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Bowman grabs a thrilling late victory at Richmond

By
Andrew Kim
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Photo by Barry Albert for SpeedwayMedia.com.

Alex Bowman saved his best performance for the last after overtaking Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano on a restart with 12 laps remaining to win the Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond Raceway on Sunday, April 18, for his first NASCAR Cup Series victory of the 2021 season. In addition, Bowman won after rallying from a pit road penalty prior to the final stage.

The starting lineup was based on a performance metric formula, weighing the driver’s and owner’s results from a previous Cup event, the owner points position and the fastest lap recorded from a previous Cup race. With that, Martin Truex Jr., winner of last week’s Cup event at Martinsville Speedway, started on pole position and was joined on the front row with Denny Hamlin, Truex’s teammate and the regular-season points leader.

When the green flag waved and the race commenced, Truex jumped ahead with an early advantage. He was followed by Chase Elliott and Joey Logano while Hamlin, the first car on the outside lane, dropped back to fourth. 

Entering Turn 1, Logano slipped up wide and Hamlin was able to move up to third place entering Turn 3. At the front, though, Truex led the first lap over Elliott.

By Lap 10, Truex was out in front by more than six-tenths of a second over teammate Hamlin, with Logano, Chase Elliott and Ryan Blaney in the top five. Kevin Harvick was in sixth followed by Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell, William Byron and Austin Dillon.

By Lap 25, Truex stabilized his early advantage by nearly eight-tenths of a second over Hamlin while Blaney, teammate Logano and Elliott remained in the top five. Harvick continued to run in sixth followed by Larson, Bell, Austin Dillon and Byron. 

When the competition caution flew on Lap 30, Truex was leading by nearly a second over teammate Hamlin. By then, names like Tyler Reddick, Brad Keselowski, Kyle Busch, Bubba Wallace and Matt DiBenedetto were in the top 15. In addition, Alex Bowman was in 17th, Aric Almirola was in 19th ahead of teammate Cole Custer, Kurt Busch and Ryan Newman were in 21st and 22nd, rookie Chase Briscoe was in 24th behind Michael McDowell, Daniel Suarez was in 28th behind Austin Cindric and Erik Jones was in 29th. 

Under the competition caution, the leaders pitted and Hamlin emerged with the lead following his four-tire service followed by teammate Truex, Blaney, Logano and Elliott. Larson, who came into pit road running in the top 10, dropped all the way back to 18th after receiving a packer on his car during his service.

When the race restarted on Lap 37, Hamlin, this time around, prevailed on the outside lane to retain the lead while Logano moved up to second place over Truex. Behind, Byron moved his No. 24 Liberty University Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE into fourth place followed by Blaney while Elliott and Bell battled for sixth. 

By Lap 50, Hamlin was leading by more than a second over Logano while Truex, Byron and Blaney stabilized themselves in the top five. Bell was in sixth followed by Elliott, Keselowski, Austin Dillon and Harvick.

Through the first 65 laps of the event, Hamlin’s No. 11 FedEx Toyota Camry continued to lead by more than a second over Logano’s No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang. Truex’s No. 19 Auto-Owners Insurance Toyota Camry was in third followed by Byron and Blaney. Bell, racing in his No. 20 SiriusXM Toyota Camry, was in sixth followed by Austin Dillon, Keselowski, Harvick and Alex Bowman. Elliott, meanwhile, had fallen back to 11th in front of Kyle Busch while Larson was mired back in 21st place and in between Ryan Newman and Austin Cindric.

When the first stage concluded on Lap 80, Hamlin was scored the leader as he achieved his fourth stage victory of the season. Truex prevailed in a late battle over Logano to settle in second followed by Byron and Blaney. Bell, Bowman, Austin Dillon, Keselowski and Harvick were scored in the top 10. By then, 29 of the 38 competitors were scored on the lead lap.

Under the stage break, the leaders returned to pit road and Hamlin, Truex, Logano, Byron and Blaney.

The second stage started on Lap 90 with teammates Hamlin and Truex on the front row. At the start, Hamlin retained the lead following a strong start while Truex retained second place ahead of Logano and Blaney. Meanwhile, Bowman started to challenge teammate Byron for a spot in the top five.

By Lap 100, Hamlin continued to lead by a narrow margin over teammate Truex, who started to pressure his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate for the top spot. 

Four laps later and following an intense battle with his teammate, Truex returned to the lead following a pass through Turns 2 and 3. By then, Logano continued to run in third place followed by Bowman while Harvick cracked the top five.

By Lap 110, Truex started to stretch his advantage as he was less than a second ahead of teammate Hamlin. Logano and Bowman battled for third place followed by Harvick, Byron, Blaney, Keselowski, Bell and Kyle Busch. Meanwhile, Kurt Busch was in 13th behind teammate Ross Chastain, Austin Dillon and Elliott were in 15th and 16th, Larson was in 18th in front of Reddick and Bubba Wallace was in 20th ahead of Briscoe, Cindric and Newman.

Through the first 125 laps of the event, Truex continued to lead by less than half a second over teammate Hamlin. Logano stabilized himself in third place followed by Bowman’s No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE and Harvick’s No. 4 Hunt Brothers Pizza Ford Mustang.

By Lap 135, green flag pit stops started as Harvick pitted along with Kyle Busch, Chris Buescher, leader Truex, Hamlin, Bell, Briscoe, Cole Custer, Logano, Byron, Kurt Busch, Chastain, Wallace, Larson and others.

In the midst of the pit stops, the caution flew on Lap 140 when a tap from Cindric sent Newman spinning in Turn 3.

Under caution, some like Austin Dillon, teammate Reddick, Brad Keselowski, DiBenedetto, Corey LaJoie, Daniel Suarez and others that had not yet pitted under green pitted.

With the field cycling back under caution and some taking the wave around, Harvick emerged with the lead, where he was set to restart alongside Truex. By then, 20 competitors were scored on the lead lap while names like Larson, Wallace, Briscoe, Erik Jones, Cindric, Buescher, Custer, McDowell, Newman and others were pinned a lap behind.

When the race restarted on Lap 147, Truex rocketed away from Harvick to reassume the lead. Hamlin muscled his way into second place, thus dropping Harvick to third and with Team Penske’s Brad Keselowski and Logano trailing behind.

By Lap 160, Truex was out in front by a second over teammate Hamlin while Harvick, Logano and Keselowski continued to run in the top five. Reddick was in sixth followed by Bowman, DiBenedetto, Austin Dillon and Suarez. LaJoie was in 11th followed by Bell, Kyle Busch, Byron and Kurt Busch.

Through the first 175 laps of the event, Truex’s advantage over teammate Hamlin decreased to nearly half a second, though the former remained out in front.

Nearly 10 laps later, a second round of pit stops under green commenced as the leaders Truex and Hamlin pitted. Soon, Austin Dillon made the turn to pit road along with Bowman, Harvick, Kyle Busch, Corey LaJoie, Elliott, Suarez, Larson, Logano, Buescher, Briscoe and others.

