team Penske WURTH Ford Mustang) beat Alex Bowman (No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports AXALTA Chevrolet Camaro) to the finish line by .205 seconds to win the Digital Alley 400 at Kansas Speedway Saturday night. The victory was Keselowski’s third of the season — matching Kyle Busch for most in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series — his second at Kansas and the 30th of his career. With fresher tires, thanks to a pit stop under caution on Lap 241, the driver of the No. 2 Team Penske Ford grabbed the lead from Bowman on Lap 261, building momentum down the backstretch and passing the No. 88 Chevrolet to the outside through Turns 3 and 4. “What a great day. On the (last) restart, I just got a great launch and Alex Bowman — he’s going to win a race. He did a great job today. We had a little bit of fresher tires than he did (to facilitate the lead change before overtime), and we were able to make the move on the outside there and caught everything perfect. I’m just so thankful.” Erik Jones (No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing DEWALT Toyota) finished third.