Two drivers pick up their first wins of the year—-although one has to wait an extra day.
INDYCAR)—INDYCAR has finished the part of the season preceding the traditional month of May at the track that gives the series its name.
Pato O’Ward has ended Team Penske domination of the early part of the INDYCAR season with a focused victory at Barber Motorsports Park, his first win since one of the June races at Belle Isle in Detroit last year. The win moves O’Ward from ninth to fifth in the points. Palou’s runnerup finish moved him top the top of the points list. McLaughlin remains second with previous points leader Josef Newgarden dropping to third with a 14th place finish.
It’s O’Ward’s third career win in INDYCAR and it tightens the standings after the first four races of the year.
The race boiled down to tire strategy and a fight between O’Ward, Alex Palou, and Rinus VeeKay.
VeeKay had a two-second lead on O’Ward just before the two, plus Scott McLaughlin, pitted on the 62nd of 90 laps. VeeKay led coming out of the pits but O’Ward got past him on the course’s fifth turn to take the lead for good. Palou’s quick pit stop two laps later put him between O’Ward and VeeKay but O’Ward held the lead at almost one second for the remainder of the race.
The next action for INDYCAR will be at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The drivers will run on the infield road course on May 14th before re-tuning their cars for the famous squared oval and the 106th Indianapolis 600 on May 29th.
(NASCAR)—Everybody was chasing Chase at the end of the two-day NASCAR Cup race at Dover—Chase Elliott, becoming the last of the four Hendick Motorsports drivers to snag a win this year.
Elliott took the lead from Ross Chastain with 52 laps left on the one-mile concrete oval and led Ricky Stenhouse Jr., across the finish line under the thirteenth caution flag of the race. Chastain finished third but not without ruffling the feathers of Martin Truex Jr., who tried to pass him on the outside on the final lap but lost control of his car when Chastain moved up the track. Truex spun and hit the inside wall. He kept his car running and salvaged 12th.
Elliott, the 2020 season champion had gone 26 races since his last win last July at Road America.
The race was moved to Monday after rain interrupted Sunday’s race after 78 laps. Denny Hamlin’s disappointing season got worse when his car lost a wheel. Under NASCAR rules, the teams’ crew chief, tire changer and Jackman will be suspended for four races.
Elliott is the ninth winner in the first eleven races of the year. The 16-car playoff field won’t be set until 15 more races are run.
NASCAR heads to Darlington next weekend.
(FORMULA 1)—Formula 1 is back on track in Miami next Sunday.
(Photo credits: Bob Priddy)