By Lap 193, Keselowski, who has yet to pit, was leading followed by Kurt Busch and Blaney while Hamlin, the first competitor with fresh tires, was in fourth ahead of teammate Truex. Logano was in sixth while everyone else behind, starting with seventh-place Bowman, were a lap behind.

On Lap 207, Hamlin utilized the fresh tires to his advantage as he overtook Keselowski for the lead. Shortly after, Truex moved into second place followed by Logano as Keselowski slipped back to fourth. Prior to this, Kurt Busch and Blaney pitted.

By Lap 225, Hamlin, who was encountering lapped traffic, including Elliott, was ahead by less than half a second over teammate Truex followed by Logano, Bowman and Harvick. 

When the second stage concluded on Lap 235, Hamlin was able to navigate his way through the lapped traffic to claim his fifth stage victory of the season. Teammate Truex finished second followed by Logano, Bowman, Harvick, DiBenedetto, Kyle Busch, Byron, Bell and Almirola. By then, Elliott, who was in 12th, was able to remain as the first competitor scored a lap behind, thus giving him the free pass ticket for the caution. The result left names like Reddick, Kurt Busch, Suarez, Keselowski and others pinned a lap behind.

Under the stage break, the leaders pitted and Hamlin retained the lead following another stellar service from his crew. Teammate Truex, Logano, Harvick, Kyle Busch and Byron. During the pit stops, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was panelized for equipment interference. In addition, Bowman was sent to the rear of the field due to an uncontrolled tire violation.

With 153 laps remaining, the final stage started as JGR’s Hamlin and Truex led the field on the front row. At the start, Hamlin retained the lead followed by Logano and Truex while teammate Kyle Busch started to challenge his way to the front while running in fourth. 

Under the final 150 laps, Logano issued a challenge on Hamlin for the race lead. Though he was able to draw himself even with Hamlin’s car, he was unable to pull ahead nor clear Hamlin as Hamlin retained the top spot. 

Shortly after, the battle for the lead between Hamlin and Logano became a three-man battle for the lead as Truex joined the party. 

With 135 laps remaining, Hamlin remained as the leader by less than half a second over Logano and a second over Truex. Kyle Busch, the third JGR competitor, remained in fourth place while trailing the leaders by more than two seconds while Harvick was back in fifth place, trailing by three seconds. Matt DiBenedetto, meanwhile, was in sixth followed by Bell, Byron, Almirola and Austin Dillon.

With 110 laps remaining, Hamlin stabilized his advantage as he was leading by more than a second over Logano and more than two seconds over Truex.

Not long after, another round of pit stops under green commenced as Suarez pitted along with Austin Dillon, Bowman, Reddick, the Busch brothers, Almirola, DiBenedetto and others. Leader Hamlin also pitted followed by Truex.

During the pit stops, disaster struck for Truex, who was caught speeding on pit road during his service and was forced to serve a drive-through penalty on pit road.

Down to the final 100 laps of the event, Hamlin was leading by nearly two seconds over Logano. Kyle Busch was in third followed by Harvick and Bell. Byron, teammate Bowman, Almirola, Austin Dillon and DiBenedetto were in the top 10. Truex, following his pit stop penalty, was in 12th place, the final car scored on the lead lap.

With 75 laps remaining, Hamlin stabilized himself as the leader by nearly half a second over Logano. Kyle Busch, racing in his No. 18 M&M’s Red Nose Day Toyota Camry, continued to run in third place followed by teammate Bell and Harvick. Truex, meanwhile, was in 10th place while Chase Elliott was back as the final car on the lead lap in 12th place. 

Under the final 70 laps of the event, the battle for the lead started to heat up as Hamlin had Logano closing in on him for the lead as both encountered lapped traffic.

Five laps later, Logano emerged with the lead over Hamlin. By then, Elliott was lapped along with Austin Dillon. 

Under the final 60 laps of the event, pit stops under green occurred as names like Byron, Bowman, Elliott, Jones, Logano, Kyle Busch, Hamlin, Harvick, Keselowski, Truex and others pitted. Earlier, Byron tried to enter pit road but he was forced to circle around the track another lap after failing to slow his car prior to the pit road entrance. 

Following the pit stops, Kyle Busch was penalized for a commitment line violation and was forced to serve a pass-through penalty through pit road. 

With 50 laps remaining, Logano was leading by more than a second over Hamlin followed by Bell, Bowman and Byron. Harvick, Almirola, Truex and DiBenedetto were running sixth through ninth. Kyle Busch, following his late pit road penalty, was back in 10th place and trapped a lap behind.

Under the final 35 laps of the event, Logano, who was navigating his way through lapped traffic, was still ahead by nearly eight-tenths of a second over Hamlin. Bell was in third place and trailing the two leaders by nearly 13 seconds. Bowman was in fourth and Harvick was in fifth.

With the laps winding down, the battle for the lead started to heat up as Hamlin closed back in on Logano’s rear bumper for the lead. He then started to challenge Logano on the inside lane, with Logano fighting back on the outside lane. Way behind the leaders, Bowman started to catch Bell for third place.

Then with 20 lap remaining and the battle for the lead between Logano and Hamlin heating up, the caution flew when a cut right-rear tire sent Harvick sliding into the Turn 1 outside wall, where he slapped the wall and sustained significant rear end damage. 

Under caution, the leaders pitted and Hamlin reassumed the lead following another stellar service from his pit crew. Logano exited pit road in second place followed by Bowman, Bell and Almirola.

With 12 laps remaining, the race restarted under green. At the start, Hamlin took off with the lead with a strong start while Bowman challenged Logano for the runner-up spot.

The following lap, Bowman took over the runner-up spot over Logano, but he was not done as he immediately challenged Hamlin for the race lead on the inside lane.

Following a battle beneath Hamlin’s Toyota, Bowman emerged with the lead with 10 laps remaining following a power move in Turn 1.

With five laps remaining, Bowman was leading by seven-tenths of a second over Hamlin. Logano was back in third while Almirola and Bell were in the top five. Behind, Truex worked his way up to sixth place followed by Byron, Kyle Busch, DiBenedetto and Austin Dillon.

With the leaders starting to catch a bevy of lapped traffic, Bowman continued to lead while Hamlin was trying to close back in on Bowman’s No. 48 Chevrolet for the lead. Despite cutting the deficit down to nearly four-tenths of a second, it was too little, too late for Hamlin and Logano as Bowman came back around to Turn 4 in the midst of the traffic and claim the checkered flag by 0.381 seconds for the win.

While Bowman achieved his third NASCAR Cup Series career win and first of the 2021 season, the Hendrick Motorsports’ No. 48 car returned to Victory Lane since June 2017 at Dover International Speedway made by Jimmie Johnson. In addition, Hendrick Motorsports achieved its first victory at Richmond Raceway since September 2008 and its 266th Cup career victory as Bowman became the eighth different winner through the first nine events of the 2021 Cup season.

During his interview, Bowman, who won for the first time since March 2020 at Auto Club Speedway, dedicated his Richmond win to William “Rowdy” Harrell, a Hendrick Motorsports’ pit crew member who died along with his wife Blakley in a car accident in the Florida Keys last November.

“[Crew chief] Greg Ives and all the guys, they have to deal with me at short tracks and I drive these places really wrong,” Bowman said on FOX. “We kind of instead of trying to make me figure it out, we went to work on getting the race car where I needed it to be. Greg has done such an amazing job at making that happen…This one is for Rowdy and his family. Miss him and Blakley every day. Just means the world to be able to win for Ally. It’s definitely emotional, obviously, with how hard the off-season was on us. Appreciative for the opportunity and we have more races to win this year.”

“To be honest with you, we were terrible on short runs,” Bowman added. “We restarted third and I’m like man, if we get out of here with a solid top-five, we’ll be good. We’ve overcome a lot today. I don’t know if Greg pumped the pressures way up or what he did, but that’s more grip than I’ve ever had in a race car at Richmond and it worked out really well. Getting to race a guy like Denny at a place that this is really cool. I feel like we raced each other really clean, so I’m appreciative of that. It means a lot.”

Hamlin, who led a race-high 207 laps, settled in second place for his eighth top-five result through the first nine races of the season, though he did not claim his first victory of the season, while Logano, who led 49 laps and was originally in position of claiming his second victory of the season, finished third.

“We just didn’t take off quite as good there at the end,” Hamlin said. “I tried to warm it up and do everything that I could, just [Bowman] had a little more on those last few laps and I couldn’t hold the bottom. Once he got the position, we were just shut down there. Great job by this FedEx Ground team…We will keep digging. We are dominating, just have to finish it.”

Bell finished in fourth place for his second top-five result of the season while Truex settled in fifth place following his pit road penalty.

Almirola, Byron, Kyle Busch, DiBenedetto and Austin Dillon finished in the top 10 as only 14 of the 38 starters finished on the lead lap.

Elliott finished 12th, Keselowski settled in 14th, Suarez finished 16th, Larson crossed the line in 18th, Harvick dropped back to 24th behind teammates Briscoe and Custer, Bubba Wallace finished 26th and Newman fell back to 30th.

There were 20 lead changes for six different leaders. The race featured five cautions for 39 laps. 

With his runner-up result, Hamlin continues to lead the regular-season standings by 81 points over teammate Truex, 82 over Logano, 124 over Byron, 130 over Blaney and 135 over Larson.

Results.

1. Alex Bowman, 10 laps led

2. Denny Hamlin, 207 laps led, Stage 1 & 2 winner

3. Joey Logano, 49 laps led

4. Christopher Bell

5. Martin Truex Jr., 107 laps led

6. Aric Almirola

7. William Byron

8. Kyle Busch, one lap led

9. Matt DiBenedetto

10. Austin Dillon, one lap led

11. Ryan Blaney

12. Chase Elliott

13. Kurt Busch

14. Brad Keselowski, 25 laps led

15. Ross Chastain, one lap down

16. Daniel Suarez, one lap down

17. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., one lap down

18. Kyle Larson, two laps down

19. Erik Jones, two laps down

20. Tyler Reddick, two laps down

21. Corey LaJoie, two laps down

22. Chase Briscoe, two laps down

23. Cole Custer, two laps down

24. Kevin Harvick, three laps down

25. Chris Buescher, three laps down

26. Bubba Wallace, three laps down

27. Michael McDowell, four laps down

28. Austin Cindric, four laps down

29. Ryan Preece, four laps down

30. Ryan Newman, five laps down

31. Anthony Alfredo, five laps down

32. B.J. McLeod, seven laps down

33. James Davison, 10 laps down

34. Quin Houff, 10 laps down

35. Garrett Smithley, 11 laps down

36. Cody Ware, 15 laps down

37. Josh Bilicki, 16 laps down

38. Justin Haley – OUT, Engine

Next on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is Talladega Superspeedway, the first of two annual visits to the superspeedway venue for the series this season, with the first event to occur on Sunday, April 25, at 2 p.m. ET on FOX.

Alex Palou scores first career IndyCar victory at Barber

By
Briar Starr
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Alex Palou - Honda Grand Prix of Alabama -- Photo by: Chris Owens

In his first drive with Chip Ganassi Racing, Spaniard Alex Palou was able to fend off a hard-charging Will Power to win his first-ever IndyCar victory at Barber Motorsports Park Sunday afternoon.

Palou completed the race using a two-stop strategy and had one of the best cars throughout the 90 lap event. He made his final pit stop on Lap 61 (29 to go) and came out ahead of Power by just 2.3 seconds. Through the remaining 10 laps, Power tried closing in with the push to pass and was getting close as lap traffic was holding up Palou. However, Palou closed the deal and scored his first checkered flag in his 15th IndyCar start.

“I didn’t know what to say,” Palou said. “It was an amazing weekend. It was a really exciting race, really exciting qualifying. So yeah, I don’t know what to say to be honest. Like I’m super, super proud of the team. The team did an amazing job, as you could see on qualifying. We had three cars in the Fast Six, which it’s amazing. It was my first Fast Six, and today they just gave me the best car. I just had to do the obvious things right, as Chip likes to say, and we kept it simple. We went for a two-stop, we were able to manage our fuel mileage and our tires, so I’m just super, super happy.”

While Palou and Power had their own battle just past halfway on lap 45, there was another battle for the lead that ensued during the early portions of the race. Pole sitter Pato O’Ward and second-place starter Alexander Rossi were class of the field in the early going. While O’Ward and Rossi were maintaining the top two spots, there was a caution on Lap 1. The No. 2 of Josef Newgarden got loose off Turn 4 and touched the grass slightly, which made his Chevy spin in front of the field. Multiple drivers were collected including the No. 7 of Felix Rosenqvist, the No. 26 of Colton Herta, the No. 59 of Max Chilton, the No. 28 of Ryan Hunter-Reay and the No. 21 of Rinus VeeKay.

After the early pile-up, the race restarted on Lap 7 but was briefly brought under yellow again with new IndyCar comer and rookie, Jimmie Johnson, spinning in Turn 13. Johnson didn’t hit anything and was able to keep the No. 48 machine going. On Lap 18, the first round of green-flag pit stops occurred. Race leader O’Ward and second place Rossi pitted at the same time. O’Ward’s team was fast enough that the crew kept him out in front of Rossi. While O’Ward and Rossi made their pit stops, Palou swiped the lead on Lap 22 and battled with Power. Palou didn’t make his stop until Lap 31 while Power stayed out for a few laps and pitted on Lap 33.

Strategy would be the story of the race as the race went on a long green-flag run toward the end of the finish. There was a close moment on Lap 45 between leader O’Ward and the No. 14 of Sebastien Bourdais. Bourdais almost made contact with O’Ward and barely sent O’Ward off the track in Turn 5. But, O’Ward was still able to hang on to the car without further incident.

At the halfway mark on Lap 45, Palou regained the lead and held Power to an 8.4-second advantage. Before the final round of pit stops, Power erased the lead to 4.7715 seconds. Power stayed out one lap later than Palou before making his last stop on Lap 62. With the stops complete on Lap 68, Palou led by 2.3 seconds. With a win in sight, Palou had to keep pushing as second place Power had more push to pass in the 104 seconds left in the remaining laps. And as for Palou, the Chip Ganassi driver had to worry about traffic ruining his momentum.

On the white flag lap, Power closed the gap to 1.1160 seconds. The Aussie kept using his push to pass, but not to his full advantage as Power was slightly worried about fuel. In the end, Palou won in his first start with Ganassi and gave Ganassi their 114th NTT IndyCar Series victory. Power had to settle for the 76th podium of his career by finishing 0.4016 seconds behind race-winner Palou.

“Yeah, obviously went from a three stopper to a two stopper with all those yellows at the beginning, which I didn’t mind,” Power said about his runner-up finish. “I know we’re very good at getting fuel and lap time, but Alex pulled away extremely fast. I was surprised. I actually thought he was on a three stopper. But I think he had a very good middle stint saving fuel, and we came out close to him. I still had to save a bit of fuel at the end there, so in the last few laps I could use Push-to-Pass. Made a little mistake which made the gap not possible to close. Very happy with the day, though. Really, really just wanted a solid start to the season, and that’s what we got here so far.”

There were two cautions for eight laps and 10 lead changes among five different leaders. Palou led three times for 56 laps en route to victory.

Official Results following the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama at Barber Motorsports Park:

  1. Alex Palou, led 56 laps
  2. Will Power, led four laps
  3. Scott Dixon
  4. Pato O’Ward, led 25 laps
  5. Sebastien Bourdais, led four laps
  6. Rinus VeeKay, led one lap
  7. Graham Rahal
  8. Marcus Ericsson
  9. Alexander Rossi
  10. Romain Grosjean
  11. Jack Harvey
  12. Simon Pagenaud
  13. Takuma Sato
  14. Scott McLaughlin
  15. Ed Jones
  16. Conor Daly
  17. James Hinchcliffe, 1 lap down
  18. Dalton Kellett, 1 lap down
  19. Jimmie Johnson, 3 laps down
  20. Max Chilton, 4 laps down
  21. Felix Rosenqvist, OUT, Contact
  22. Colton Herta, OUT, Contact
  23. Josef Newgarden, OUT, Contact
  24. Ryan Hunter-Reay, OUT, Contact

Ford Performance NASCAR: Richmond Cup post-race quotes

By
Official Release
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Ford Performance Notes and Quotes


NASCAR Cup Series — Toyota Owners 400


Richmond Raceway | Sunday, April 18, 2021

Ford Finishing Results:

3rd – Joey Logano
6th – Aric Almirola
9th – Matt DiBenedetto
11th – Ryan Blaney
14th – Brad Keselowski
22nd – Chase Briscoe
23rd – Cole Custer
24th – Kevin Harvick
25th – Chris Buescher
27th – Michael McDowell
28th – Austin Cindric
30th – Ryan Newman
31st – Anthony Alfredo
32nd – BJ McLeod
37th – Josh Bilicki

JOEY LOGANO, No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang — WHAT DID YOU NEED ON THAT FINAL RUN? 

“We just needed more turn. We didn’t turn good enough to take off.  The 48 sure did.  They put the qualifying pressures in or something.  That thing took off like a rocket.  Denny and I caught him the last few laps, which was probably because they showed the adjustments they made to their car to make it fire off.  They started to pay a penalty at the end, but they were too far out.  Congratulations to them.  They beat us.  They beat us fair and square.  It stinks when you’re that close.  We were leading with a few to go.  Denny and I had a hell of a race.  It was pretty fun there for a minute, but here we are third.  It stings.  We were up there all day.  It’s a decent finish, don’t get me wrong, but wanted more for our Shell/Pennzoil Mustang.”

WHAT HAPPENED ON THAT LAST RESTART?

“Congratulations to them.  They beat us.  i think probably their adjustments they made on that final pit stop definitely made his car fire off really well.  He started to pay the penalty the last couple laps, but he was so far out that it didn’t matter.  It’s frustrating because we were so close with the Shell/Pennzoil Mustang and wanted to get our Ford in victory lane here and led some laps.  We made the pass on Denny and then we had a heck of a battle going back and forth.  He was tight when I passed him and then I was tight and he caught back up to me, so the track was changing there and we were both trying to keep up with it.  Dang it.  I hate being that close.  Third is decent, but to be that close and you’re on the front row on the final restart you think you’ve got a good shot at it and the front didn’t wake up for three laps.  Once it woke up, it was too late, so that’s part of it, I guess.”

ARIC ALMIROLA, No. 10 Smithfield Ford Mustang —

“Man I really battled for fifth there at the end but burnt up my tires on the outside in the process. Finally, a solid day for our Smithfield team. Everyone did their part and we were mistake-free today. Let’s fire it up and keep it rolling. “

MATT DIBENEDETTO, No. 21 Menards/Libman Ford Mustang —

“It definitely feels long overdue that we got that top 10 finally, so that’s good.  We’ve had some rough circumstances that sort of put us in a hole to start the year, but we knew that we have plenty of speed and obviously a great team.  It was good to come here and at a track that I really wouldn’t consider one that I have a ton of success at in the past, so that was definitely rewarding.  It was a day full of just no forgiveness.  You couldn’t have any mistakes at all, so we started the race and we’re too far off.  We worked on the car a little bit and made the right calls and got great breaks and once we got track position and got up in the top 10 we had no problem staying up there.  That was good.  It was a really high pressure day because there was no room for mistakes with that much green flag here.  I’m proud of the team and having Menards and Libman on the car.  All good stuff and something to build on.  We’re climbing out of that hole in the points and gaining a lot quick.”

HOW CONCERNED WERE YOU THAT YOU WERE IN A BAD SPOT WITHOUT TAKING THE WAVEAROUND AND ON OLDER TIRES FOR THE LAST RESTART? 

“Yeah, I said right when that caution came out when the 18 had just passed us my quote was, ‘Perfect timing.’  Some things just don’t work out exactly right, but I can’t complain because we had everything go smooth the rest of the day before that.  That’s a nerve racking situation because you’re having a solid day and you know if we would have got that lucky dog or stayed on the lead there, which was just a matter of a couple laps, we got lapped before and then we would have been new tires and then you separate yourself from everybody behind that had the wave around and do all that, so that was definitely nerve wracking, but I knew we had a good buffer to the next guy that we were racing, which was the 3, so that was good to know that all we had to do was just restart, be smooth, don’t get in any incidents, and as long as it got sorted out I knew we would be fine and it worked out just fine for us.”

YOU’VE BUILT SOME CONSISTENCY SINCE HOMESTEAD.  HOW HAS THIS JOURNEY BEEN LIKE? 

“It’s rewarding.  I’m glad we’re finally getting on track and the runs that we deserve.  We started the year and just was nothing of our doing.  We couldn’t even look at it and say they were self-inflicted, it was just kind of bad circumstances, so something that was out of our control — not as bad a luck as Aric Almirola, but it just goes to show between him and I and kind of the rough starts to the season that sometimes things have to go your way and as easily as that momentum can be pretty bad, it can flip around and we haven’t even really had smooth races until today, but we’ve still be climbing up in the points.  It just shows the strength of our team and it’s rewarding to finally get that top 10 and be climbing up there in the points, digging out of that hole and doing what I’ve known all along that we’re more than capable of as a team.”

WHAT WILL THIS NEXT MONTH HAVE TO BE LIKE TO GET BACK IN PLAYOFF CONTENTION? 

“It’s tough.  There’s just a lot of guys that have won races and taken up some of those spots for the playoffs, so it makes it extra challenging.  I know that we can keep on hitting our stride, running consistent, having consistent runs.  Consistency is everything, so if we can do that, I have confidence we can climb up in the points where we belong because we’re just kind of getting going.  We still haven’t really had smooth races aside from today, although we’ve been finishing up in the top 15 and having OK runs.  We still haven’t had the greatest of circumstances, so I know that we’re getting on track, building up points and that we can climb up there where we belong, but it’s going to be very crucial the next month.  All of these races from here until the playoffs we don’t really have any margin for error at all and hopefully a win would be the best-case scenario, but we’ve got to just focus on consistency.”

HAS THERE BEEN ANYONE ON YOUR TEAM THAT YOU’VE LEANED ON TO HELP GET YOU GUYS BACK ON TRACK?  

“I think what I was proud of and have been proud of is that our entire team is like a family.  I get along and have relationships with every guy on our team and that’s how it has to be, so I don’t know if I could credit one person, but everybody on the team from Greg Erwin to Billy, our car chief, Doug Campbell, my spotter, the over-the-wall guys have kept a good attitude even through the start of the season when we had rough luck, just because we knew there’s nothing self-inflicted.  I have to give credit to everybody on the team.  Their attitude is great, which is a big deal.”

AUSTIN CINDRIC, No. 33 Verizon 5G Ford Mustang —

“It’s an interesting race.  I definitely chose the wrong time to make a rookie mistake getting into the 6.  That’s definitely on me and that was a really vulnerable time for our strategy and that put us behind the eight-ball all day.  We tried to do some strategy to get us back and we ended up putting ourselves another lap down.  By the time stage three rolled around we were able to make some good adjustments and our Verizon 5G Ford Mustang was really good.  I wouldn’t say we were top five good, but I think we were good enough to run inside the top 10, top 15 so there’s a lot of positives.  I drove up to P20 under green, so lots to learn, but definitely wish I could get that stage two mistake back.”

WHAT HAPPENED IN THAT INCIDENT WITH RYAN? 

“It started off on pit road.  I got shoved in the left-rear by the 5 off of pit road and that put us three-wide going down the backstretch with the 6, who was already on the racetrack, and at that point I should have just bailed.  It’s one of those deals where you’re on colder tires and you’ve got a car with more laps on his tires and you’re kind of hoping that you can shuffle him out and when you’re racing for 20th it’s probably not the right thing to do, especially when you’re faster than the guys you’re around.  It’s just one of those deals, something that I know and should have done better, but didn’t and now I’m mad at myself for it, but that’s racing.”

Chevy NCS at Richmond: Alex Bowman race winner quote

By
Official Release
-

NASCAR Cup Series
Richmond Raceway
Toyota Owners 400
Team Chevy Winner Quote
April 18, 2021

ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Race Winner Quote 

LAST WEEK, ALEX BOWMAN WAS ONE OF THE FASTEST CARS AND IT ENDED IN HEARTBREAK FOR YOU GUYS. YOU COME BACK AND YOU SEAL THE DEAL TODAY, AFTER OVERCOMING A PIT ROAD PENALTY. HOW DID YOU GUYS OVERCOME THAT?

“We just had a great race car; it’s as simple as that. Greg Ives (Crew Chief) and all the guys, they have to deal with me at short tracks and I drive these places really wrong. We kind of instead of trying to make me figure it out, we went to work on getting the race car where I needed it to be. Greg has done such an amazing job at making that happen.

“First and foremost, got to thank Ally and Chevrolet; everyone at Hendrick Motorsports. This one is for Rowdy and his family. Miss him and Blakley every day. Just means the world to be able to win for Ally. It’s definitely emotional, obviously, with how hard the off-season was on us. Appreciative for the opportunity and we have more races to win this year.” 

HE’S TALKING ABOUT HIS PIT CREW MEMBER THAT LOST HIS LIFE IN THE OFF-SEASON. LET’S GO BACK TO THE END OF THIS RACE. YOU’RE BATTLING TWO GUYS THAT, COMBINED, HAVE WON IT FIVE TIMES. WHAT WAS GOING THROUGH YOUR MIND AT THAT MOMENT?

“To be honest with you, we were terrible on short runs. We restarted third and I’m like man, if we get out of here with a solid top-five, we’ll be good. We’ve overcome a lot today. I don’t know if Greg pumped the pressures way up or what he did, but that’s more grip than I’ve ever had in a race car at Richmond and it worked out really well. Getting to race a guy like Denny (Hamlin) at a place that this is really cool. I feel like we raced each other really clean, so I’m appreciative of that. It means a lot.”
About Chevrolet: Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands, available in 75 countries with nearly 4 million cars and trucks sold in 2019. Chevrolet models include electric and fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.

Chevrolet NTT IndyCar Series: Josef Newgarden accident quote

By
Official Release
-

CHEVROLET RACING IN NTT INDYCAR SERIESINDY GP OF ALABAMA – APRIL 17-18BARBER MOTORSPORTS PARKLEEDS. ALABAMAAPRIL 18, 2021
JOSEF NEWGARDEN, NO. 2 HITACHI TEAM PENSKE – SIDELINED IN MULTI-CAR CRASH ON LAP 1

“I got loose coming over the hill. It was a good start. We were lining in pretty nicely, but I just got loose in the wake. I thought I had the car and then touched the grass and I think once I touched the grass it pitched me sideways. I feel really bad for anyone that got involved in that. Obviously, my mess created a bigger mess. Any of the cars that got involved, I’m real sorry because it was obviously us that tipped it off. It’s a shame. I feel like we had a really good car. We just needed to file-in there at the start. We partially did that but yeah. Wudda, shudda, cudda I guess for Hitachi and Chevrolet. But we’ll come back. We’ve just got to bounce back at the next one.”

ARE YOU OKAY AND WHAT HAPPENED

“Yes, I’m okay. I wanted to just get rolling. I felt like we had so much potential. We had a really good car underneath us and  the team worked really hard and was ready to show that. I made a mistake. I got loose in traffic coming up the hill. I haven’t been loose like that at the start of a race here (Barber Motorsports Park). So just feel bad for causing a big wreck and anyone who was involved because of me. It’s tough to have a mistake like that. But thanks to our partners Hitachi, Chevrolet and everyone else, Just disappointed we couldn’t make something of it today.”

About ChevroletFounded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands, available in 75 countries with nearly 4 million cars and trucks sold in 2019. Chevrolet models include electric and fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found www.chevrolet.com.

Verstappen wins the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, secures first F1 victory of 2021

By
Andrew Kim
-

Following his loss to Sir Lewis Hamilton in Bahrain, Max Verstappen responded back with vengeance after winning an eventful Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at Imola Circuit for his first Grand Prix victory of the season and the 11th of his Formula One career.

The 23-year-old Verstappen, who started in third place, wasted no time carving his way to the front at the start of the event, where he went on to dominate, leading all but two of the 63-scheduled laps, and claim the checkered flag by 22 seconds over Hamilton, as he and Red Bull Racing continued to display their early strengths for this year’s championship. 

Verstappen also survived an event that was highlighted with wet, slick conditions and a high-speed crash involving Valtteri Bottas and George Russell past the midway section of the event.

“It was very tricky conditions out there,” Verstappen said. “But, I think we managed it well. It was important to get that good start after [the] line, so very pleased with that. Very, very tricky out there. To make the right call, to go from intermediates to slick tires…It just shows you that it’s so tricky out there with cold tires, even in the wet, it’s super easy to make a mistake with these cars. Overall, we did a good job. Very pleased with that. It’s very close [with Hamilton], but it’s exciting like that.”

Hamilton, who started the day on pole position for the 99th time in his career, endured a wild moment on Lap 31 when he locked up his tires and went off the course in the gravel at Tosa (Turn 7), where he also made light contact with the wall. Despite the incident and being pinned a lap behind, the reigning seven-time Formula One champion made a miraculous comeback in the second half to charge all the way up into second place behind Verstappen.

With his runner-up result and by setting the fastest lap of the event, Hamilton retained the lead in the drivers’ championship standings by a point over Verstappen. 

“Considering I was facing the barrier at one stage, a lap down, etc., it was a difficult day in that regard,” Hamilton said. “Max did a fantastic today. Congratulations to him. I had some really good pace in the rain and was catching, but just a little bit impatient with the back markers and caught me out. I’m unhuman, these mistakes happen. I’m grateful that I was back in the race and I could hunt down and get back to second…We got a great battle on our hands. Game on.”

Unlike Hamilton, teammate Valtteri Bottas was left disappointed and strapped with a DNF following his on-track accident with Williams driver George Russel, where both competitors collided at over 200 mph entering Tamburello (Turns 2 and 3) before colliding into the barriers and coming to rest with destroyed race cars. Both competitors emerged uninjured, but upset at one another over the incident. As a result of the crash, the race went under an extensive red flag period before continuing.

Behind Verstappen and Hamilton, Lando Norris emerged as a victor after the 20-year-old native from Bristol, England, started seventh and finished in third place and secured the first podium result for himself and for the McLaren F1 Team. The podium result was Norris’ first since the 2020 Austrian Grand Prix as he was also named Driver of the Day.

“For myself, to repay the favor for the team, but most importantly do myself proud, I feel like I’ve accomplished something,” Norris said. “I feel like I gave it everything and we did the best we could. Definitely, we did that today. I tried hanging on for P2 at the end. Lewis was definitely too quick than us, but I’m definitely a happier guy than what I was yesterday, but just rightly so.”

Ferrari teammates Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz came home in fourth and fifth followed by McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo. 

Lance Stroll, Pierre Gasly and Kimi Räikkönen finished seventh, eighth and ninth followed by Esteban Ocon, who recorded the first point of the season for the Alpine F1 Team.

Fernando Alonso finished 11th followed by Sergio “Checo” Perez, who started on the front row but was penalized 10 seconds for overtaking the safety car under caution and spun late.

Rookie Yuki Tsunoda, who started at the rear of the field after wrecking during qualifying session a day earlier, finished 13th after he spun on Lap 35.

Antonio Giovinazzi finished 14th while Sebastian Vettel, making his second start with the Aston Martin Cognizant F1 Team, settled in 15th after retiring in the final laps due to a gearbox issue.

Haas F1 drivers Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin finished 16th and 17th, both two laps behind, following a difficult start, where Schumacher lost his front wing and slamming into the barriers while warming his tires and Mazepin was involved in an incident with Nicholas Latifi, who was trying to recover from a spin, past the opening lap in Turn 14.

Latifi, who crashed into the wall, finished 20th, dead last, with a DNF.

Results: 

1. Max Verstappen, 25 points, 61 laps led

2. Lewis Hamilton, 19 points, two laps led

3. Lando Norris, 15 points

4. Charles Leclerc, 12 points

5. Carlos Sainz, 10 points

6. Daniel Ricciardo, eight points

7. Lance Stroll, six points

8. Pierre Gasly, four points

9. Kimi Räikkönen, two points

10. Esteban Ocon, one point

11. Fernando Alonso

12. Sergio Perez

13. Yuki Tsunoda

14. Antonio Giovinazzi, +1 lap

15. Sebastian Vettel, DNF

16. Mick Schumacher, +2 laps

17. Nikita Mazepin, +2 laps

18. Valtteri Bottas, DNF

19. George Russell, DNF

20. Nicholas Latifi, DNF

Hamilton continues to lead the drivers’ standings by a single point over Verstappen, with Norris trailing by 17 points, Leclerc by 24, Bottas by 28 and Sainz by 30. In addition, the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team remains as the leader in the constructors’ standings by seven points over Red Bull Racing, 19 over McLaren and 26 over Ferrari.

The next Formula One event on the 2021 schedule is Algarve International Circuit for the Portuguese Grand Prix on Sunday, May 2.

CHEVROLET NTT INDYCAR SERIES: PATO AWARD WINS 100TH POLE FOR CHEVY SINCE 2012 RETURN TO SERIES

By
Official Release
-

CHEVROLET RACING IN THE NTT INDYCAR SERIES
HONDA INDY GRAND PRIX OF ALABAMA POWERED BY AMFIRST
BARBER MOTORSPORTS PARK, BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA
QUALIFYING RECAP
APRIL 17, 2021

Chevrolet earns 100th pole as O’Ward rises to the top
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (April 17, 2021) – Chevrolet earned its 100th pole start in 150 NTT INDYCAR SERIES races since returning to engine manufacturer competition in 2012 as Pato O’Ward rose to the top of the field in qualifications for the season-opening Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama.

O’Ward, 21, driving the No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet, recorded a lap of 1 minute, 05.8479 seconds in the six-minute Firestone Fast Six session to claim his second NTT P1 Award. In the second knockout qualifying session, O’Ward reset the track record on the 2.3-mile, 17-turn road course that was repaved in 2019 with a lap of 1:05.5019. The event was not held in 2020 because of COVID-19.

“We made some changes after Practice 2 that helped,” said O’Ward, who will be making his 23rd NTT INDYCAR SERIES start. “We’ve been working so hard in the off-season and we’re clicking. Everybody on the team is working well together and I knew exactly what time I needed to get out of the reds (alternate tires), and we just had to maintain pace on (primary) blacks because I thought we were pretty strong. We did that and we’re starting on pole.

“It feels good. These guys deserve it and we’ve got a race to win tomorrow. I’m really hungry and I love this place to death.”

Looking ahead to the 90-lap/214.2-mile race, Chevrolet drivers have won 21 times when starting from the pole since 2012. Will Power with nine leads the way.

Power, a two-time winner of the event, qualified fourth with a best lap of 1:06.1186 in the Firestone Fast Six driving the No. 12 Verizon 5G Team Penske Chevrolet. Teammate and two-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Josef Newgarden, driver of the No. 2 Hitachi Team Penske Chevrolet, qualified eighth. He is the only three-time winner of the race.

Conor Daly, competing at the racetrack for the first time since 2017, qualified 10th in the No. 20 U.S. Air Force Chevrolet for Ed Carpenter Racing.

NBC will telecast the 90-lap/214.2-mile race at 3 p.m. ET April 18. The race will also be broadcast live on INDYCAR Radio Network affiliates, Sirius 211, XM 205, Indycar.com, and on the INDYCAR Mobile app powered by NTT DATA.
Team Chevy qualifiers:
1st Pato O’Ward, No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP
4th Will Power, No. 12 Verizon 5G Team Penske
8t Josef Newgarden, No. 2 Hitachi Team Penske
10th Conor Daly, No. 20 U.S. Air Force Ed Carpenter Racing
12th Scott McLaughlin, No. 3 PPG Team Penske
14th Rinus VeeKay, No. 21 Sonax/Autogeek Ed Carpenter Racing
15th Simon Pagenaud, No. 22 Menards Team Penske
16th Sebastien Bourdais, No. 14 ROKiT AJ Foyt Racing
22nd Dalton Kellett, No. 4 K-Line Insulators USA AJ Foyt Racing
23rd Felix Rosenqvist, No. 7 Vuse Arrow McLaren SP

DRIVER QUOTES:
PATO O’WARD, NO. 5 ARROW MCLAREN SP CHEVROLET — POLE WINNER:
WHAT WAS THE DIFFERENCE IN QUALIFYING?
“We made some changes after Practice 2 that helped. We’ve been working so hard in the off-season and we’re clicking. Everybody on the team is working well together and I knew exactly what time I needed to get out of the reds (alternate tires) and we just had to maintain pace on (primary) blacks because I thought we were pretty strong. We did that and we’re starting on pole. It feels good. These guys deserve it and we’ve got a race to win tomorrow. I’m really hungry and I love this place to death.”

THIS HAS TO MEAN A LOT TO BOTH YOU AND THIS TEAM. YOU ARE THE FOCAL POINT OF IT.
“Oh man, these guys deserve it. We’ve been working so hard in the off-season. We had great testing and now it was time to put it to the work. Zak Brown, Ric Peterson and Sam (Schmidt) are here; all the big guys are here. What a better place to try and put it on the pole, which we achieved that now. Man, I am so happy for them. I’m happy for myself, It’s the best view that you can get into Turn 1 tomorrow and let’s go win this race, man. We’re hungry. We’re really hungry and I love this place. I love this place to death. I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”

WHAT IS IT ABOUT THIS TRACK THAT SUITS YOU SO WELL?
“Ah, cojones! (laughs). Yeah, it takes big ones to throw down a lap around this place. But man, it feels good when you nail it.”

WILL POWER, NO. 12 VERIZON 5G TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET – QUALIFIED 4TH:
“Hey guys, I just completed qualifying, and we made it to the Fast Six, and we qualified fourth. Obviously, it’s a very tight field and very tough to get though each round; but we probably didn’t quite have the tire strategy in the Fast Six. Maybe we should have waited and done two laps at the end. But I’m pretty happy with the Fast Six. There are a lot of quick guys there and I look forward to a good day tomorrow.”

SCOTT MCLAUGHLIN, NO. 3 PPG TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET – QUALIFIED 12TH. CONTENDING FOR ROOKIE-OF-THE-YEAR:
“Unbelievable to get back in the PPG Chevy in full-on race conditions. Coming to a track I know, I tested here twice, gave me with some bit of confidence. Came here with a really good car. Jonathan my engineer gave me a really good car felt like a pretty good car initially. Picked my way through practice one and two. It felt really strong for qualifying and our goal was to make it to the second round and the top-12, and we did that. Probably not so proud of my Q2 run. Probably not the best run of my life, but, to get our first goal for 2021 is good for this whole group, and we can build on it from there. Looking forward to a good race tomorrow”

About Chevrolet
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands, available in 75 countries with nearly 4 million cars and trucks sold in 2019. Chevrolet models include electric and fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found www.chevrolet.com.

O’Ward Roars to NTT P1 Award at Barber as Field Crushes Track Record

By
Official Release
-

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (Saturday, April 17, 2021) – It appears Pato O’Ward’s time may be here.

Mexican driver O’Ward was pegged as a rising young star of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES after finishing fourth in the series standings in 2020, and he opened the 2021 season Saturday by winning the NTT P1 Award for the pole position for the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama presented by AmFirst at Barber Motorsports Park.

RESULTS: Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama Qualifying | Driver Video Quotes

O’Ward led the Firestone Fast Six with a lap of 1 minute, 5.8479 seconds in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet. It was the second pole of his career, with the first coming last July for the second race at Road America. He will attempt to earn his first INDYCAR victory in the 90-lap race, with live coverage starting at 3 p.m. (ET) Sunday on NBC and the INDYCAR Radio Network.

“I feel like I have earned by spot in the sport to challenge for podiums and wins,” O’Ward said. “Man, we’ve been working so hard in the offseason, and we’re clicking. Everyone in the team is working well together, and I knew exactly what I needed to get the time out of the reds (Firestone alternate tires), especially. We just had to maintain pace on blacks (Firestone primary tires) because I thought we were pretty strong.

“We did that, and we’re starting on pole. It feels good. These guys deserve it. We’ve got a race to win tomorrow.”

2016 Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge winner Alexander Rossi will start on the front row with O’Ward after his top lap of 1:05.9177 in the No. 27 NAPA AUTO PARTS/AutoNation Honda. Alex Palou started his tenure with Chip Ganassi Racing by qualifying third – the top Ganassi driver – at 1:06.0538 in the No. 10 SEGI.TV Honda.

2018 Indy 500 winner and 2014 series champion Will Power will start fourth at 1:06.1186 in the No. 12 Verizon 5G Team Penske Chevrolet. Reigning and six-time series champion and 2008 Indianapolis 500 winner Scott Dixon was fifth at 1:06.3976 in the No. 9 PNC Bank Grow Up Great Honda, while Marcus Ericsson was the third Ganassi driver in the Firestone Fast Six by qualifying sixth at 1:06.4102 in the No. 8 Huski Chocolate Chip Ganassi Racing Honda.

Formula One veteran Romain Grosjean was the top-qualifying rookie, seventh, on his 35th birthday. His time of 1:05.7643 in the second round of qualifying fell just short of earning a spot in the Firestone Fast Six in the No. 51 Nurtec ODT Honda.

Other rookie qualifiers were three-time Australian V8 Supercars champion Scott McLaughlin, 12th in the No. 3 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet, and seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson, 21st in the No. 48 Carvana Chip Ganassi Racing Honda.

O’Ward was even quicker during the second round of qualifying than during the Firestone Fast Six, as he ripped off a track-record lap of 1:05.5019 to lead his group. A repave of the 17-turn, 2.3-mile circuit since the series last competed at the picturesque circuit in 2019, along with continued development of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES car and Firestone tires, helped numerous drivers obliterate the previous record of 1:06.6001 set by Sebastien Bourdais in qualifying in 2016.

Rossi and Palou foreshadowed their strong performances in the Firestone Fast Six during practice. Palou was quickest in the first practice, while Rossi paced the second practice.

Track action starts at 11:30 a.m. (ET) Sunday with a 30-minute warm-up session (live on Peacock).

CHEVROLET NTT INDYCAR SERIES: PATO AWARD WINS 100TH POLE FOR CHEVY SINCE 2012 RETURN TO SERIES

By
Official Release
-

CHEVROLET RACING IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES
INDY GP OF ALABAMA – APRIL 17-18
BARBER MOTORSPORTS PARK
LEEDS. ALABAMA POLE WINNER QUICK QUOTE
APRIL 17, 2021

Chevrolet earns 100th pole as O’Ward rises to the top
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (April 17, 2021) – Chevrolet earned its 100th pole start in 150 NTT INDYCAR SERIES races since returning to engine manufacturer competition in 2012 as Pato O’Ward rose to the top of the field in qualifications for the season-opening Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama.

O’Ward, 21, driving the No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet, recorded a lap of 1 minute, 05.8479 seconds in the Firestone Fast Six session to claim his second Series pole. In the second knockout qualifying session, O’Ward reset the track record on the 2.3-mile, 17-turn road course that was repaved in 2019 with a lap of 1:05.5019.

WHAT WAS THE DIFFERENCE IN QUALIFYING?
“We made some changes after Practice 2 that helped. We’ve been working so hard in the off-season and we’re clicking. Everybody on the team is working well together and I knew exactly what time I needed to get out of the reds (alternate tires) and we just had to maintain pace on (primary) blacks because I thought we were pretty strong. We did that and we’re starting on pole. It feels good. These guys deserve it and we’ve got a race to win tomorrow. I’m really hungry and I love this place to death.”

THIS HAS TO MEAN A LOT TO BOTH YOU AND THIS TEAM. YOU ARE THE FOCAL POINT OF IT.
“Oh man, these guys deserve it. We’ve been working so hard in the off-season. We had great testing and now it was time to put it to the work. Zak (Peterson) and Sam (Schmidt) are here; all the big guys are here. What a better place to try and put it on the pole, which we achieved that now. Man, I am so happy for them. I’m happy for myself, It’s the best view that you can get into Turn 1 tomorrow and let’s go win this race, man. We’re hungry. We’re really hungry and I love this place. I love this place to death. I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”

WHAT IS IT ABOUT THIS TRACK THAT SUITS YOU SO WELL?
“Ah, cojones! (laughs). Yeah, it takes big ones to throw down a lap around this place. But man, it feels good when you nail it.”

About Chevrolet
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands, available in 75 countries with nearly 4 million cars and trucks sold in 2019. Chevrolet models include electric and fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found www.chevrolet.com.

Pato O’Ward wins Barber Pole for Sunday’s IndyCar opener

By
Briar Starr
-
Pato O'Ward - Honda Grand Prix of Alabama. Photo by Chris Owens.

On the eve of the 2021 IndyCar season opener, the NTT IndyCar Series returned to Barber Motorsports Park for the first time since 2019. Last year, IndyCar was scheduled to compete at its annual event, but the race was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Patricio O’Ward started his season off right in the Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet. The Monterrey, Mexico native was a part of the Firestone Fast Six after advancing and qualified on the pole after setting a time of 1:05.8479 late Saturday afternoon to earn the second pole of his IndyCar career. The pole gave Arrow McLaren SP its ninth during their IndyCar tenure.

“It was a good day. Practice one and two were really messy. Got really dicey there with the traffic and people being on different laps into the sequence. We didn’t quite get an idea of what real pace we had. But I knew exactly what I needed to go faster. My engineer put his magic to work.

“We had a really, really quick car in reds. We maintained our very good pace in blacks that we had in practice two. It was good, man. It feels really good to be on pole for the first qualifying session of the NTT INDYCAR Series 2021. These Arrow McLaren SP people have been working really hard. They deserve this. We’ve got a job to finish off.”

Despite a miserable 2020 season with only five podiums, Alexander Rossi looks to rebound and start 2021 on the right foot. So far, the Andretti Autosport driver has done so by qualifying second.

“It was great to be back in competition settings here in Barber,” Rossi said. “This track is pretty wild now that they did the repave, a lot of grip. Yeah, it started out pretty strong this morning. We were happy with the starting balance of the car. Then practice two was messy, just a lot of red flags. We were able to get a lap in.

“Yeah, I mean, it’s tough to come up short, as short as we did in qualifying, because you can think about a couple of areas through the lap where you made mistakes, maybe could have made a difference. Ultimately it’s much better than we’ve ever had around Barber. I think our best starting spot in years past was eight. A big step up. We have a good shot at it tomorrow.”

Rossi’s previous best qualifying effort at Barber was eighth twice, in 2019 and 2018.

There were a few incidents that brought out the red flag during qualifying. In group two, James Hinchcliffe locked up his tires and hit the inside wall hard in Turn 5 with seven minutes remaining. After a brief red flag, cars rejoined the track, but another red flag eventually slowed the session as Felix Rosenqvist’s car went off track in Turn 17 in the final minutes of group two. While Rosenqvist was originally sixth, his fastest lap time in the session was deleted due to bringing out the red flag.

In the Firestone Fast Six, the finishing results were O’Ward, Rossi, Palou, Power, Dixon, and Ericsson.

An IndyCar warm-up session is scheduled for Sunday morning at 10:30 a.m. CT live on Peacock with a subscription. The Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama green flag is slated for 2:42 p.m. local time, live on NBC and IndyCar radio.

Official Starting Line Up for the 2021 Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama:

  1. Pato O’Ward
  2. Alexander Rossi
  3. Alex Palou
  4. Will Power
  5. Scott Dixon
  6. Marcus Ericsson
  7. Romain Grosjean
  8. Josef Newgarden
  9. Colton Herta
  10. Conor Daly
  11. Jack Harvey
  12. Scott McLaughlin
  13. Ed Jones
  14. Rinus VeeKay
  15. Simon Pagenaud
  16. Sebastien Bourdais
  17. Ryan Hunter-Reay
  18. Graham Rahal
  19. Takuma Sato
  20. Max Chilton
  21. Jimmie Johnson
  22. Felix Rosenqvist
  23. Dalton Kellett
  24. James Hinchcliffe

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